CSU Baseball Sweeps Maryland-Eastern Shore

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Colder temperatures couldn’t cool down freshman CSU outfielder Steve Antolik. He helped the Buccaneer baseball team sweep Maryland-Eastern Shore with a pair of victories over the Hawks in a Sunday doubleheader. CSU defeated UMES 8-6 in the first game and completed the sweep with a 12-4 win in the night cap. Antolik went 5-for-9 with a pair of home runs in the two victories.

Box Score (Game One)

Box Score (Game Two)

On the day, Antolik had 12 total bases and recorded a 1.333 slugging percentage to help the Buccaneers improve to 5-7 on the season. For the year, the freshman leads the team with a .472 batting average and is reaching base at a team-best .525 mark.

Freshman Tyler Thornburg started the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader for the Bucs, going 5.2 innings to earn the first win of his collegiate career. He gave up seven hits and walked three batters that resulted in three runs, only two of which were earned, while striking out five.

UMES (0-12) got on the board in the top of the first inning for the second time on the day when an error allowed Phil Vaughn to come all the way around from second to score. The Bucs got the run right back in the bottom half of the inning thanks to an RBI single by Antolik that drove Perry home from third to make it a 1-1 game.

After a 1-2-3 inning by Thornburg, the CSU offense exploded for five runs in the bottom of the second inning, all coming with two outs after the Hawks failed to turn a double play. Freshman outfielder Tom Burkett started the outburst with a triple to deep right centerfield that brought redshirt-junior Michael Obuchowski around to score. Junior shortstop Kory Morian then singled down the left field line to score Burkett make it 3-1 in favor of the Bucs. With two runners on, Antolik drove a shot over the outfield wall for a three-run home run that put CSU out in front, 6-1.

UMES cut into the deficit in the top of the sixth inning, scoring a pair of runs on three hits to slice the margin in half. Both Russell Deutschmann and Matt Witte recorded RBIs as the Hawks pulled themselves back within three, 6-3.

But the Buccaneer offense was not done, however, as it once again put a five-spot on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth inning. Antolik led off the rally with his second home run of the game and third of the season, blasting a shot to left centerfield. CSU then loaded the bases for Obuchowski, who delivered with a two-run single to left center. Junior Mark Perry finished off the inning with a single to center field that brought Obuchowski and junior Cory Trudell around to score, making it 11-3 in favor of the Bucs.

The Hawks scored a run in the top of the eighth inning on a passed ball that allowed Deutschmann to cross home plate, but CSU got it back in the bottom half of the inning. Freshman Taylor Black doubled to deep left field to drive in Perry and give the home team a 12-4 lead.

CSU put together a comeback to defeat UMES in the first game of the doubleheader, erasing a three-run deficit to pick up the win. The Hawks opened the game with three runs in the top of the first inning to gain the early advantage. A pair of singles and a hit batter loaded the bases for UMES, and Ryan Coppi put the Hawks on the board with an RBI single. A groundout brought home another runner before a double by Deutschmann brought around the final Hawks’ run of the inning.

The Buccaneers cut the deficit to two runs in the bottom half of the inning when Thornburg, serving as an outfielder in the opener, drew a bases loaded walk to make it 3-1. UMES restored its lead to three in the top of the third inning when Pat Hercinger scooted home from third on a wild pitch.

CSU’s hitter found their rhythm in the middle innings, scoring six runs combined over the third, fourth and fifth innings. An error in the bottom of the fourth inning allowed redshirt-freshman Nick Chinners to score, making it 4-2. Thornburg pulled the Bucs within one in the bottom of the fifth, sending a double into left field to bring freshman Derek Smith home from second. The Buccaneers then tied the game on a single by Trudell, driving in Thornburg after he advanced to third on a fielder’s choice.

With the bullpen holding the Hawks’ offense at bay, CSU scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a commanding 7-4 lead. Junior Keith Hustedt started the rally by scoring on a UMES error, and Smith blew the game open with a two-run double to left field to give the Bucs a three-run advantage.

The Hawks scored a pair of runs in the seventh and eighth innings, pulling within one run of the home team. Jorge Pichardo singled up the middle to brining Remo Orsini in from third to cut the margin to two runs, but a strong throw by Hustedt from centerfield kept another run from crossing home plate. That play proved to be the difference when a sacrifice fly by Hercinger brought Josh Dunham home from third and pulled UMES within one, 7-6.

Smith’s third RBI of the game, a sacrifice fly that scored Black from third in the bottom of the eighth inning, padded the Bucs’ lead and provided senior closer Payton Tweddale with a cushion as he recorded the final outs for CSU in the top of the ninth. Tweddale earned his second save of the season, giving up two unearned runs over the final three innings. Freshman Anthony Markham picked up the first win of his young career, keeping the Hawks hitless over 2.2 relief innings.

CSU has a pair of midweek games up next on the schedule against head coach Jason Murray’s alma mater, Ball State. The Bucs will take on the Cardinals on Tuesday and Wednesday at Buccaneer Field, with competition beginning at 2 p.m. both days.