BOONE, N.C. - Junior CF Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Wando) hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5 with four RBI and senior 2B Joey Bergman (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) added four hits and scored four runs as College of Charleston rolled to a 15-5 victory over host Appalachian State in game one of a Southern Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Smith Stadium. The Cougars improve to 37-14 overall and 20-8 in the SoCon. Game two has been postponed due to rain and will be made up tomorrow as part of a doubleheader starting at 11:00 a.m.
Rakar became the first Cougar to hit for the cycle since Ben Lasater completed the feat in a 21-9 win at Wofford on April 1, 2007. Rakar accomplished the task in order, a bunt single in the first, a double to left center in the second, a RBI triple to right center in the third and a three-run homer in the seventh. The junior also walked in the fifth inning.
Charleston roughed up App State starter Matt Andress for four runs in the top of the first, sending eight batters to the plate and knocking five hits. Bergman led off with a single through the left side and the bunt single by Rakar and a walk to redshirt-sophomore Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) loaded the bases for sophomore 3B Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla./American Heritage). Leeds roped a RBI single to right for a 1-0 lead and senior 1B Greg Blake (Westerly, R.I./Lake City CC) followed with a two-run single down the right-field line, but was thrown out at second trying to stretch the base hit into a double. Sophomore LF Jose Rodriguez (Hialeah, Fla./Broward College) plated the fourth run with a RBI single to center, scoring Leeds.
Appalachian State (32-13-1, 11-12-1) cut the Charleston lead in half, scoring twice in the bottom of the opening frame. Ryan Stetson singled off the thigh of Cougar sophomore RHP David Peterson (Walnut Creek, Calif./Los Lomas) and advanced to second on a balk. Wes Hobson scored him on a RBI double to right and David Towarnicky singled through the left side to bring home Hobson.
The Cougars opened a 9-2 lead with five runs in the top of the third, chasing Andress to the bench in the process. Leeds walked on six pitches and Blake singled through the right side to put runners at first and second. Rodriguez knocked a RBI single into left and freshman DH Dre Watts (Laurens, S.C./Laurens) cleared the bases with a three-run blast over the wall in left for his third round-tripper of the season. After Bergman was hit by a pitch, Rakar plated the senior with a triple to the wall in right center for the seven-run advantage. ASU scored a single run in the bottom of the third on a RBI single up the middle by Towarnicky, cutting the CofC lead to 9-3.
The teams traded pairs of runs in the fifth, running the score to 11-5. Charleston plated runs on a RBI double to right by Kral and on a groundout by Leeds, while the Mountaineers scored on a RBI double to left center by Hobson and a deep single to short by Dowdy.
CofC added three more runs in the seventh off ASU reliever Zach Joyce to increase the lead to 14-5. Junior SS Jamie Holler (Rock Hill, S.C./USC Sumter JC) led off with a single up the middle and stole second, while Bergman singled through the right side to advance Holler to third. Rakar's three-run blast came on a 2-0 pitch that cleared the wall in straightaway center for his fifth home run of the season. The Cougars added a final run in the eighth on Bergman's RBI double to right that scored junior PH Hutson Dodds (Charleston, S.C./Porter Gaud).
Charleston pounded out 19 hits on the afternoon, led by Rakar and Bergman's four hits and a three-hit performance by Watts. Peterson picked up his eighth win of the season, tossing five innings and allowing five runs, four earned on eight hits. The sophomore struck out three, walked two and has won seven of his last eight decisions.
Hobson had three doubles for Appalachian State, while he and Towarnicky each had two RBI. Andress was tagged for 10 hits and nine runs in 2-2/3 innings, falling to 8-3 on the year.
