CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Charleston Southern baseball team is back in action this weekend as the Buccaneers welcome UNC Asheville to Nielsen Field at the CSU Ballpark for a three-game series. The Bucs and Bulldogs will continue Big South Conference play on Friday night with a 6 p.m. start time, while Saturday's doubleheader is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch. All three games are set to be carried live on ESPN+.
Weekend Schedule
Game One – Friday, March 12
Charleston Southern vs. UNC Asheville
6 p.m. * Charleston, S.C. * Nielsen Field at CSU Ballpark *
Live Stats *
ESPN+
Projected Starters: CSU RHP
 R.J. Petit (1-1, 2.70 ERA) vs. AVL RHP Brett Johnson (0-1, 9.64 ERA)
Game Two – Saturday, March 13
Charleston Southern vs. UNC Asheville
1 p.m. * Charleston, S.C. * Nielsen Field at CSU Ballpark *
Live Stats *
ESPN+
Projected Starters: CSU RHP
Krishna Raj (0-1, 3.38 ERA) vs. AVL LHP Jacob Edwards (1-1, 5.73 ERA)
Game Three – Saturday, March 13
Charleston Southern vs. UNC Asheville
40 minutes after conclusion of Game Two * Charleston, S.C. * Nielsen Field at CSU Ballpark *
Live Stats *
ESPN+
Projected Starters: CSU RHP
Daniel Padysak (0-1, 6.75 ERA) vs. AVL RHP Ryan Douglas (0-1, 9.95 ERA)
Recapping Last Weekend
Charleston Southern will look to keep its winning ways rolling this weekend as the Buccaneers welcome UNC Asheville to Nielsen Field. The Bucs took two of three this past weekend against Longwood to claim their first series win in the conference opener since the 2009 season as CSU continues to move forward under the helm of first-year head coach
Marc MacMillan.
The Bucs had a statement win in Friday's opener in topping the visiting Lancers as CSU made their home debut to the 2021 season. R.J. Petit went the distance in a complete-game shutout effort as the redshirt sophomore struck out six in the 7-0 win. Petit was aided by
Dylan Stewart's pair of RBI triples, while
Houston Parker added a double and two RBI in the win.
Saturday's doubleheader featured contributions across the field from the Bucs' pitching staff and offense as CSU split with the Lancers on the afternoon. Longwood claimed the first win, a 10-8 contest, while CSU rallied back to top the Lancers in the series finale, 6-5.
The Bucs were paced by
Connor Aldrich's five-RBI day as the freshman infielder connected on a pair of doubles in the day and recorded multiple hits in both contests. Stewart also hit safely in both games and added two runs on the day, while
Tyrell Brewer ran his hitting streak to six games over the weekend.
Kyle Sandstrom (1-0) picked up the Bucs' win in the second game of the day as the senior left-hander came in from left field to throw two innings of hitless relief.
Krishna Raj and
Daniel Padysak both put together strong starts for the Bucs with the duo combining to throw 10.0 innings with 13 strikeouts while allowing two earned runs.
Bucs Claim Big South Weekly Honors
CSU's success against the Lancers led to the Buccaneers claiming two of the Big South's four weekly baseball honors over the last week. R.J. Petit claimed Big South Starting Pitcher of the Week honors, while
Dylan Stewart was named the conference's Freshman of the Week following the Bucs' series win over Longwood.
Petit previously received Reliever of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors in the 2019 season, before bringing a lot of acclaim to the Bucs leading up to the 2021 campaign.
The two-time Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year showcased why his name is expected to be called early in June as he used just 94 pitches to get through the Longwood lineup in his first collegiate complete-game effort. Petit carried a perfect game into the fifth inning and did not allow a runner to pass second base in the Bucs' 7-0 win over the Lancers.
Stewart earned Freshman of the Week honors for the first time after the Goose Creek, S.C. native paced the Bucs' offense over the weekend. Stewart opened the weekend with a pair of RBI triples on his way to a .556 batting average over the three-game series with the Lancers. He capped off the weekend with the game-winning RBI sacrifice fly in the Bucs' 6-5 win in the series finale.
Young Guns
Part of Charleston Southern's resurgence this season has come at the hands of their freshmen and sophomores as the Bucs are making their impact around the field. Freshmen
Tyrell Brewer and
Dylan Stewart are both among CSU's hitting leaders on the season, while
Connor Aldrich remains among the Bucs' power hitters over the first six games of the season.
Brewer has hit safely in all six games for the Bucs this season and has started in three different positions, most recently at centerfield in the weekend series against the Lancers. He is hitting .426 from the plate with a team-high nine hits, while adding a pair of doubles. Stewart is coming off a weekend where he hit .556 with a pair of RBI triples, while adding four RBI. Aldrich paces the Bucs with five RBI, while adding two doubles over the last four games.
On the mound, the Bucs have also relied on their star freshmen and sophomores this season to pace CSU in the 2021 season. Petit headlines the group, but fellow weekend starters
Krishna Raj and
Daniel Padysak are also among the mix. In the bullpen,
Chase Gockel and
Sam Massey have also posted strong appearances to open the year.
Petit obviously highlights the group following his conference-opening shutout as the sophomore pitcher boasts a 2.70 ERA with an 11:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his 13.1 innings on the mound. Raj has added a 3.38 ERA over his two starts on the season, while Padysak is coming off a seven-strikeout performance over a five-inning start against Longwood. Gockel has made two relief appearances on the year, including a two-inning stint against Boston College that featured four strikeouts. Massey also went two innings in shutout relief against BC in his first action of the season.
All-Time Against UNC Asheville
The Charleston Southern – UNC Asheville series is one of the most extensive to date for the Buccaneers as the series runs all the way back to 1988 when CSU topped the Bulldogs, 7-5, at a neutral site tournament. The Bucs won the first five matchups in the series and six of the first seven games. Overall, CSU leads the all-time series, 55-39 against the Bulldogs.
CSU recently won four of five against the Bulldogs, including claiming the series wins over UNC Asheville in each of the last three matchups. In their previous matchup in 2019 in Asheville, the Bucs claimed the series win with 8-2 and 3-2 victories in a doubleheader at Asheville's Greenwood Field.
R.J. Petit slammed the door with a three-inning relief win in the Bucs' 3-2 win in the opener against the Bulldogs. The nightcap featured a three-hit day by
Dante Blakeney, while the Bucs took advantage of four UNC Asheville errors in the 8-2 win.
Neither team has been able to post a dominant run against each other in the all-time series with the longest winning streak by either side equaling a five-game stretch. The Bucs' longest run came back in 2000 when CSU swept the series against the Bulldogs, and then topped them twice in the conference tournament.
Scouting the Bulldogs
UNC Asheville was selected ninth overall in the conference's preseason poll as voted on by the Big South's head coaches. The Bulldogs received 24 points overall in the poll after posting a 5-11 record in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
Asheville has struggled in the 2021 spring season to date with the Bulldogs posting a 1-7 record and an 0-3 mark in Big South Conference play on the year. The Bulldogs took a season-opening 10-4 win over Western Carolina, before falling in their last seven contests. UNC Asheville dropped series to East Tennessee State and Big South foe High Point, while falling in a midweek home contest to Wofford.
Brandon Lankford leads the Bulldogs' hitting efforts on the season as the senior infielder has hit safely in seven of Asheville's eight games on the year on his way to posting a .345 batting average. He's added a pair of home runs and eight runs scored on the year. Ty Kaufman (.324 BA, 11 hits) and Sebastian Dunn (.300 BA, 5 RBI) are also among the Bulldogs' batting leaders, while Dominic Freeberger had connected on a home run and a team-leading seven RBI to the mix.
Jacob Edwards has posted a team-best three starts in the 2021 season and has pitched a team-high 11 innings on the year. Brett Johnson and Ryan Douglas have also added multiple starts on the year, while four different Asheville pitchers have made four appearances on the mound this season. Overall, Asheville has posted a team 6.99 ERA with a 51:48 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Coming Up on the Schedule
Charleston Southern dives into Big South play as CSU is scheduled to remain in conference competition throughout the remainder of the 2021 spring season with the exception of a midweek contest against South Carolina on April 13.
Next Five Series
- March 16 at Presbyterian
- March 19-20 at Gardner-Webb
- March 23 at Winthrop
- March 26-27 at Presbyterian
- April 1-2 vs. High Point
CSU COVID Restrictions
The Buccaneers also announced capacity limitation for all home events this spring. At this time, only a limited number of guests on the home team's pass list will be allowed in attendance.
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