College of Charleston
Delaware
@CofCBaseball Secures Fifth-Straight CAA Series
4/18/2015 8:41:00 PM | Baseball
NEWARK, Del. – College of Charleston baseball secured its fifth straight Colonial Athletic Association series victory with an 8-3 win over Delaware in game two of the three-game series on Saturday afternoon at Bob Hannah Stadium.
Charleston (27-8, 13-1 CAA) has won four straight and 13 of their last 14 games to remain atop the CAA standings.
It was another double-digit hit day for the Cougars, who performed extremely well in clutch situations, batting 4-for-12 (.333) with two outs and 4-for-7 (.571) with runners in scoring position. Charleston scored six of its eight runs with two-out hits.
Erven Roper had another big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Two games into the series, Roper now has six hits and five RBIs against Delaware pitching. CofC also got two hits out of Blake Butler (2-for-4, two RBIs) and Tommy Richter (2-for-5, run scored).
Nick Pappas and Bradley Jones homered for the Cougars, who entered the weekend ranked 12th nationally in homers as a club.
Brandon Glazer (7-1) gave the Cougars a quality start from the hill, dealing 6.0 innings without allowing an earned run, and holding the Hens to five hits and only one walk. Glazer finished his day with seven strikeouts, none bigger than the seventh one, which bailed the Cougars out of a bases-loaded jam to preserve a then-5-3 lead in the fifth inning.
Will Detwiler and Nathan Helvey combined in relief and kept the Hens off the scoreboard after the seventh inning, with Helvey earning his second save of the season after going 2.0 scoreless innings with one hit and two strikeouts.
Richter was inserted into the lineup as the designated hitter Saturday, and wasted no time making an impact as he drove the first pitch he saw up the middle for a one-out, first-inning single. With two outs later in the inning, Butler went to his opposite field for a double to right center, and the speedy Richter hustled around the bases to score from first base.
The Cougars got their big inning in the third, with Ryan Brown dropping a bunt to reach base with one out, and Carl Wise drawing a two-out walk to put two runners on base. Butler singled through the left side with a 2-2 count for his second RBI of the ballgame, before Pappas jumped all over the first pitch he saw and smashed a towering shot over the scoreboard in right field with two aboard, propeling the Cougars to a 5-0 lead.
The Hens mounted a comeback effort in the bottom half of the inning, aided by a Cougar fielding error which benefitted UD an extra out. With two outs and two runners aboard, Zach Lopes singled to center, and Norm Donkin cleared the bases on a triple to quickly trim CofC's lead to 5-3.
Delaware threatened in the fifth inning, loading the bases on an infield single, walk and hit batsman, but Glazer punched out UD's cleanup hitter on strikes to keep the lead intact.
The Cougars plated an insurance run after the scare, when Morgan Phillips drove a triple to centerfield in the sixth, and Roper sent a clutch, two-out RBI single past a diving second baseman – despite falling in a 1-2 count – to deliver Phillips to the plate.
Jones homered to left center on the first pitch of the ninth inning, and back-to-back hits by Roper and Champ Rowland stretched CofC's lead to 8-3.
The Cougars will look to complete what would be their fourth CAA sweep in five total series on Sunday, with Wade Arduini handling the pitching responsibilities against UD's Chad Martin. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
POSTGAME NOTES
Charleston entered the week ranked No. 22 by both Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), and No. 30 by Collegiate Baseball, while receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll (No. 29) and D1Baseball Poll (No. 26).
The Cougars have scored in the first inning in 19 of their 35 games this year, and in nine of their last 11. CofC has outscored its opponents 50-13 in the first inning, and is 18-1 when getting on the board in the first frame.
The Cougar bats achieved 10 or more hits for the 22nd time this season and 10th time in 11 outings.
Charleston hit multiple home runs for the second straight day and 14th time this season, going 13-1 on those occasions.
Blake Butler has reached base successfully* in 33 straight games going all the way back to opening weekend. On the season, Butler has at least one base hit in 31 of CofC's 35 games. The game was his 18th with multiple hits.
Carl Wise has reached base* in 21 consecutive games.
*A reached-base streak includes base hits, walks, and hit by pitches. Reaching on an error or fielder's choice does not extend a reached-base streak.
