Bucs Hit the Road for Big South Play; Listen Live

Two Big South teams with identical league records will square off this weekend when the CSU baseball team takes on UNC Asheville for a three-game conference series. With just two weekends remaining before the Big South Conference tournament, this weekend's series will be crucial to both team's seeding. The showdown will begin with a 3 p.m game on Friday, continue with another 3 p.m. contest on Saturday and conlude with a 1 p.m. match up on Sunday.

Full Game Notes May 9-11 (UNC Asheville)

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Series Notes
CSU leads the all-time series against UNC Asheville, 35-22. The Bulldogs won last season’s series, however, taking three out of four games from the Buccaneers, including a 3-0 victory to eliminate CSU from the Big South Conference tournament. The Bucs won the 2006 season series, two games to one.

Scouting the Bulldogs
UNC Asheville enters this weekend’s Big South series with an identical league record to CSU’s, going 4-11 in conference play. Taking two of three games from Radford last weekend, the Bulldogs won their first Big South series of the season, despite taking on the Highlanders on their home field.
Kevin Weidenbacher is the most consistent hitter in the UNC Asheville lineup, posting a .353 batting average, 25 points higher than any of his teammates. Reed Kreiser and Kevin Mattison are the team’s top power hitters, recording 12 and nine home runs, respectively.
The Bulldogs schedule starter in the series opener, Alan DeRatt is the team’s top pitcher, posting a 7-2 record with a 1.15 earned run average this year.

Last Time Out
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Senior relief pitcher Payton Tweddale made the most of his 100th career appearance on Wednesday, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in a 13-4 loss to the College of Charleston. Tweddale came into the game with the bases juiced and no outs, surrendering just one run on a sacrifice fly before recording three outs. Freshman Derek Smith hit his 11th home run of the season for the Buccaneers, but the Cougars combined for four homers to overpower their visitors.

One More Time
Senior Payton Tweddale, one of only five lefties listed among the 45 relief pitchers on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List, is on the brink of owning another program record. Coming in with the bases loaded and no outs against the College of Charleston, Tweddale took the mound for the 100th time as a Buccaneer, tying Nino Fasulo’s record for career appearances. He made it count, allowing just one run on a sacrifice fly to get out of the jam.

Power Surge
Becoming the first Buccaneer since 2004 to record double digits in home runs, freshman Derek Smith hit his 10th dinger of the season over the weekend against Liberty. He didn’t wait long to add to that total, recording his 11th homer of the year with a solo shot to lead off the fourth inning in CSU’s 13-4 loss to the College of Charleston on Wednesday. Fellow freshman Steve Antolik is one home run away from joining the ranks of Bucs who have reached double digits in homers with nine on the season.

On a Tear
Freshman Taylor Black went 2-for-4 on Wednesday against the College of Charleston to improve his team-high batting average, improving his season mark to .357 in 45 games. Since being installed as the team’s every day shortstop 32 games ago, Black has raised his average over 150 points and become one of the team’s most dangerous hitters. He leads the team with 16 doubles, is second with a .579 slugging percentage and ranks third with five home runs on the season.

On The Horizon
CSU returns to Buccaneer Field on May 14 for its final home game of the 2008 campaign, taking on Presbyterian at 3 p.m. The Bucs will then wrap up the regular season with a three-game series on the road against V.M.I.