Charleston Heads North to Close Regular Season at Delaware

Thursday, May 16

Newark, Del.

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

Delaware

Charleston Heads North to Close Regular Season at Delaware

5/15/2019 9:17:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes (PDF)

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (33-19, 13-8 CAA) at DELAWARE (21-30, 9-12 CAA)
Games No. 54-56 | Newark, Del. | Bob Hannah Stadium

How to Follow the Cougars
Twitter: @CofCBaseball
Live Stats: CofCStats.com
Video: Hens All-Access
Audio: None

Probable Pitchers
Thursday | 7:00 pm ET: RHP Tradd James (3-0, 2.03 ERA, 32 K) vs. LHP Brandon Walter (5-6, 3.48 ERA, 101 K)
Friday | 7:00 pm ET: RHP Grffin McLarty (7-4, 2.18 ERA, 100 K) vs. RHP Chris Ludman (3-7, 5.91 ERA, 49 K)
Saturday | 1:00 pm ET: TBA vs. RHP Joey Silan (3-5, 5.87 ERA, 51 K)

CHARLESTON, S.C. --- The College of Charleston baseball team heads north to Newark, Del. this weekend looking to lock up a first-round bye in next week's Colonial Athletic Association Championship in a three-game series with the Delaware Blue Hens on the regular season's final weekend. First pitch on Thursday is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with junior Tradd James (Sumter, S.C.) taking the ball opposite Delaware redshirt junior Brandon Walter.

Weekend Preview
The Cougars and Blue Hens meet for the 22nd time on Thursday evening in the first game of a pivotal CAA series for both clubs. Charleston looks to lock up the second seed and a first-round bye in the conference tournament, while Delaware is in a battle for a ticket to the tournament.

Scouting Delaware
Delaware carries a 21-30 overall record and sits one game out of spot in the CAA tournament with a 9-12 mark in conference play. The Blue Hens rank fourth in the CAA and 19th in the nation with 19 triples, and have been hit 77 times this season - good for 11th nationally.

Joseph Carpenter leads the Blue Hens with five home runs and a .313 batting average, while Jordan Hutchins paces the team with 16 doubles and 42 runs driven in. Brandon Walter carries a 5-6 record with a 3.48 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 77.2 innings.

Series History
The Cougars lead the all-time series with Delaware, 15-6, after taking three of four from the Blue Hens last season. Delaware knocked Charleston out of the CAA Tournament last season with a 5-1 victory.

Last Five Games in Series
L, 1-5               5/24/18 in Harrisonburg, S.C.
W, 3-2             4/29/18 in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
W, 11-2          4/28/18 in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
W, 5-3             4/27/18 in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
L, 0-9               5/24/17 in Wilmington, N.C.

Last Time Out
The Cougars pushed their win streak to five and overcame their largest deficit of the season with a 9-8 come-from-behind win over The Citadel on Tuesday. Charleston scored five runs in the eighth to complete its comeback from an early 7-1 shortfall.

Closing Stretch
One series remains before next week's 2019 CAA Tournament and the Cougars are one of only two teams that are guaranteed to be among the six-team field. Charleston is currently in second and three games ahead of four teams locked in a tie for third. The Cougars have a magic number of one to clinch a first-round bye heading into a three-game set at Delaware this weekend.

Finishing in Style
Two seniors closed out their tenures at Patriots Point in style in Tuesday's 9-8 win over The Citadel. Seth Wall capped a five-run eighth and drove in the winning run with a sac fly to right. Bradley Dixon then scaled the wall in right center to record the final out and rob The Citadel of a game-tying home run.

Twice as Nice
Freshman Trey Fields picked up his second collegiate win on Tuesday after holding The Citadel to one unearned run on three hits over three and two-thirds innings of relief. The Kingsport, Tenn. native is now 2-0 this season with a 2.63 ERA and six strikeouts in 13.2 innings of work.

The Streak Continues
Charleston ran its win streak to 14 games over The Citadel with its 9-8 come-from-behind victory on Tuesday to extend its lead in the all-time series with its crosstown rivals to 52-41.

Top of the Pile
The Cougars own the best overall record of all NCAA Division I programs in the state of South Carolina this season with a 33-19 mark. Clemson and Wofford are both 31-22 followed by Campbell (29-19), Winthrop (29-20), and South Carolina (27-25).