Higgins Blanks Stony Brook in CSU Baseball Win

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Senior pitcher Cody Higgins shut down the Stony Brook offense and the CSU bats broke out in a 10-0 Buccaneer baseball victory on Sunday at Collins Park. Higgins pitched nine shutout innings, allowing just five hits and three walks while striking out three in his first win of the 2008 season. A pair of doubles from freshman Derek Smith and a solo home run by freshman Steve Antolik led the Buccaneer offense.

After a scoreless inning and a half, CSU (2-5) got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Smith hit a double that bounced off the wall in center field and scored when the next batter, sophomore Will Rodriguez, hit a double of his own to left field. Junior Keith Hustedt then drew a walk, bringing redshirt-freshman Mike Beattie to the plate for the Buccaneers. With two runners on, Beattie hit a single to right center that allowed Rodriguez to score from second. CSU pushed its lead to 3-0 when a single by junior Cory Trudell allowed Husted to score from second.

Higgins (1-1) continued to keep Stony Brook (2-1) at bay, allowing the Buccaneer offense to swing freely, which resulted in four runs in the bottom of the third inning. Freshman Tyler Thornburg started the rally with a one-out single to center, advancing to third on Smith’s second double, with this one bouncing off the base of the outfield wall in left center. Rodriguez then drew a walk to load the bases for CSU with just one out.

With the squeeze on, Husted laid down a bunt that rolled to a stop just inside the first base line as Thornburg slid across home plate. After a a strike out gave the home team two outs, Trudell drew a bases loaded walk that forced Smith in from third and gave the Buccaneers a 5-0 lead. Junior Mark Perry, the CSU leadoff hitter, then drove a two-run single up the middle that brought Rodriguez and Hustedt in to score.

The Buccaneers again loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth inning, increasing their lead to 8-0 when Antolik scurried home from third on a wild pitch. All the while, Higgins confounded the Seawolves’ offense with his assortment of pitches to keep the shutout intact.

Antolik led off the bottom of the sixth inning with his first home run of the season as his shot easily cleared the wall in left field. The margin was pushed into double digits later in the inning when a single by Beattie scored Thornburg, who had advanced to third on a wild pitch.

Higgins allowed just one hit over the next three innings, securing arguably the most impressive win of his CSU career.

The Bucs will be in action next at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 4 when they take on Toledo at Buccaneer Field on the campus of Charleston Southern.