CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern closes out the 2021 regular season this weekend with a three-game series at Buddy Boling Stadium in Farmville, Va. on May 20-21. The series will start with a doubleheader on Thursday afternoon starting at 1 p.m., while Friday's single game is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch. All three games are scheduled to be carried live on ESPN+.
Game One – Thursday, May 20, 2021
Charleston Southern at Longwood
1 p.m. * Farmville, Va. * Buddy Bolding Stadium *
Live Stats *
ESPN+
Projected Starters: CSU RHP
Daniel Padysak (3-5, 4.92 ERA) vs. LWU RHP Dylan Saale (2-3, 3.83 ERA)
Game Two – Thursday, May 20, 2021
Charleston Southern at Longwood
40 minutes after conclusion of game one * Farmville, Va. * Buddy Bolding Stadium *
Live Stats *
ESPN+
Projected Starters: CSU TBA vs. LWU RHP Andrew Potojecki (2-2, 3.50 ERA)
Game Three – Friday, May 21, 2021
Charleston Southern at Longwood
1 p.m. * Farmville, Va. * Farmville, Va. * Buddy Bolding Stadium *
Live Stats *
ESPN+
Projected Starters: CSU RHP R.J. Petit (5-5, 2.77 ERA) vs. LWU LHP Andrew Melnyk (2-3, 5.80 ERA)
Back on the Road
Charleston Southern closes out the final weekend of the 2021 regular season as the Buccaneers travel to Longwood University to close out their first season under the helm of Head Coach
Marc MacMillan. The Bucs are 5-13 overall in true road games this season and have struggled away from home as of late losing eight of their last nine contests away from Nielsen Field at the CSU Ballpark dating back to April 9-10 against Campbell.
The Bucs are coming off a tough weekend series at Sherman Carter Memorial Stadium in Radford, Va. as CSU fell in all three contests to host Radford University. The Bucs are facing a team in the Lancers that has posted a .500 record (11-11) at home this season at Buddy Bolding Stadium as CSU makes the return trip to Farmville.
Longwood have posted nonconference home wins against North Carolina Central, Oakland University, and Norfolk State (twice) and boasted a series sweep over Radford on April 30-May 1 two weeks ago. The Lancers enter the weekend on four-game home winning streak dating back to April 30 and included a home win over High Point on May 11.
Bucs in Big South Play
Charleston Southern enters the final week of the season with a 15-22 mark in Big South play on the year following the weekend series at Radford. The weekend's loss to the Highlanders eliminated the Buccaneers from the postseason with CSU's current record leaving them unable to jump ahead of Presbyterian in the final race for the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament.
For the year, Charleston Southern opened Big South play with series wins over Longwood, UNC Asheville, and Gardner-Webb, as well as a pair of midweek contests over Presbyterian. CSU also picked up home conference series wins over High Point and USC Upstate, while adding a road win at Campbell and home win over Gardner-Webb.
CSU closes out the year with the three-game series at Longwood closing out the year with a three-game series at Longwood (17-29) as the Bucs look to close out the season series sweep over the Lancers.
Big South 40-Flex-10
The Big South Conference announced prior to the start of the season that the schedule would be a "40-flex-10" model this season featuring 40 conference games, while allowing for up to 10 nonconference contests on the year. The Bucs only play single series against High Point, USC Upstate, Campbell, and Radford this season, while matching up against the other conference foes multiple times on the year.
Recapping This Past Weekend
Charleston Southern was unable to keep its postseason hopes alive this past weekend as the Buccaneers fell in the three-game series on the road at Radford. The Highlanders took the opening contest, 14-6, and then took both games of Saturday's doubleheader with 11-3 and 6-3 to secure the series win.
The Buccaneers utilized a five-run sixth inning to fight their way back into the contest after falling behind the Highlanders early in Friday night's opener.
Reid Hardwick connected on a two-run home run during the rally, while
Johnny Oliveira added a two-run single as CSU cut the deficit down to 9-6 with three innings to play. Radford put together five runs over the seventh and eighth innings to close out the opener between the two teams with Straton Podaras' five-hit game highlighting the home team's efforts in the 14-6 CSU loss.
In the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, Charleston Southern was unable to overcome an early Radford lead as the Buccaneers fell 11-3.
Andrew Bullock connected on his team-leading seventh home run of the season, while
Kyle Sandstrom added an RBI single to highlight the Bucs' offensive efforts in the game. Sandstrom finished with two hits in the contest, while
Tyrell Brewer reached base three times in the loss.
The final game of the series saw a late three-run home run from the Highlanders offset a brilliant pitching performance from CSU's
Bradyn Kail as the Buccaneers fell in the series finale, 6-3. The Bucs and Highlanders were locked in a 2-2 tie throughout a majority of the contest before
Derek Horton's first home run of the season in the top of the sixth inning gave CSU a 3-2 lead. Kail cruised through a career-long 5.0 inning relief appearance to highlight the Bucs' pitching efforts, while
Tyrell Brewer and
Derek Horton both recorded multi-hit games for CSU.
Last Time Against Longwood
The Bucs took two of three against Longwood early in the season to claim their first series win in the conference opener since the 2009 season as CSU continues to move forward under the helm of first-year head coach
Marc MacMillan. R.J. Petit claimed Big South Starting Pitcher of the Week honors for the weekend, while
Dylan Stewart earned Freshman of the Week recognition.
The Bucs had a statement win in Friday's opener in topping the visiting Lancers as CSU made their Nielsen Field debut in the 2021 season. R.J. Petit went the distance in a complete-game shutout effort as the redshirt sophomore struck out six in the 7-0 win. Petit was aided by
Dylan Stewart's pair of RBI triples, while
Houston Parker added a double and two RBI in the win.
Saturday's doubleheader featured contributions across the field from the Bucs' pitching staff and offense as CSU split with the Lancers on the afternoon. Longwood claimed the first win, a 10-8 contest, while CSU rallied back to top the Lancers in the series finale, 6-5.
The Bucs were paced by
Connor Aldrich's five-RBI day as the freshman infielder connected on a pair of doubles in the day and recorded multiple hits in both contests. Stewart also hit safely in both games and added two runs on the day, while
Tyrell Brewer ran his hitting streak to six games over the weekend.
Kyle Sandstrom picked up the Bucs' win in the second game of the day as the senior left-hander came in from left field to throw two innings of hitless relief.
Krishna Raj and
Daniel Padysak both put together strong starts for the Bucs with the duo combining to throw 10.0 innings with 13 strikeouts while allowing two earned runs.
All-Time Against the Lancers
Longwood holds the all-time series 14-8 history over the Buccaneers dating back to their first matchup in 1983. The Lancers have also won eight of the 11 games that have been played at Buddy Boling Stadium in the series history between the programs.
Longwood took the inaugural matchup between the two teams at a tournament back in the 1983 season as the Lancers recorded the 11-2 victory. In a rematch the next day, CSU responded with a 12-8 victory over Longwood.
The Bucs have posted a three two-game winning streaks over Longwood with one streak spanning 31 years as CSU won the second game in 1983, before taking the opener in 2014, 2-1. CSU also won back-to-back contests against the Lancers in the series finale in 2017 and the opener in 2018. Longwood put together their longest winning streak of the series, a nine-game stretch from 2014-2017, to hold the commanding lead in the all-time annals.
About Longwood
Longwood was selected 10th overall in the Big South Conference's 2021 spring preseason poll as announced by the conference office in late January. The Lancers received 17 points overall in the poll after a 2020 spring season that saw Longwood post a 4-13 record overall with wins against Sacred Heart, Binghamton, NJIT, and Purdue-Fort Wayne.
The Lancers have posted a .275 team batting average on the season highlighted by four players hitting over .300 in the regular lineup. Jack Schnell (.331) and Eliot Dix (.331) are tied for the team lead with 51 hits on the season, while Dix powers the Lancer offense with five home runs and 36 RBI. Hayden Harris (.307) and Michael Dolberry (.305) are also among the team's hitting leaders with both players recording nine doubles on the season.
Hunter Gilliam leads the Longwood lineup with 17 extra-base hits on the year including 10 doubles, four triples, and three home runs. Michael Peterson is the team's primary base-stealing threat with 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts.
Andrew Melnyk, Dylan Saale, Andrew Potojecki and Dominick D'Ercole have been among the team's consistent starters throughout the 2021 season and all three are expected to see time on the mound heading into the weekend. Melnyk (2-3, 5.80 ERA) has posted a team-high 13 starts and 68.1 innings pitched with a 50:21 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Saale (2-3, 3.83 ERA) has made seven starts on the year, while Potojecki (2-2, 3.50 ERA) has made five starts on the year. D'Ercole (3-3, 7.27 ERA) as made eight starts with 43.1 innings pitched on the season.
Logan Berrier leads the Lancers' relief efforts on the year with a 3.60 ERA and three saves over 17 appearances. Dillon Champagne has added 10 appearances and four saves on the season. Overall, six different relievers have made double-digit appearances in 2021.
Among the Big South Leaders
Charleston Southern has several players dotting the top-10 in the Big South this season in individual categories.
- On-Base Percentage – Tyrell Brewer (.448, 9th)
- Triples – Dylan Stewart (4, T-1st), Johnny Oliveira (3, T-8th)
- Home Runs – Andrew Bullock (7, T-10th)
- Walks – Tyrell Brewer (28, T-5th)
- Hit By Pitch – Houston Parker (13, T-3rd), Reid Hardwick (10, T-10th)
- Stolen Bases – Kyle Sandstrom (12, T-5th)
- ERA – R.J. Petit (2.77, 2nd)
- Opposing Batting Average – R.J. Petit (.230, 5th)
- Innings Pitched – R.J. Petit (78.0, 3rd)
- Batters Struck Out – R.J. Petit (71, 4th)
- Wins – R.J. Petit (5, T-6th)
- Appearances – Bradyn Kail (20, 3rd)
- Fielding Percentage – Kyle Sandstrom (1.000, T-1st)
Among the NCAA Leaders
Charleston Southern has several players dotting the top-10 in the NCAA this season in individual categories.
Record Book Watch
The Buccaneers have several players climbing the all-time record books at CSU heading into the final week of the season. All records are according to current CSU records with archives still being added.
Career
- Triples – Alex Andronica (5, T-8th), Dylan Stewart (4, T-11th), Johnny Oliveira (3, T-16th), Kyle Sandstrom (3, T-16th)
- Stolen Bases – Kyle Sandstrom (21, 20th), Alex Andronica (17, T-24th)
- Hit By Pitch – Reid Hardwick (17, 12th), Houston Parker (13, T-17th)
- Games Played – Alex Andronica (169, 18th)
- Wins – R.J. Petit (9, T-19th)
- ERA – R.J. Petit (2.63, 2nd)
- Strikeouts – R.J. Petit (122, 25th)
- Saves – R.J. Petit (5, 11th)
- Putouts – Christian Maggio (634, 10th), Brooks Bryan (362, 24th)
- Assists – Reid Hardwick (227, 14th)
Single Season
