College of Charleston
Wofford
Bergman, Leeds Drive Baseball to 17-6 Win over Wofford
4/18/2010 2:00:00 AM | Baseball
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Senior 2B Joey Bergman (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) belted a grand slam and sophomore 3B Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla./American Heritage) added two more home runs, increasing his season total to 16, as College of Charleston jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and added another six runs in the fourth inning on the way to a 17-6 victory over Wofford Saturday evening at Patriots Point. The Cougars improved to 26-11 overall and 11-6 in the Southern Conference, while Wofford falls to 11-23, 4-10 in league play.
Charleston jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening inning on a two-run home run by Leeds. After junior CF Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Wando) lined a double into left and advanced to third on a fly out, Leeds deposited a 1-0 pitch over the wall in left for his 15th round-tripper of the season.
The Cougars added four more runs in the second frame, highlighted by the grand slam by Bergman. With one out, junior DH Kolby Epley (Yadkinville, N.C./Forbush) doubled down the left-field line and advanced to third on a single up the middle by senior 1B Greg Blake (Westerly, R.I./Lake City CC). After junior SS Jamie Holler (Rock Hill, S.C./USC Sumter JC) was hit by a pitch, Bergman stepped in a crushed a 2-0 pitch to straightaway center for a 6-0 Charleston lead.
Wofford picked up single runs in the third and fourth innings as Matt Moore led off the third with a solo home run and picked up his second RBI of the game with a RBI single through the left side the following inning.
CofC responded with six runs in the bottom of the fourth, taking a 12-2 lead. Bergman was hit by a pitch, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by the Wofford catcher. Rakar walked and stole second as well, as did junior C Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) to load the bases for Leeds. A wild pitch by Wofford starter J.D. Osborne plated Bergman and Leeds grounded out to short, scoring Rakar. Sophomore LF Jose Rodriguez (Hialeah, Fla./Broward College) lined a RBI double down the right-field line to bring Kral home and a few batters later, Blake plated two more runs on a RBI double down the left-field line.
The Terriers would show some life in the fifth as Mac Doyle hit his 14th home run of the season, a three-run shot to left, which closed the Cougars lead to 12-5. However, a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the inning extended the Charleston cushion to eight runs until a solo home run by Landon Bennett in the seventh frame, made the score 13-6.
Charleston put the game out of reach with four runs in the eighth inning for the final 17-6 advantage. Junior Jesse Mesa (Miramar, Fla./Central Florida JC) led off the inning with a pinch-hit solo home run off Wofford reliever Brandon Yarusi. Bergman singled to left and Rakar walked, setting up a RBI double to left by Kral. Leeds followed up with his second home run of the game, a two-run blast to right center that closed the scorebook for the evening.
Leeds led the Cougars with three hits and five RBI on the evening, including his first multi-home run game of the season. Four Cougars had two hits apiece and Bergman added a season-high four RBI. Senior RHP Kevin Decker (Washington, Ind./Seminole CC) improved to 4-0 with the win, scattering eight hits and allowing five runs in five innings with three strikeouts. Osborne took the loss for the Terriers, tagged for 12 runs on eight hits in 3.2 innings.
The final game of the SoCon series is set for Sunday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.
