Bucs Baseball Continues Big South Play; Follow the Action Online

Coastal Carolina will visit Buccaneer Field this weekend for a three-game series with the CSU baseball team. The series will begin at 2 p.m. on Friday with live video coverage provided through the Big South Edge. A Satruday doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. will conclude the weekend's competition. Live stats will be available for all three contests.

Full Game Notes for April 11 & 12 vs. Coastal Carolina

Media Coverage
Live Video (Friday only, Big South Edge, subscription service)

Live Stats (GameTracker)

Series Notes
Coastal Carolina holds a 53-24 advantage in the all-time series with CSU. The Chanticleers swept last season’s series, outscoring the Buccaneers 25-5 over three games. CSU took one of three in 2006, winning the third game of the series 9-5. A freshman at the time, Buccaneer junior Mark Perry went 2-for-4 in that game with two runs scored and a run driven in.

Scouting the Chanticleers
Coastal Carolina boasts one of the most potent offenses in NCAA Division I, having outscored its opponents 223-140 while compiling a 25-7 record this season. Six of the regulars in the Chanticleer lineup have batting averages over .300, making them a difficult task from top to bottom. The pitching staff is not to be overlooked, however, sporting a 4.03 earned run average.
Adam Rice and Dock Doyle are the leaders of the powerful Coastal Carolina offense. Leading the team with a .403 batting average, Rice is also second on the team with seven home runs. He trails only Doyle, who has a team-high eight homers to help him to his 30 runs batted in, which also leads the squad.
Two of the probable starts for the Chanticleers this weekend, Joey Haug and Bobby Gagg have been the team’s most dominant pitchers. In 15 appearances, including one start, Haug has held opponents to a .140 batting average to help him to a team-best 1.13 ERA. Gagg is second on the squad in that category, posting a 2.23 ERA while issuing just four walks in 44.1 innings of work.

Last Time Out
CHARLESTON, S.C. – With runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the ninth, a fortuitous bounce helped The Citadel defeat the CSU baseball team 7-4 on Tuesday. Buccaneer junior Mark Perry hit a line drive that Bulldogs’ third baseman Matt Arnold appeared to snag for out number two. Instead the ball bounced out of his glove and The Citadel turned a game-ending double play. CSU freshman Taylor Black hit his third home run of the season in the loss.

No Easy Outs
Seven of the regulars in the CSU lineup are batting over .300 on the season, helping the Bucs to a team batting average of .299, which ranks third in the Big South Conference. Freshman Derek Smith leads the effort, hitting a team-best .381 in 28 games this season. Freshman Tyler Thornburg is just off the pace with a .278 average and junior Jake Cox has a .357 on-base percentage to give the Bucs a formidable lineup from top to bottom.

Triumphant Return
Back in the starting lineup after a two-game absence, redshirt-freshman Nick Chinners delivered with three hits against The Citadel. His seventh multi-hit game of the season raised his batting average above .300 to .303.

On The List
Junior catch Jake Cox has been named to the 2008 Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award Watch List, given annually to the top division one collegiate catcher. On the season, Cox has an on-base percentage of .357 thanks to 16 drawn walks, which is tied for first on the squad. He has thrown out 16 of 26 runners trying to steal bases on him this season, thwarting over 61 percent of the attempts.

On The Horizon
It will be a week of make up games for the Bucs. Reinhardt, which was originally on the schedule for February, will come to Buccaneer Field for a 2 p.m. contest on Tuesday. On Wednesday, CSU and the College of Charleston will finish their suspended game from April 1 at 1 p.m. before playing their regularly-scheduled contest at 2 p.m.