Buccaneer head coach Stuart Lake, who begins his sixth season at the helm of the CSU program, will lean on an experienced lineup and a schedule which features 19 of the Bucs' first 20 games in Charleston to get the Bucs off on the right foot in 2014. He hopes a roster that includes nine seniors – and three of the Big South's top juniors - will be enough to turn around the Bucs struggles in close games a season ago.

Just the way his team and its 19 upperclassmen have handled themselves in the offseason has Lake confident his team will be a major factor in the South Division race.

"Those guys have handled themselves well all year," Lake said earlier this week. "They have taken care of business in the classroom, the weight room, and have improved our practices. You can tell they are a more mature and structured group. It has been a fun year so far and now we get to see if that leadership can convert into wins on the field."

Lake returns all three of his all-conference selections from a season ago, led by centerfielder Bobby Ison. The junior was selected as the Big South Conference Preseason Player of the Year and will fill the leadoff spot for a Bucs' lineup that returns over 70 percent of its offense from a season ago. He led the Big South in hits with 84 in his sophomore season and led the Bucs in doubles and stolen bases in starting every game in centerfield, but Lake feels Ison still has a lot of room to grow as a player.

"Bobby has continued to work on every aspect of his game," Lake said of Ison. "He's tried to become more complete as a leadoff hitter, seeing he can do a lot more than just play for the single. He's been working on his bunting and his base-running with (Jon) Coutlangus. He's become an even tougher out and we're at our best when he's on-base."

Senior Zach Hagaman was named First Team All-Big South last year and will split his time among the DH spot, right field, and the mound. He will likely bat fourth or fifth in Lake's lineup after leading CSU with six home runs a year ago and finishing second on the team with 28 RBI.  

Hagaman will rotate with junior Chase Shelton in right field and at DH. Shelton finished his sophomore season batting .318 with 12 doubles. He had 18 hits over his final 11 games. 

Bucs' senior Alex Tomasovich will shift from shortstop to third in his final season. An All-Big South All-Academic Team member as a junior, Tomasovich was second on the team with a .343 batting average, 71 hits and multi-hit games with 21.

Seniors Brian Welch and Nick Berry, who redshirted last season, will share time in left field. Welch batted .283 with 32 hits and four doubles. Berry played in only two games last season before suffering a season-ending injury against The Citadel. He started 17 games as a junior in 2012 in the Bucs' outfield. Speedy sophomore Austin Hicks might also factor into the Bucs' outfield alignment and will be leaned upon heavily to pinch run in key situations.

Sophomore Kevin Hickey will slide over from second base to shortstop defensively and will try to build on an up-and-down year offensively as a freshman. He had a season-high seven hits in the Bucs' series against Siena last year.

Senior Cody Austin and freshmen Nate Blanchard and Will Hartsell are fighting for the starting job at second base. All three could see time there early in the season and Austin started nine games there in 2013.

Lake is excited about the depth he has at catcher. The Bucs return sophomore Zach Haralambis and junior college transfers Andrew Widell and Sam Remick will all see time behind home plate, giving Lake the most options he's had at the position in his five seasons at CSU.

Haralambis started eight games there last season. Widell batted .306 last season in a strong junior college league and will give the Bucs a left-handed bat off the bench. Remick is a strong defensive catcher with a good arm and will handle the Bucs' staff well.

Junior Robbie Streett will power the middle of the Bucs' lineup and hold his spot at first base after starting 47 games there lasts season. He batted .266 a year ago with 10 doubles and 25 RBI. Freshman Andrew Locklear will back up Streett and will be a left-handed bat off the bench.  

Charleston Southern will turn to senior Tory Schroff as their ace in 2014. As a junior, he earned All-Big South honors following a 6-2 start to the year and a 3.52 ERA, best among Buc starters. He also held opponents to a .255 average.

Much like Schroff emerged as weekend starter in the opening weeks of last season, Lake will be looking for one of a number of capable right-handers to help replace graduated seniors Ryan Gunther and Kevin Buran. Gunther had a team-high seven wins last season and was drafted in the 12th round by the Braves.

Senior Levi Mauldin will get the first Saturday start of the season for the Buccaneers, in between left-handers Schroff and Andrew Tomasovich. Mauldin was 1-1 last season and pitched well for the Bucs in wins over UNC Wilmington, Savannah State, and USC Upstate.

Sophomore Andrew Tomasovich will take the ball on Sundays for the Bucs as the season opens. He made six starts last season before moving to the bullpen where he had 13 scoreless appearances. He also had one of the Bucs' strongest starts of the season, holding Clemson to four hits and striking out five in a tough 4-3 loss to the Tigers in March.

Right-hander Austin Weekley will resume his role as the Bucs' closer in 2014 after tying the CSU record for saves in a season a year ago. The Charleston-area product had eight saves last year for the Bucs and led the team with a 3.31 ERA. He struck out 23 in 32.2 innings of work and made a team-high 27 appearances.

Junior Joe Pistacchio will try to bolster the Bucs' bullpen with Weekley as another right-hander who can help the Bucs win tight games. He gave up just three earned runs in 12 relief appearances in the final two months of the 2013 season.

Lake also has two experienced lefties to turn to out of his bullpen. Chase Shelton and Zach Hagaman combined to make 28 appearances last season. Hagaman picked up an early-season win against UNC Wilmington, while Shelton made five midweek starts, going 1-2 with a 4.37 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 22.2 innings pitched.

Sophomore Kyle Dyson will try to build on a solid freshman season, which saw him go 1-0 in 10 appearances and lift the Bucs to a road win with a scoreless outing at USC Upstate. He could make midweek starts or come on as a long or middle reliever.

Junior Denis Buckley returns after missing 2013 with offseason surgery. He was 2-0 with a 3.10 ERA in 2012 and could emerge as a midweek starter for the Bucs as he continues to build arm strength. 

A trio of true freshmen could impact the Bucs' midweek starts and bullpen. Locklear, Tyler Weekley, and Evan Nations all have been impressive in their first fall at CSU and are likely to see innings very early in the season. Locklear has shown a competitive side and has thrown strikes, while Weekley has been the most complete of the three with four pitches. Nations is more likely to come out of the bullpen.

Schedule

The Bucs open with weekend series against Villanova, Siena, Holy Cross, and Toledo to set the stage for Big South play, which begins in mid-March. CSU plays at College of Charleston (Feb. 18) and Georgia (March 5) in its only road games before their series at Longwood (March 14-16).

The Bucs host Radford (March 21-23) in their Big South home opener and host High Point (April 4-6) and Gardner-Webb (April 11-13) in key home conference series before closing with five of their final 16 games on the road. The Big South Championship is May 20-25 at Winthrop Univ. in Rock Hill, S.C.

-CSU-