Bucs Play Host to Longwood, Ohio This Weekend

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Charleston Southern softball team looks to gear up for the start of Big South Conference play next weekend with four games at Buccaneer Field from Friday-Sunday. First up for the Bucs is a meeting with future conference mate Longwood on Friday at 2 p.m. CSU will play another game with Longwood on Saturday at noon, before taking on the Ohio Bobcats Saturday and Sunday afternoon as part of the final leg of the Charleston Southern Tournament.

GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS

CSU Hosts Final Leg of Charleston Southern Tournament
CSU looks to get back on the right track before embarking on Big South Conference play as it hosts the third and final installment of the CSU Tournament. The Bucs come off a 1-4 trip to California as part of the Long Beach State Invitational, where they tested themselves against some top competition. CSU was able to register a victory against Big East foe Notre Dame to highlight its time in Southern California, as Hayes Holdsworth’s three-run pinch-hit double provided the support Morgan Dowdy needed in the circle. Dowdy penned a complete game versus Ohio last year, but was tagged with the hard-luck loss in a 1-0 defeat to the Bobcats, despite not allowing an earned run. Longwood, meanwhile, downed CSU in a doubleheader last season. The Lancers -- who will join the Big South next season -- registered 7-5 and 3-1 wins, overcoming home runs by the Bucs’ Hayes Holdsworth and Megan Lombard.

Holdsworth Delivers Clutch Hit vs. Fighting Irish
Hayes Holdsworth had been 3-for-19 with 1 RBI prior to the Notre Dame game, but came through with a clutch pinch-hit, three-run double to help CSU to a 5-2 upset victory in support of yet another Morgan Dowdy complete game. It was Holdsworth’s first base knock in five at-bats as a pinch hitter this season, and CSU stands 3-for-28 as a team on the season. The Bucs have been solid with runners on base, batting .293 as a club, but have struggled at times to mount rallies as they are hitting just .196 as a unit with the bases empty.

Matthews CSU All-Time Home Run Leader….For Now
CSU junior left fielder Jana Matthews smacked her second home run of the season in the 6-3 loss to Wisconsin on March 2. The blast was the 21st of Matthews’ career, giving her sole possession of 1st place on the program’s all-time list. Matthews has passed Robin Cooper (1986-89) for good, but teammate Megan Lombard has also notched 20 career round trippers and will have plenty more opportunity to add to that this season. Lombard clubbed a team-high 8 homers last season, while Matthews finished second with 7 after going deep 12 times as a freshman. Through the season’s first 17 games, Matthews leads the CSU offense with 58 at-bats, 19 hits, and 15 RBI, and ranks second on the squad with 10 runs scored.