No. 7 Charleston Southern Knocked Out By No. 6 UNC Asheville

Sophomore Brandon Roberts

ROCK HILL, S.C. – UNC Asheville starter Graham Baughn pitched a three-hit, complete game shutout in leading the No. 6 seed Bulldogs past No. 7 seed Charleston Southern, 3-0, in Game A of the 2007 Big South Conference Baseball Championship, May 22 at The Winthrop Ballpark on the campus of Winthrop University. With the victory, Asheville improves to 21-36 and advances to the main double-elimination bracket of the tournament. The Bulldogs will play either No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina or No. 2 seed Winthrop on Wednesday, depending on the outcome of tonight’s Game B between No. 5 High Point-No. 8 Radford.

Charleston Southern threatened first in the top of the third inning. Wes Brundridge got the game’s first hit with a two-out single up the middle. He took second on a wild pitch, but was stranded when Baughn struck out Chris Krogmeier. Charleston Southern starter Brandon Roberts did not allow a hit through three innings and retired nine batters in succession until Rob Vernon’s two-out double in the fourth inning. However, he was stranded when David Williams flew out to center to end the inning.

With the game still scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, John Whited opened the frame with a single to center, and moved to second on a walk to Matt Henson. After Whited was forced out at third on Kevin Mattison’s fielder’s choice, Justin Schumer hit a bouncer through the middle that scored Henson from second to give Asheville the first lead of the game. Mattison moved to third and later scored on a fielder’s choice to make it 2-0.

Baughn (7-5) got out of two potential jams in the seventh and eighth innings. He finished the game with a career-high eight strikeouts in recording his third complete game of the season and first shutout of the year.

The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the eighth inning when Mattison singled to center with one out and stole second. After Schumer flied out to left, Vernon singled to advance Mattison to third, and Williams brought Mattison home with a single to right field to make it 3-0. Roberts allowed one hit through five innings, and lasted six innings while allowing three hits, two runs (both earned) and walked two and struck out two. Payton Tweddale tossed the final two innings for CSU and allowed one run on three hits.

Vernon had two hits and an RBI for UNC Asheville. Herzog, Brundridge and Lionel Greene each had singles for Charleston Southern, which ends its season at 22-34.

UNC Asheville Head Coach Willie Stewart

“That’s a big game on Graham Baughn’s part. He saved us some arms in the bullpen today and for the tournament. We were struggling to score runs, and we needed him to go out and do what he did today and control the ballgame. We expect Alan DeRatt to come out tomorrow (against Coastal or Winthrop) and pitch a great game. We’re sitting where we want to be. We’ve got our ace going against the top teams and that’s where we wanted to be tomorrow.”

Charleston Southern Head Coach Jason Murray

“What a great start to the Big South Tournament when you have two pitchers going out there and pitching a heck of a ball game, so that’s how baseball should be played, it starts on the mound with both pitchers pitching really good. I loved the way Brandon Roberts, a sophomore, pitched. He really gave us a chance to win and our defense held up great. You tip the hats to Asheville for getting the key hits in the sixth inning and pushed them on across in the eighth.”