Baseball Opens SoCon Play On The Road At Davidson
3/11/2011 4:47:00 AM | Baseball
Games 15-17
#21 College of Charleston (12-2, 0-0 SoCon)
at Davidson (6-7, 0-0 SoCon)
Friday, March 11 • 7:00 p.m.
RHP #23 David Peterson (2-0, 4.20 ERA) vs. LHP #16 Chris Lamb (1-1, 1.64 ERA)
Saturday, March 12 • 2:00 p.m.
RHP #36 Josh Salay (1-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. RHP #26 Ian Horkley (1-1, 3.75 ERA)
Sunday, March 13 • 1:00 p.m.
LHP #31 Josh Renfro (2-1, 4.20 ERA) vs. RHP #14 Andy Bass (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
BATTING PRACTICE
• The Cougars' 8-0 start this season equaled the mark set in 2002 for the best start to a season in program history.
• Charleston has won at least 30 games in nine straight seasons and at least 35 games in seven straight.
• The 44 wins last season marked the fourth time that the Cougars have tallied at least 40 victories.
RANKINGS UPDATE
After a 3-2 week, the College of Charleston moved down to a #21 ranking in the lastest Baseball America poll, down three spots from #18 the week before. The Cougars fell to #22 in the NCBWA poll after being ranked #19 last week. CofC jumped a pair of spots in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll to #23 after being ranked #25 in the previous poll. Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game do not have the College of Charleston included in their rankings.
LAST TIME OUT
Senior RHP Robert Jeroszko allowed one run over seven innings and struck out four to lead #21 College of Charleston to a 12-1 victory over Ball State on Wednesday night at Patriots Point. Redshirt-freshman LF Daniel Aldrich went 2 for 4 with his fourth homer of the season, three runs scored and two RBIs for the Cougars.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
After starting the season with a pair of four-game weekends, the Wildcats have settled into the three-SoCon game routine. Davidson, who is playing its fourth straight weekend at Wilson Field, split its first SoCon series after losing game three to rain. One of four teams to have begun conference play, the Wildcats are tied for second in the league with a 1-1 record. The Wildcats are ranked last in the league in batting average (.230) and fielding percentage (.933), but have the sixth-best team ERA of 3.71.
ALL-TIME VS. DAVIDSON
The Cougars lead the all-time series 28-9 against Davidson and have won the last nine meetings, sweeping the regular season series that past three seasons. On the road at Davidson last season, Charleston won by scores of 10-8, 11-3 and 8-4. Davidson's last win in the series was a 6-5, 11-inning road win on May 18, 2007.
LEEDS NAMED SOCON PLAYER OF THE MONTH FOR FEBRUARY
Redshirt-junior Matt Leeds, the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year, was honored by the league today as he received February Athlete of the Month honors.
Leeds batted .417 with a pair of home runs and 16 RBIs as the nationally-ranked Cougars started the season with a perfect 7-0 record in February. A preseason All-SoCon First Team honoree, Leeds led Charleston to an 11-6, season-opening win against Kentucky with six RBIs, including a three-run home run in the third inning. He followed that performance with four more runs driven in during a win over Miami (Ohio) the following afternoon. Leeds recorded a hit in all but one contest while reaching base at a .568 clip and slugging .708.
WE'RE GOING STREAKING!!!
Redshirt-freshman Daniel Aldrich currently has a nine-game hitting streak dating back to February 25 against Youngstown State. Aldrich has three muti-hit efforts during the streak and has collected 10 RBIs during those games.
HOME COOKING
The Cougars start the 2011 season with 13 of the first 14 games played at the familiar confines of Patriots Point. CofC hosts three weekend tournaments this season, two of them accounting for six of the 13 home contests before the Southern Conference begins on the road at Davidson on March 11.
RAKAR NAMED 2011 SOCON PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Senior Cole Rakar has been selected as the 2011 Southern Conference Preseason Player of the Year as chosen by the league's baseball coaches. Rakar headlines a conference-high six Cougars chosen to the Preseason All-Conference teams.
As a junior, Rakar led the Southern Conference in runs (76), hits (102) and doubles (26) while finishing in the top 20 nationally in each category. His .378 batting average was third-highest in the league. The center fielder had a team-high 31 multi-hit games, including six three-hit and six four-hit efforts. He ended the season on a nine-game hitting streak and was honored in 2010 as a first team All-SoCon selection, as well as earning NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional All-Tournament Team honors.
SIX COUGARS NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-SOCON TEAMS
Joining senior Cole Rakar on the first team are senior Casey Lucchese and redshirt-juniors Rob Kral, Jose Rodriguez and Matt Leeds. Junior David Peterson was named to the second team.
COUGARS TABBED AS SOCON PRESEASON POLL FAVORITES
The College of Charleston was chosen as the preseason favorite to win the Southern Conference baseball championship in 2011 as selected by the league's coaches and media. The Cougars received all 10 possible first-place votes and 100 points in the coaches' balloting, as coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams.
CofC also grabbed 19 of 22 first-place votes and 239 points in the media poll. The Maroon and Gold return six of eight starters in the field, as well as a pair of weekend starting pitchers from the 2010 team that was 44-19 overall and finished second in the NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional.
LEEDS EARNS COLLEGIATE BASEBALL PRESEASON HONOR
Redshirt-junior Matt Leeds was selected to the Louisville Slugger 2011 Pre-Season All-American team, it was announced today by Collegiate Baseball. Leeds was named to the third team. The 2010 ABCA All-American led the Cougars in slugging percentage (.690), RBI (88) and was fifth in batting average (.326) and third in hits (79). His 21 home runs led the team and the Southern Conference and put him 35th in the country, while his 88 RBI ranked him first in the league and second nationally.
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