Baseball Returns to SoCon Action With Series Against Georgia Southern

Games 28-30
CofC (20-7, 5-4 SoCon) vs. Georgia Southern (15-11, 7-2 SoCon)

Friday, April 2 - 6:00 p.m.

RHP Christian Powell (4-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. LHP Jake Brown (4-2, 3.11 ERA)

Saturday, April 3 - 1:00 p.m.

RHP Kevin Decker (3-0, 2.08 ERA) vs. RHP Matt Murray (3-1, 5.81 ERA)

Sunday, April 4 - 1:00 p.m.

TBA vs. RHP Andy Moye (3-2, 4.18 ERA)

BATTING PRACTICE

College of Charleston returns to Southern Conference action this weekend at Patriots Point as it hosts Georgia Southern for a three-game series. The Cougars picked up their 20th win of the season knocking off local rival Charleton Southern 9-4 Tuesday night. CofC took all three games from the Buccaneers this season, extending their winning streak to 13 games over their non-conference rival.

Junior CF Cole Rakar (Mount Pleasant, S.C./Wando) has a team-high .414 average, 48 hits and 14 stolen bases. Sophomore 3B Matt Leeds (Washington, Ind./American Heritage) tops the team in home runs with 10 and the RBI chart with 36. Senior RHP Kevin Decker (Washington, Ind./Seminole CC) leads the Cougar pitching staff with a 3-0 record and a 2.08 ERA, while Friday's starter, freshman RHP Christian Powell (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood), has a team-best 31 strikeouts.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES

Georgia Southern enters the weekend with a record of 15-11 after defeating North Florida 3-2 Tuesday night in Statesboro, Ga. Justin Hess took a no-hitter into the ninth inning and after North Florida scored two runs in the ninth, the Eagles won the game on a fielder's choice by Shawn Payne with one out in the bottom of the inning. Arthur Owens lead the team with a .351 average, while Kyle Blackburn has nine home runs and 39 RBI to lead the Eagles. Tonight's starter, Jake Brown, is 4-2 with a 3.11 ERA in eight appearances and five starts. He has 41 strikeouts in 46.1 innings, and opponents are hitting .235 against him.

ALL-TIME VS. GEORGIA SOUTHERN

College of Charleston and Georgia Southern are dead even in the all-time series at 20 wins apiece. The Cougars will look to exact some revenge this weekend as Georgia Southern swept CofC last season in Statesboro by scores of 15-14, 16-7 and 20-8. The last win against Georgia Southern was a 7-6 victory in Charleston on March 30, 2008.

START IT UP

FRIDAY - Freshman RHP Christian Powell (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood) makes his third straight Friday night start this season. In his last outing, Powell did not earn a decision, scattering seven hits in 5.2 innings and allowing six runs with three strikeouts in the Cougars' 11-8 win over Western Carolina on March 26.
SATURDAY - Senior RHP Kevin Decker (Washington, Ind./Seminole CC) takes the mound for his third start after five appearances out of the bullpen. In his last appearance, he turned in a solid eight-inning performance against Western Carolina on March 27, allowing eight hits and two runs, one earned with seven strikeouts, before the Cougars fell 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth.
SUNDAY - TBA

CHARLESTON PLAYER NOTES

Here is a look at some of the Cougars' key players over the past week.

2B Joey Bergman - returned to action at the plate against Charleston Southern on March 24 after hamate bone surgery put him on the shelf earlier this season... currently on a nine-game hitting streak... led the team last week with a .538 average (7-for-13) and a double and five RBI.

DH Rob Kral - batted .231 with six RBI... had one home run, one of the three grand slams in 28-9 win over Charleston Southern.

3B Matt Leeds - led the team with three home runs and 12 RBI last week... has six home runs in his last eight games... was hit by a pitch three times in last Friday's 11-8 win over Western Carolina... had one of the three grand slams in 28-9 win over Charleston Southern.

CF Cole Rakar - team-high 11 hits during the week, including two doubles and a home run... batted .476 over last four games... has a eight-game hitting streak.

LF Jose Rodriguez - batted .412 with a .824 slugging% last week... led the team with four doubles over the last four games... added a home run and five RBI.

2010 COUGARS BASEBALL RADIO SCHEDULE

The College of Charleston announced its updated radio broadcast schedule which includes five road games and eight home games, as well as the Southern Conference Tournament. Games are scheduled to air on ESPN Radio 910-AM in Charleston and can also be heard live on the internet at www.CofCSports.com. Ted Byrne will be handling the broadcasting duties for the baseball season.

The first broadcast of the season is set for April 7 with a 7 p.m. game at South Carolina, with the home series against Wofford April 16-18 next on the schedule. Road games include two games at Davidson May 1-2 and at Appalachian State May 15-16. Other home games on the schedule are two against Elon April 24-25 and The Citadel May 8-9. The final regular-season broadcast is a home contest against UNC Wilmington May 22. CofC will broadcast all of its games in the Southern Conference tournament, being held May 26-30 at the Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in Charleston.

2010 Cougar Baseball Radio Broadcast Schedule
Apr. 7   at South Carolina  7 p.m.
Apr. 16   vs. Wofford  7 p.m.
Apr. 17   vs. Wofford  1 p.m.
Apr. 18   vs. Wofford  1 p.m.
Apr. 24   vs. Elon   1 p.m.
Apr. 25   vs. Elon   1 p.m.
May 1   at Davidson  2 p.m.
May 2   at Davidson  1 p.m.
May 8   vs. The Citadel  6 p.m.
May 9   vs. The Citadel  1 p.m.
May 15   at Appalachian State 3 p.m.
May 16   at Appalachian State 1 p.m.
May 22   vs. UNC-Wilmington 6 p.m.
May 26-30 at the SoCon Tournament

COUGARS SWEEP SOCON WEEKLY AWARDS

College of Charleston junior DH Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) was named the Southern Conference Baseball Player of the Week, while teammate senior RHP Kevin Decker (Washington, Ind./Seminole CC) was selected as the league's Pitcher of the Week on March 22.

Kral had a career day at the plate on March 19, hitting three home runs with five RBIs in the Cougars' series-opening win at UNC Greensboro. Kral's three home run output ties the program's record for home runs in a game with four others, including current head coach Monte Lee (1999). The sophomore had at least one RBI in all five games for the Cougars that week as CofC went 5-0. He had four multi-hit games, 10 RBIs and slugged 1.000.

Decker went 2-0 in two appearances that week, coming out of the bullpen to pick up the victory versus No. 8 Coastal Carolina and then making his first start at UNC Greensboro. The senior right-hander allowed only three hits in nine total innings, highlighted by two frames of hitless, shutout ball against the nationally-ranked Chants on March 16. He followed that by allowing two runs on three hits in seven innings of work against the Spartans March 20. Decker held opponents to a .103 batting average, giving up two singles and a double over 34 batters.

ALL-SOCON COUGARS

College of Charleston senior Joey Bergman (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) was selected as the Southern Conference Player of the Year by the league's baseball coaches, the SoCon announced Thursday. Senior Ryan Daniels (Victoria, Texas/Blinn College) joins Bergman on the Preseason All-Conference First Team at the designated hitter spot. Junior Cole Rakar (Mount Pleasant, S.C./Wando) earned a second-team preseason all-conference spot in the outfield. College of Charleston baseball has been picked to finish third in the Southern Conference Preseason Poll by the media. The Cougars were tabbed to finish fourth in the coaches poll.

BERGMAN EARNS SECOND PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA NOD

Senior shortstop Joey Bergman (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) was selected to the 2010 Louisville Preseason All-America Baseball Team by Collegiate Baseball. Bergman, who was named to the second team, received All-America status for the second time this preseason. He was also named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association of America Pro-Line Athletic Preseason All-America third team.

Elected the 2009 Southern Conference Player of the Year, Bergman had a .452 average while drilling 15 home runs last season. He became the 10th player in Southern Conference history to record 100 hits in a single season. He garnered third-team All-America status by Collegiate Baseball and the ABCA.

ON DECK

The Cougars travel to Columbia for a highly-anticipated matchup with SEC foe South Carolina Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SportSouth and can be heard on the radio on ESPN Radio 910-AM in Charleston and can also be heard live on the internet at www.CofCSports.com.

SEASON-LONG PROMOTIONS

Two-for-Tuesdays - Two tickets for $5 to all Tuesday night games
Faculty/Staff Fridays - free entry to College of Charleston faculty and staff with their staff ID card
Family Fun Saturdays - free entry for two children with an adult ticket purchase
Military Appreciation Sundays - up to four free tickets with a military ID at all Sunday home games.

Schedule

Baseball Returns to SoCon Action With Series Against Georgia Southern

Players Mentioned

Joey Bergman

Ryan Daniels

Kevin Decker

Rob Kral

Cole Rakar

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Baseball Returns to SoCon Action With Series Against Georgia Southern

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