Lyon Dominates as Cougars Win in Opener

Friday, February 13

Mount Pleasant, S.C.

4:00 PM

College of Charleston

1-0

Rutgers

0-1

Rutgers

Charleston

2/13/2026 8:13:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

MT PLEASANT, S.C. – Redshirt senior Alex Lyon tossed 4.2 scoreless innings as College of Charleston baseball defeated Rutgers, 8-3, Friday afternoon at Patriots Point.

CofC improves to 20-1 on Opening Day since 2006 and 9-0 under head coach Chad Holbrook.

Junior Brent Gibbs went 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored while graduates Reece Holbrook and Will Tippett also crossed the plate twice in the victory.

CRITICAL POINTS AGAINST RUTGERS:

Leading 2-1, Charleston added to its lead with a three-spot in the second.
Gibbs roped a two-run double to the left-center gap before scoring on redshirt senior Ethan Plyler's two-bagger down the left field line.
Rutgers cut Charleston's lead in half plating a pair in the top of the fourth while the Cougars scored a run in the fourth, fifth and sixth frames.
Lyon took over the junior Hayden Thomas, who tossed 3.1 innings while punching out five batters in the no-decision.
Lyon mowed down the Scarlet Knights needing just 47 pitches.
Sophomore Landon Penfield tied his career high with three walks Friday.

OF NOTE:

Charleston is 1-0 in its first meeting with Rutgers in program history.
CofC has allowed three-or-fewer runs in seven of the nine season openers in the Holbrook Era.
Lyon is in sole possession of having the third-most career appearances in school history with 79.
Freshman Jake Amman made his collegiate debut while Holbrook, Tippett, redshirt junior Braeden Smith and graduate Kurt Rogers all made their Charleston debuts.
Gibbs tallied his 11th career multi-hit game and third three-hit contest.

UP NEXT:
Charleston and Rutgers play a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 14. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 1 p.m. The second game will begin approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of the opener. Game one will be nine innings while the second game is scheduled for a seven-inning contest.

For complete coverage of Charleston baseball, follow us X (@CofCBaseball) and Instagram (@CofC_Baseball).