Bucs Travel to Columbia for Tilt with No. 4 Gamecocks

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Coming off of their sweep of Big South foe High Point, the Buccaneers will head to Columbia for a tilt with No. 3/4 South Carolina on Wednesday in one of their final non-conference games of the season.   First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. at Carolina Stadium.

Bucs & Gamecocks
The Buccaneers will head to Columbia to take on No. 4 South Carolina for the 73rd time in program history on Wednesday.   Charleston Southern has ten wins over the Gamecocks, though USC leads the series 72-10.   Carolina took last season’s meeting a Carolina Stadium by a score of 10-2.  Pitcher Charlie McCready got the start and took the loss, while Jesse Cadenhead (DH) and Matt Still each crossed home plate for the Bucs.  USC went on to win the 2011 National Championship.

Taking the Challenge
Coach Lake had continually made improvements to the program in his three seasons at CSU, challenging his players to be the best by facing the best.   In the last two seasons, CSU has played 15 games against teams ranked in the top 30, including seven against teams inside the top 10.  In 2010, the Bucs earned wins over No. 6 Florida and No. 28 VMI.    Six of those contests have been decided by three runs or less.

Chinners Makes History
Nick Chinners’ lone hit in Friday’s win over High Point officially made him the number one hitter in CSU history.  Chinners had previously tied Jordan Haar’s record of 244 vs. Georgia Southern and later took sole possession of first place in program history with his 245th career hit.    Earlier this season, he moved into a tie for fourth place in doubles with 41 career doubles.  He is currently tied for second in that category. He is also two RBI short of tying for place in program history with 123. 

Burkett’s Blast
Tom Burkett hits the Buccaneers’ second grand slam of the season on Sunday vs. High Point, hitting his second home run of the season.  The senior outfielder is currently fourth in school history in home runs with 23 in his career.  He is also tied for third in program history with eight home runs and one stolen base (57) shy of tying for fourth in school history. 

Tomasovich Earns Big South POW Honors
Alex Tomasovich was named the Big South Choice Hotels Baseball Player of the Week for games played May 2 through 8.   The freshman shortstop hit .667 with five runs, four RBI, two triples and two stolen bases.  He finished with a .700 on-base slugging percentage and a 1.000 slugging percentage.  He is the first CSU position player to earn the honor since 2005.   

Bring Out the Brooms
The Bucs recorded their second Big South series sweep over High Point this point weekend after previously sweep Radford earlier in the year. 
Prior to the Radford series, the last CSU sweep of a Big South foe was in 2008 when the Bucs swept Presbyterian.   The last time the Bucs swept two BSC foes was in 2000 when they downed UNC Asheville and High Point.

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