CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern closes out its shortened home stand Tuesday evening as the Buccaneers welcome Winthrop University to Nielsen Field at the CSU Ballpark on Tuesday, April 20. First pitch between the Bucs and the Eagles is set for 6 p.m. with the game scheduled to be carried live on ESPN+.

Game Day Information
Charleston Southern vs. Winthrop
6 p.m. * Charleston, S.C. * Nielsen Field at CSU Ballpark
Live Stats * ESPN+
Projected Starters: CSU TBA vs. Winthrop TBA

Home Record
Charleston Southern boasts an 8-5 record at Nielsen Field at the CSU Ballpark this spring and has won all four Big South weekend series at home this season heading into the midweek contest against Winthrop. The Buccaneers

Recapping Last Weekend
Charleston Southern took two of the three contests from USC Upstate this past weekend as the Buccaneers moved back over .500 in Big South play. The Bucs fell in the opener to the Spartans on Friday night, but rallied their way back with two wins in Saturday's doubleheader to move to 12-11 in conference play on the year.

CSU rode the talented arm of R.J. Petit in the contest as the redshirt sophomore went seven strong innings allowing five hits and two runs (one earned), while striking out four. USC Upstate countered with ace Jordan Marks as the junior went the distance in the complete game shutout scattering just four hits while striking out nine as the Bucs fell 2-0 in the Friday night opener.

Home runs and strong pitching powered Charleston Southern to a doubleheader sweep over USC Upstate on Saturday afternoon as the Buccaneers topped the visiting Spartans 5-4 and 6-0 at Nielsen Field at the CSU Ballpark.

The Bucs bounced back after falling in Friday night's opener to take both games in the weekend series against the Spartans in CSU's lone series against Upstate this season. CSU utilized home runs from Sam Trend-Beacom and Connor Aldrich in the first contest, while Kyle Sandstrom and Dylan Stewart went deep in game two as the Bucs posted a four-home run series. Bradyn Kail and Daniel Padysak picked up the Bucs' wins on the day, while Sandstrom added his second save of the year.

Last Time Against Winthrop
Backed by a seven-inning outing from Willie Lumpkin, Winthrop kept the Charleston Southern offense in check most of the night for a 4-1 Big South Tuesday night win from The Winthrop Ballpark. Winthrop scored two runs on just one hit in the first inning but it was all Lumpkin would need as Charleston Southern could only push across one run - a towering blast from Andrew Bullock in the seventh inning - on seven hits.

Bullock finished the night with a pair of knocks while Houston Parker added two hits from his third spot in the order. Kyle Sandstrom's single back up the middle in the third inning extended the senior's on-base streak to 25, but the Bucs couldn't string together hits to overcome the early hole.
 
Sam Massey and Hunter McIntosh combined to throw 6.0 innings of relief allowing just two earned runs and striking out five, but Lumpkin provided enough length for the home Eagles tossing 7.0 innings of one-run ball scattering six hits.

All-Time Series Against the Eagles
Winthrop leads the all-time series over the Bucs with the 64-34 edge dating back to the first contest in 1988, a CSU 11-1 win over the Eagles. The Bucs have posted a 19-23 record all-time in Charleston against Winthrop.

CSU's longest winning streak in the series came back in the 2011 and 2012 seasons when the Bucs won five consecutive games. More recently, CSU won three of four over the 2017 and 2018 seasons with all games occurring in Charleston. The Bucs are scheduled to face-off against the Eagles three more times in the 2021 season with a three-game series in Charleston over the May 7-8 weekend.

About Winthrop
Winthrop was picked second overall in the Big South preseason baseball poll as voted on by the conference's head coaches. The Eagles received 82 points and one first-place vote overall to finish second in the polls. Two Eagles were listed among the top vote-getters for Big South preseason honors with Scout McFalls finishing second in the voting for Player of the Year, while Colten Rendon finished third in the voting for Pitcher of the Year.

Winthrop enters the weekend with a 10-16 record overall and a 7-11 record in Big South play. The Eagles have posted series wins over Longwood and USC Upstate, but fell in conference play to UNC Asheville, Campbell, and Radford. The Eagles are 3-8 overall this season on the road and are in the midst of an eight-game road swing traveling to Gardner-Webb, Radford, CSU, and back to Gardner-Webb over the two-week trip.

Winthrop's Ty Hooks paces the Eagles offense on the season with a team-best .419 batting average with 31 hits and 16 RBI. Andrew Jenner is also hitting above .300 on the year with a .312 average and a team-high 16 runs scored. Dillon Morton and Tyler Baker have combined for four of Winthrop's six home runs on the year, while Scout McFalls leads the team with seven stolen bases.

Tyler Jones (1-3, 3.48 ERA) and Daniel Blair (1-4, 8.25 ERA) have been among Winthrop's top starters on the season, while the Eagles have mostly utilized the strength of their bullpen this spring. Among the leaders in the 'pen include Bryan Petta (1.93 ERA) and Colton Rendon (5.14 ERA, 3 saves), while Dalton Mims has a team-high 13 appearances.

Big South Weekly Honors (So Far)
Charleston Southern has claimed six Big South weekly honors this season with Daniel Padysak (Freshman) adding to the Bucs' totals on the season this weekend. The Bucs' right-hander joins R.J. Petit (Starting Pitcher), Dylan Stewart (Freshman), Houston Parker (Player), Connor Aldrich (Freshman), and Reid Hardwick (Player) who previously claimed honors earlier in the 2021 season.

Padysak dominated in the start surrendering just three base runners and didn't allow anyone past second base in the series-clinching win over USC Upstate. Padysak went 7.1 innings and struck out seven in a dominant start as the Bucs topped the Spartans, 6-0. Padysak retired nine in a row at one point and exited the game after throwing his 116th pitch in recording one out in the top of the eighth.

Hardwick reached base in seven of his eight at-bats over the final two games of the series against High Point to pace the Bucs with a scorching .714 batting average over the weekend series. He kept his on-base streak alive throughout the weekend running it to eight consecutive games, while also scoring runs in all three contests against the Panthers.

Aldrich was the Bucs' most consistent hitter at the plate throughout the High Point weekend as the freshman posted a three-hit contest on Thursday night, while carrying the hitting streak throughout all games against the Panthers. The Jacksonville, Fla. native drilled a two-run single in the fourth inning of the first game to put the Bucs ahead 3-1 early against the Panthers. He added another RBI single in the sixth of the same contest to again put CSU back in the lead in the opener. Aldrich sparked the Bucs' rally in the second game of the weekend with a bases-loaded two-run single in the bottom of the third sparking a four-run inning as the Bucs took the lead for good. He added two runs scored and a RBI single in the series finale.

Petit, a two-time Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year, showcased why his name is expected to be called early in June as he used just 94 pitches to get through the Longwood lineup in his first collegiate complete-game effort. Petit carried a perfect game into the fifth inning and did not allow a runner to pass second base in the Bucs' 7-0 win over the Lancers.

Stewart earned Freshman of the Week honors for the first time after the Goose Creek, S.C. native paced the Bucs' offense over the weekend. Stewart opened the weekend with a pair of RBI triples on his way to a .556 batting average over the three-game series with the Lancers. He capped off the weekend with the game-winning RBI sacrifice fly in the Bucs' 6-5 win in the series finale.

Parker paced the Bucs in hits, runs, RBI, and added a team-best three extra-base hits in the Bucs' series win over UNC Asheville. Parker provided CSU's offense in the opener against UNC Asheville on Friday as the junior connected on two of CSU's eight hits in the game and added two RBI in the Bucs' 15-3 loss. On Saturday, Parker connected on the Bucs' first home run of the 2021 season with his two-run shot putting the Bucs back in the lead in the bottom of the third inning in the eventual 15-5 win. He scored two of CSU's runs in the Bucs' win in the series finale.

Coming Up on the Schedule
Charleston Southern dives into Big South play as CSU is scheduled to remain in conference competition throughout the remainder of the 2021 spring season.

Next Five Series

• April 23-24 at UNC Asheville
• April 30 – May 1 vs. Gardner-Webb
• May 7-8 vs. Winthrop
• May 11 vs. Presbyterian
• May 14-15 at Radford

Attendance Policies at Nielsen Field at the CSU Ballpark
Charleston Southern Athletics has made the decision to limit the number of spectators at all home events this spring. At this time, only a limited number of guests on the home team's pass list will be allowed in attendance. Visiting team guests will not be permitted unless on the home team pass list.

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