Charleston Southern baseball will open up their season on Friday under the lights at Nielsen Field at CSU Ballpark. The Bucs will play four games in the opening weekend, one against Maryland before a three-game series with Rider. Opening night against Maryland will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Petit Named Preseason Pitcher of the Year

Charleston Southern sophomore pitcher RJ Petit was tabbed as the Big South preseason pitcher of the year on Thursday ahead of the 2020 season. Petit looks to pick up where he left off after a stellar freshman campaign. The Rock Hill, S.C. native received Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American honors and was named First Team All-Big South. He posted the team's best ERA (2.45) and opposing batting average (.163) while totaling 19 looking strikeouts, tied for the eighth-most in the conference. Petit moved into the closer role last season and tallied five saves, the fourth-most in the conference.

Next Man Up

Kyle Sandstrom seeks to become the next great CSU center fielder. His predecessor, Josh Litchfield, did not make an error in 2019 and was honored with a Rawlings Gold Glove at season's end. Before him was Chris Singleton, a 19th round draft pick by the Chicago Cubs. Even back in 2016, Sly Edwards hit .337 and drove in 23 runs in his senior season.

International Love

The 2020 roster features three players from outside of the United States. Infielders Shane Kelleher and Sam Trend-Beacom hail from Australia while pitcher Daniel Padysak came to the Bucs from the Czech Republic. Over the summer, Padysak competed with the Czech Republic national team in the 2020 Olympic Qualifiers

Last Meetings

Maryland last met Charleston Southern on February 20, 2004. A single from Graham Maiden saw the Bucs walk off in the 11th inning in a 10-9 victory. The Broncs have been to Charleston on two occasions. The Bucs swept a two-game series in 1998, but could only get one win in a three-game series in 2012, giving CSU a 3-2 record all-time against Rider.

About the Terrapins

Maryland will open their season on Friday against CSU before headed to Mt. Pleasant to face Iona and College of Charleston at Patriots Point. The Terrapins boast several preseason honors, including infielder Maxwell Costes and junior outfielder Randy Bednar being named preseason all-americans by various publications. UMD is coming off a 2019 campaign that saw them finish 29-29 with a win in the Big Ten tournament before being eliminated by eventual national runner-up Michigan.

About the Broncs

Rider will face CSU in a doubleheader on Saturday before playing the third and final game of the series on Sunday afternoon. The Broncs went 17-36 in 2019, missing the MAAC tournament. Senior Pete Soporowski will start the first game on Friday, who missed the end of last season due to injury. Before his injury, Soporowski went 3-2 in eight starts with a career-best 2.64 ERA.

Social Media

For in-game updates all season long, follow @CSUGameday on twitter. For other content, follow @CSUSports and @CSUBucsBaseball.