Baseball Opens SoCon Tourney Against #7 Appalachian State
5/26/2010 1:00:00 AM | Baseball
2010 Southern Conference Tournament
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 • 9:00 a.m.
#2 College of Charleston (41-15, 22-8 Southern)
RHP #9 Kevin Decker (7-0, 3.69 ERA)
vs.
#7 Appalachian State (35-16-1, 14-14-1 Southern)
LHP #29 Tyler Jackson (2-4, 4.79 ERA)
BATTING PRACTICE
- Charleston is looking for its second Southern Conference Tournament Championship since winning its first in 2006, when the Cougars went on to win the Lexington Regional and advanced to the Atlanta Super Regional.
- The Cougars open the 2010 tourney against #7 seed Appalachian State, who they have not faced in the postseason since 2007 when the Mountaineers eliminated CofC with a 11-10 victory on May 24.
- Charleston is 1-2 all-time against Appalachian State in the SoCon Tournament. The lone win came on May 19, 2000, a 9-2 victory.
- Charleston is 5-6 all-time in its first game at the Southern Conference Tourmanent.
- Charleston has won at least 30 games in nine straight seasons and at least 35 games in seven straight.
- The 41 wins so far this season marks the fourth time that the Cougars have tallied at least 40 victories.
- Junior CF Cole Rakar leads the team with a .379 average, 86 hits, 25 doubles, 67 runs and 18 stolen bases. Sophomore 3B Matt Leeds tops the team in home runs with 19, the RBI chart with 77 and leads the team with a .731 slugging percentage.
ALL-TIME VS. APPALACHIAN STATE
The Cougars are 30-7 all-time against Appalachian State, including a three-game sweep at Appalachian State earlier this month. Last season at Patriots Point, the Cougars won the first game of the series 5-3, but fell the next two days, 7-3 and 6-4.
START IT UP
WEDNESDAY - Senior RHP Kevin Decker makes his 10th start this season. In his last start against Appalachian State on May 16, Decker picked up his seventh win of the season, tossing seven innings of shutout ball, giving up only three singles and striking out four.
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
May 26-30 at the SoCon Tournament
LEEDS SWEEPS PLAYER OF THE YEAR HONORS; THREE OTHER JOIN ON MEDIA FIRST TEAM
Just 24 hours after being crowned the 2010 Southern Conference Player of the Year by the league's coaches, sophomore 3B Matt Leeds was again honored with that title, this time by the voting members of the Southern Conference Sports Media Association (SCSMA). Leeds was a .340 hitter during the regular season, while belting SoCon-highs with 20 home runs and 80 RBIs. As a sophomore, Leeds started in all 56 games for the nation's 29th-ranked team. He recorded a .730 slugging percentage with 22 doubles and 57 runs scored.
Joining Leeds on the all-conference first team are junior CF Cole Rakar, sophomore LF Jose Rodriguez and redshirt-sophomore C Rob Kral. Rakar and Rodriguez were repeat first-teamers from the coaches' ballot yesterday, while Kral joined the first team after earning a second-team nod by the coaches. Senior 1B Greg Blake and senior RHP Kevin Decker represent the Cougars on the conference's second team. Blake batted .341 on the season with 14 home runs, 49 RBI and a team-best three triples. Decker was a perfect 7-0 on the season in nine starts. The senior led the team with a 3.69 ERA and kept opposing batters to a .243 batting average.
This season's honorees mark the ninth straight season that College of Charleston has had a Southern Conference Player or Pitcher of the Year and the seventh straight season in which the program has had at least four selections to the all-conference teams.
LEEDS NAMES SOCON PLAYER OF THE YEAR; RAKAR AND RODRIGUEZ GARNER COACHES FIRST TEAM NODS
Sophomore 3B Matt Leeds has been voted the 2010 Southern Conference Player of the Year, while junior CF Cole Rakar and sophomore LF Jose Rodriguez joined Leeds on the all-conference first team. Senior 1B Greg Blake and senior RHP Kevin Decker join redshirt-sophomore C Rob Kral on the conference's second team. Freshman RHP Christian Powell was the Cougars' lone representative on the conference's All-Freshman team. The league's 11 head coaches selected two all-conference teams and an all-freshman team.
Leeds provided the power in the middle of the order for the conference's most potent offense. The sophomore batted .340 for the regular season while pacing the league with 20 home runs and 80 RBIs. Leeds had a pair of multi-homer games, and he drove in more than one run 21 times in 56 starts. In addition to his home runs, Leeds also belted 22 doubles, scored 57 runs and recorded a .730 slugging percentage.
RAKAR HITS FOR THE ALL-ELUSIVE CYCLE
Junior CF Cole Rakar hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5 with four RBI as College of Charleston rolled to a 15-5 victory over host Appalachian State May 15 at Smith Stadium. 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. The junior 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. He also walked in the fifth inning.
LEEDS HAS RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCE AGAINST UPSTATE
Sophomore Matt Leeds went 5-for-5 with three doubles and two home runs to propel College of Charleston to a 20-3 victory over USC Upstate May 11 at Patriots Point. The 14 total bases for Leeds sets a program single-game mark, while his three doubles equals the Cougars' single-game record.
Leeds also became the first Cougar to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in a single game since Shawn Lopez achieved the feat on March 27, 1994. His second-inning blast came right-handed off Upstate starter Austin Moyer, while his two-run shot in the fourth was left-handed off reliever Chris Knauff. Leeds broke the single-game total bases mark of 13 set by Lee Curtis against Virginia Military Institute on May 12, 2002 and tied the doubles record held by eight Cougars, most recently Austin Morgan on May 2, 2009.
LEEDS NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Sophomore Matt Leeds was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III First Team. The honor is voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) whose schools are in the region. By being named to the first team, Leeds advances to the national Academic All-America ballot. In order to be nominated for this honor, a student-athlete must be a starter or significant reserve with legitimate athletic credentials and at least a 3.30 grade point average in both undergraduate and graduate work. The student-athlete must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution and completed at least one full academic year at the same school. Leeds, an economics major with a 3.89 GPA, leads the Cougars with 19 home runs and 70 RBI.
DENNY'S GRAND SLAM HAS NOTHING ON US
Sophomore Matt Leeds and redshirt-sophomore 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.
KRAL EARNS SECOND SOCON PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Redshirt-sophomore C Rob Kral was named the Southern Conference Baseball Player of the Week for the period from Apr. 26 - May 2. It marks the second time this season he has received the honor. Kral hit three home runs and six RBI to lead the Cougars to a three-game sweep over Davidson this past weekend. He went 7-for-12 (.583) and posted a .643 on-base percentage while adding five runs for CofC. After recording a double and scoring twice in the series opener, Kral hit a home run and RBI on Saturday. He belted a pair of home runs in the series finale, giving him 13 on the season.
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 redshirt-sophomore 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 redshirt-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.
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