Buccaneer Baseball Completes Sweep of Presbyterian

CHARLESTON, S.C. – In its first bottom-of-the-ninth victory since the 2006 season, the CSU baseball team scored a pair of runs in its last at-bats to defeat Presbyterian, 6-5, in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday. The Buccaneers carried the momentum into the second game, beating the Blue Hose 12-0 with help from a pair of home runs by freshman Derek Smith.

Box Score (Game One)

Box Score (Game Two)

Senior Payton Tweddale pitched two scoreless innings in relief for CSU (9-12) in the first contest, giving up two hits and recording a pair of strikeouts for his first victory of the season. In just the fourth start of his young career, freshman Tyler Thornburg pitched a complete-game shutout in the nightcap, striking out 10 and allowing just five hits to improve to 2-1 on the season.

For the second time in as many games, Presbyterian (6-12) struck first, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. Cory Lyda and Robert Anders started the rally with a pair of precision bunt singles to give the Blue Hose runners on the corners. After a wild pitch advanced Anders to second, Kyle Craven brought Lyda home with a single through the left side. One out later, Drew Wingo drew a walk to load the bases. After a strikeout made it two away, Jared Combs showed his patience at the plate by earning a free pass to first on a walk that forced Anders home from third and gave Presbyterian a 2-0 lead.

A double steal put the Buccaneers on the board in the bottom of the second inning when redshirt-junior Michael Obuchowski drew a throw while trying to steal second, which gave freshman Tom Burkett time to score from third. After a double by junior Jake Cox tied the game as Obuchowski crossed the plate, freshman Taylor Black brought Cox around to score with a double that gave CSU the lead, 3-2.

The Blue Hose tied the game in the next half inning, getting an RBI single from Steven Henry that scored Craven from second. That’s where the score remained until the bottom of the fourth inning when Obuchowski scored on a groundout to the shortstop by Black, putting the Bucs back in front, 4-3.

CSU held the lead through five innings, but a wild pitch in the top of the sixth gave Lyda, who had stolen third, time to get home and knot the game back up at 4-4. Presbyterian took the lead in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly to center field by Combs that scored Henry, who led off the inning with a triple.

Facing its last at-bats, the Buccaneers used four singles and a sacrifice fly to earn the come-from-behind victory. Burkett led off the inning with a single to left field to get things started before Obuchowski and Cox both laid down bunt singles to load the bases for CSU. The hot bat of Black then stepped in and ripped a single through the left side to score Burkett and tie the game at 5-5. Junior Mark Perry then delivered with a sacrifice fly to center field that gave freshman Brantley Meier, pinch running for Obuchowski, plenty of time to tag up and slide in safely at home before the throw.

Thornburg allowed only eight base runners and got plenty of offensive help in the second game of the day to help the Bucs record a series sweep over the Blue Hose.

After a scoreless first inning for the first time in the series, CSU batted through the order and then some in an eight-run second stanza that proved more than enough offense for the contest. Perry, junior Kory Morian, Smith and Obuchowski all drove in runs as the Bucs found the gaps and capitalized on three Presbyterian errors.
CSU added to its lead in the bottom of the fourth innings when Smith, who went 5-for-5 in the game, led off with a double to left center. He advanced to third on a ground out and then scored when Burkett’s sacrifice fly traveled deep enough into right field for him to tag up and make it home, giving the Bucs a 9-0 lead.

Smith was responsible for the next three runs scored for CSU, as well, hitting home runs in both the sixth and eighth innings. He drilled a shot to right center field in the bottom of the sixth to put the home team into double digits, and added a two-run homer in the eighth that also scored Morian for the final margin. Smith had three home runs in the series and now leads the team with 20 RBI on the season.

The Bucs will be in action again on Monday at 2 p.m. when they take on the Air Force Academy. It will be Military Appreciation Day at Buccaneer Field as all active duty military will receive free admission with their military ID and each family member will only pay $1 for admission.