CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern hits the road for the first time in the 2021 season as the Buccaneers make the trip to Clinton, S.C. for a midweek Big South contest at Presbyterian College. First pitch between the Bucs and the Blue Hose at the PC Baseball Complex is set for 3 p.m.
Game Day
Charleston Southern at Presbyterian
3 p.m. * Clinton, S.C. * PC Baseball Complex *Â
Live Stats
Projected Starters: CSU LHP
Sam Massey (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. PC LHP Clark Dearman (0-0, 13.50 ERA)
Recapping Last Weekend
The Bucs took two of three from UNC Asheville to win their second conference series in as many weekends as CSU bounced back from a Friday night loss to the Bulldogs to sweep Saturday's doubleheader.
Houston Parker (.500 BA, 1 HR, 4 RBI) swung the hot bat for the Bucs over the series as the junior infielder connected on hits over every contest of the week.
Johnny Oliveira added a pair of RBI triples in the final game of Saturday's doubleheader, while the Bucs' pitching staff featured strong performances on the mound by
Krishna Raj and
Daniel Padysak in the pair of wins.
UNC Asheville took advantage of an eight-run fifth inning in the opening game of the weekend as the Bulldogs took the series opener on Friday night at Nielsen Field at the CSU Ballpark. The Bucs bounced back with a 15-5 win in the second game of the series as CSU exploded for 13 runs over a five-inning span, while Raj pitched into the sixth inning in picking up his first win in the Blue & Gold.
Padysak was on point in the final game of the series with the freshman right-hander going 7.1 innings and carrying a four-hitter before being removed late in the contest.
Dante Blakeney connected on a two-run, pinch-hit home run, while Oliveira's pair of RBI triples highlighted a Buccaneers offensive explosion that featured 24 run and 27 hits over the final day of the series.
Bucs Capturing the Big South's Weekly Honors
Houston Parker became the third Buccaneer to claim Big South Conference Weekly honors as the junior infielder claimed the conference's Player of the Week recognition for his performances against UNC Asheville this past weekend.
Parker paced the Bucs in hits, runs, RBI, and added a team-best three extra-base hits in the Bucs' series win over UNC Asheville. Parker hit safely in all three games and added a pair of multi-RBI efforts as CSU took their second conference series to start Big South play this spring.
Parker provided CSU's offense in the opener against UNC Asheville on Friday as the junior connected on two of CSU's eight hits in the game and added two RBI in the Bucs' 15-3 loss. On Saturday, Parker connected on the Bucs' first home run of the 2021 season with his two-run shot putting the Bucs back in the lead in the bottom of the third inning in the eventual 15-5 win. He scored two of CSU's runs in the Bucs' win in the series finale.
2021 Bucs' Big South Weekly Awards
Starting Pitcher of the Week
Player of the Week
Freshman of the Week
Digging The Long Ball
The Bucs finally cracked the home run column over this past weekend as
Houston Parker,
Reid Hardwick, and
Dante Blakeney all left Nielsen Field at the CSU Ballpark for the first time in the 2021 season. The trio of Bucs all connected on home runs in Saturday's doubleheader to pace CSU's sweep over the Bulldogs on the final day of the series.
Parker's shot, a two-run blast in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader gave the Bucs the 4-3 lead in the bottom of the third inning. It marked his first home run of the season and the Bucs' first of the year as a team.
Hardwick followed two innings later with a solo shot in the fifth inning for his first home run of the season and helped extend the CSU lead to 8-5.
Blakeney provided the fireworks in the final game of the series as the senior powered the ball down the right field line and over the fence for a two-run shot to cap the Bucs' scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Two Triples, Let's Make History Twice
This past weekend marked the second time in as many series that Charleston Southern had a player connect on a pair of triples in the same game.
Dylan Stewart hit a pair of RBI three-baggers in the first game against Longwood to become just the third player in CSU history with multiple triples in a single game.
On Saturday afternoon against UNC Asheville,
Johnny Oliveira became the fourth Buccaneer to accomplish the feat as he slid into third on two separate occasions in the Bucs' 9-1 win over UNC Asheville. Both of his triples ended up on the right side of the field and both drove in runs to help key CSU's offensive explosion over the weekend.
Let's Make It Three
Charleston Southern won back-to-back series to start Big South play for the first time since the 2004 season as the Buccaneers continue to make strides under the helm of first-year head coach
Marc MacMillan. The Bucs midweek contest against Presbyterian will count toward current Big South standings, but CSU's next series against Gardner-Webb over the weekend will continue the Bucs' ascendancy in conference play.
You'd have to go all the way back to the 2002 season for the last time CSU opened Big South play with three consecutive conference series wins as the Bucs topped Liberty, Radford, Coastal Carolina, and UNC Asheville. CSU has a favorable slate ahead with Gardner-Webb (2-7), Presbyterian (1-5) and High Point (5-7) as the next three conference weekend series on schedule as the Bucs will look to continue to set records and make history to start MacMillan's tenure.
Presbyterian's Time Off
Tuesday's competition will mark Presbyterian's first game on the field since February 27 as the Blue Hose have been on a pause due to COVID-19 concerns. PC enters the Tuesday game with a 1-5 record on the season following a season-opening sweep after falling at No. 17 Auburn, while adding losses to Wofford and Eastern Kentucky.
All-Time Series
Presbyterian holds the all-time 23-11 series edge over the Buccaneers dating back to their first contest back in the 1993 season. The Blue Hose hold the 9-5 advantage on games played in Clinton, S.C.
CSU's longest winning streak in the series came during a three-game stretch against the Blue Hose over the 2010 and 2011 seasons, while PC's longest winning streak, a six-game run, came over the 2008-2010 years.
In their last series in the 2019 season, the Bucs took the opener of the weekend, 10-5, highlighted by a two-double game by
Brooks Bryan in the CSU win. PC would rally back to take the final two games and the series with a 6-4 win on Saturday and a 15-6 win in the series finale.
Weekend Schedule Change
Charleston Southern's series this weekend against Gardner-Webb has been adjusted from a Friday-Saturday series to a Saturday-Sunday three-game set at Bill Masters Field at John Henry Moss Stadium due to a COVID-related pause within the Gardner-Webb program. Saturday's doubleheader will start at 2 p.m., while Sunday's series finale is set for a 3 p.m. first pitch.
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 20-21 at Gardner-Webb
- March 23 at Winthrop
- March 26-27 at Presbyterian
- April 1-2 vs. High Point
- April 9-10 at Campbell
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