Game 39 - Tuesday, April 20 • 6:00 p.m.
College of Charleston (27-11, 12-6 SoCon)
RHP #36 Josh Salay (0-3, 7.96 ERA)
vs.
The Citadel (26-13, 14-1 SoCon)
RHP #5 Austin Pritcher (2-2, 4.97 ERA)
Sophomore RHP David Peterson tossed a complete-game shutout with career-high eight strikeouts to lead College of Charleston to a 3-0 victory over visiting Wofford Sunday afternoon at Patriots Point. The win completed a three-game sweep of the Terriers and is the third time this season the Cougars have swept a SoCon opponent. Junior CF Cole Rakar leads the team with a .389 average, 63 hits and 18 stolen bases. Sophomore 3B Matt Leeds tops the team in home runs with 16, doubles with 16 and the RBI chart with 57. He also has a .811 slugging percentage.
The Bulldogs ended their four-game losing streak by sweeping Furman at Riley Park over the weekend. Down 4-0 early on Sunday, the Bulldogs rallied late and hit a pair of sac flies in the bottom of the ninth to earn a 6-5 come-from-behind win. Matt Simonelli leads The Citadel with a .356 average and 44 RBI. Nick Orvin has a team-high 53 hits and seven home runs. Tonight's starter, Austin Pritcher, is 2-2 in five starts, with a 4.97 ERA and has opponents hitting .297 against him. He has 13 strikeouts in 29 innings and has allowed 33 hits.
In the College of Charleston's modern baseball era since 1991, the Cougars trail the all-time series 28-34 against The Citadel. Last season, the Cougars rolled over the Bulldogs in the midweek game at Patriots Point by a score of 21-8. The Citadel exacted revenge in the weekend series at Riley Park in May as they swept the College of Charleston by scores of 14-3, 10-4, and 7-0.
Tonight's starting pitcher for The Citadel, Austin Pritcher, is the younger brother of Cougars' junior C Robert Pritcher. Both brothers played for James Island High School and Robert spent the last two seasons at Spartanburg Methodist College.
TUESDAY - Junior RHP Josh Salay returns to the mound as a starter after coming out of the bullpen for his last seven appearances. In his four starts earlier this season, Salay posted a 0-2 record with a 9.33 ERA. In his last start on March 14 against Samford, the right-hander allowed seven runs on nine hits over four innings in an 18-4 loss. His last outing was this past Friday evening, when he tossed 1.2 innings of shutout relief with three strikeouts in a 8-2 victory over Wofford.
Here is a look at some of the Cougars' key players last week (April 12-18):
SS Joey Bergman - batted .333 last week with a double, a grand slam and four RBI... scored seven runs... 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts... returned to action at the plate against Charleston Southern on March 24 after hamate bone surgery put him on the shelf earlier this season.
1B Greg Blake - had five hits and a .357 average with a double and four RBI.
DH Kolby Epley - batted .267 with a RBI single in the 5th inning of Friday's win and two doubles in Saturday's victory... had two RBI.
RHP Heath Hembree - took the loss in the 11-10 defeat at USC Upstate, allowing three runs on four walks and one hit in two-thirds of an inning.
2B/RF Baker Knox - had four hits and a .333 average and three RBI... took four walks and was hit by a pitch.
C Rob Kral - walked four times and had four hits for a .250 average in the four games... had a RBI single in the five-run 2nd inning of Friday's win.
3B Matt Leeds - SoCon Player of the Week - team-high .556 average, 1.333 SLG% and 13 RBI last week... had three singles, three doubles, a triple and three home runs for 24 total bases in 18 at-bats... had a three-run homer (est. 440 feet to straightaway center) in the loss to Upstate Tuesday night... added two hits and three RBI in win over Wofford Friday... first multi-home run game of the season in Saturday's victory... has 12 home runs in his last 19 games.
CF Cole Rakar - had a .267 average last week... hit a two-run double in five-run 2nd inning of Friday's win... went 2-for-4 with three runs scored in Saturday's win... had four walks, was hit by a pitch and struck out twice.
LF Jose Rodriguez - batted .353 with four RBI... had a solo home run in the loss to USC Upstate.
- 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.
Remaining 2010 Cougar Baseball Radio Broadcast Schedule
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
- DENNY'S GRAND SLAM HAS NOTHING ON US
Sophomore Matt Leeds and junior Rob Kral both hammered grand slams in a 12-run second inning and freshman Dre Watts added a third grand slam in the eighth as College of Charleston cruised to a 28-6 victory over host Charleston Southern March 24 at CSU Ballpark. The 12 runs in the inning set a program record for most runs in the second inning and the three grand slams in a game tied a Cougar baseball mark set by the team in 2008, as Jeremie Tice, Gabe Marchant and current junior Cole Rakar all hit grand slams in a 31-3 win over Davidson on March 21. The second-inning output was one off the all-time record of 13, set in the fifth inning of a 27-9 win over Furman on March 29, 2009.
- LEEDS GARNERS SOCON PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD
Sophomore 3B Matt Leeds was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week for all games from April 12-18 after leading College of Charleston to a 3-1 week, including a weekend sweep of visiting Wofford at Patriots Point. Leeds batted .556 (10-18) on the week with three home runs, three doubles, a triple and 13 RBI.
Leeds had at least two hits in all four games last week and reached the five-RBI plateau in two games. In the midweek clash at USC Upstate, his three-run blast to straightaway center cleared the backdrop at approximately 440 feet, as he went 3-for-4 adding a single and a triple. During the week, Leeds drove in 13 of the Cougars 38 runs (34.2%) for the week and only struck out twice in 18 at-bats.
- COUGARS SWEEP SOCON WEEKLY AWARDS
College of Charleston junior DH Rob Kral was named the Southern Conference Baseball Player of the Week, while teammate senior RHP Kevin Decker 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.
College of Charleston senior Joey Bergman was selected as the Southern Conference Player of the Year by the league's baseball coaches, the SoCon announced Thursday. Senior Ryan Daniels joins Bergman on the Preseason All-Conference First Team at the designated hitter spot. Junior Cole Rakar 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 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.
The Cougars host SoCon rival Elon for a three-game set this weekend at Patriots Point.
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