Baseball Heads to Columbia to Face South Carolina
4/6/2010 9:00:00 PM | Baseball
Game 31 • Wednesday, April 7 • 7:00 p.m.
#26 College of Charleston (23-7, 8-4 Southern)
LHP #30 Jake Zokan (2-0, 6.23 ERA)
vs.
#8 South Carolina (22-6, 7-2 Southeastern)
RHP #44 Colby Holmes (1-0, 4.50 ERA)
- BATTING PRACTICE
Five different College of Charleston batters hit home runs as the Cougars earned a Southern Conference sweep of Georgia Southern with an 11-8 victory on Sunday. Thomas Brittle went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI, and Rob Kral, Matt Leeds, Baker Knox, and Greg Blake each homered for the Cougars. David Peterson earned the victory, allowing 13 hits and seven runs, five earned in six innings. Junior CF Cole Rakar has a team-high .416 average, 52 hits and 15 stolen bases. Leeds tops the team in home runs with 11 and the RBI chart with 39.
- SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
South Carolina is 22-6 and 7-2 in the Southeastern Conference. The Gamecocks are tied with LSU for the lead in league play and one game ahead of Florida in the Eastern Division. South Carolina went 3-1 last week with a win over then-nationally ranked The Citadel, 10-1, on Tuesday, and took two of three over the weekend against Mississippi State.
- ALL-TIME VS. SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina leads the all-time series 41-5, including a pair of wins. The Gamecocks defeated CofC 14-2 in Charleston and 20-6 in Columbia. The last win against South Carolina was March 6, 2007, a 5-4 win in 10 innings over the then-#2 ranked Gamecocks.
- START IT UP
WEDNESDAY - Freshman LHP Jake Zokan takes the mound today for his seventh start of season. In his last outing against Charleston Southern, Zokan earned his second win of the season, tossing five innings and scattering five hits, while allowing two runs with four strikeouts.
- COUGAR PLAYER NOTES
Here is a look at some of the Cougars' key players over the past week:
SS 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... snapped a nine-game hitting streak with a 0-for-4 performance on Friday... rebounded with two hits in Saturday's victory.
1B Greg Blake - led the team in slugging with a 1.400%... batted .400 with three home runs and three RBI... had two home runs in Saturday's victory.
DH Kolby Epley - had a home run and two RBI in Saturday's win.
RHP Heath Hembree - picked up the victory out of the bullpen in Saturday's win to improve to 5-0 on the season.
2B Baker Knox - batted .200 for the week... belted a home run with two RBI in Sunday's win.
C Rob Kral - batted .333 for the week with three home runs and six RBI... had two hits, including the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth of Friday's game... added a home run and two RBI in both Saturday and Sunday's wins... had one of the three grand slams in 28-9 win over Charleston Southern on March 24.
3B Matt Leeds - went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Friday's win... team-best .500 average, four doubles and seven RBI over the four games last week... has eight home runs in his last 11 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 on March 24.
CF Cole Rakar - has an 11-game hitting streak... improved average from .385 to .419 during the streak... team-high three hits, including a home run in Friday's win... four stolen bases in the four games last week.
LF Jose Rodriguez - batted .267 with a home run and four RBI last week.
RHP Tom Schiller - earned a win and a save in two appearances last week... picked up the victory on Friday, tossing a perfect ninth with two strikeouts... went 2.2 innings and allowed one baserunner in Sunday's save.
- 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.
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 WEEKLY SOCON 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.
- ALL-SOCON COUGARS
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.
- ON DECK
The Cougars travel to Greenville for a three-game SoCon series with host Furman. Game times are set for 7:00 p.m. Friday, 5:00 p.m. Saturday, and 1:00 p.m. Sunday.
