College of Charleston
Jacksonville
Rodriguez Powers Baseball to 9-5 Victory Over Jacksonville
3/2/2011 1:19:00 AM | Baseball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Redshirt-junior 1B Jose Rodriguez (Hialeah, Fla.) snapped a 5-5 tie in the seventh inning with a three-run home run to right field to lift #18 College of Charleston to a 9-5 victory over Jacksonville University Tuesday evening at Sessions Stadium. Rodriguez also added solo shot in the ninth to seal the win for the Cougars, who improve to 8-0 on the season, equaling the best start in program history.
Charleston fell behind early as Jacksonville scored three first-inning runs off sophomore RHP Christian Powell (Greenwood, S.C.). A pair of walks and a single loaded the bases for Adam Brett Walker, who plated two runs with a single to center. A sacrifice bunt by Jimmy Howick advanced the runners and a sacrifice fly to right scored another run to give the Dolphins a 3-0 lead before the Cougars stepped to the plate.
Jacksonville took a 4-0 lead in the third as Jonathan Murphy doubled to lead off the inning, moved to third on a groundout and stole home on a dropped third strike as the putout was being made at first.
The Cougars started to rally back in the fourth, scoring three runs to cut the Jacksonville lead to 4-3. After senior CF Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) grounded out to open the frame, redshirt-junior DH Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J.) walked and junior RF Marty Gantt (North Augusta, S.C.) doubled to left, putting runners at second and third. Redshirt-junior 3B Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla.) followed up with a two-run double down the left-field line and redshirt-freshman LF Daniel Aldrich (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) ripped a third straight double, this time to right, scoring Leeds from second. Jacksonville got a run back in the bottom of the frame to open a two-run lead after four innings.
A bases-loaded walk by Rodriguez in the fifth, cut the Cougars' deficit to 5-4. Redshirt-freshman C Jimmy Holton (West Palm Beach, Fla.) doubled off the left field wall to open the inning and walks by Rakar and Gantt loaded the bases. Leeds grounded into a fielder's choice for the second out, but Rodriguez fought off Jacksonville reliever Adam Maxon to draw the free pass and score Rakar.
The Cougars broke the game open in the seventh, first knotting the score at 5-5, and then taking their first lead of the game on Rodriguez's third round-tripper of the season. Rakar and Gantt both reached on fielding errors by the Jacksonville shortstop and Rakar scored from third on a wild pitch by Dolphin reliever Will Flor. Gantt moved to third when Flor overthrew second on a failed pickoff attempt and Leeds drew a walk to set the stage for Rodriguez.
Rodriguez's leadoff home run to left in the ninth capped off the victory for the Cougars. The Hialeah, Fla.-native finished the game 4-for-4 with five RBIs. Senior RHP Casey Lucchese (Lexington, Ky.) picked up the win for Charleston, tossing four innings of relief and allowing one run on three hits with three strikeouts. Junior Kyle Owings (Gilbert, S.C.) picked up his second save of the season, scattering two hits over two shutout innings.
The Cougars return home to face Coastal Carolina, Wednesday, March 2, at Patriots Point. First pitch is set for 5:00 p.m.
