CHARLESTON, S.C. - After an impressive mid-week victory against Coastal Carolina on Tuesday, the Charleston Southern softball team will stay at home this weekend, as they host conference foe Gardner-Webb at CSU Softball Complex.
The win for the Bucs (10-16, 0-3 in conference) proved to be a big one, as it snapped an eight-game losing streak. It was a game in which they needed late-game heroics from their upperclassman.
Raleigh Lewis and
Gracie Prince provided the magic at the end with a single and a double, and
Riley Lauffer was magnificent after allowing a home run to lead off the game. The one run that she allowed was a season low.
On the other side, the Bulldogs (11-21, 0-0 in conference) are looking to snap a three-game losing streak in their first conference slate of the season. They are coming off of a mid-week sweep of Western Carolina, where they lost by a combined 23-7 in two games.
After a 15-29 (7-20 in conference) season a year ago, Head Coach Bailey Wigness returns to Boiling Springs, N.C. for her second year at the helm at Gardner-Webb. Her team was picked to finish last in the conference for 2023. Wigness brings a winning attitude to Gardner-Webb, as she was a National Champion as a player at Arizona State and had three successful seasons at at USC Beaufort prior to going to Boiling Springs.
For this matchup, it will come down to whose weakness gets exploited more. Charleston Southern is worst in the conference in hitting with a .213 team batting average. The 52 runs that they have scored this season are also the least amount in the Big South. For Gardner-Webb, their weakness has been their pitching. They own a 5.32 ERA as a team, which is the worst in the conference as well.
The Bulldogs have the overall series lead 30-22, but the Bucs have won the past two series, winning two out of three in Boiling Springs last year as well as in Charleston in 2021.
The Bucs will play one game on Friday, starting at 6 p.m. while the series concludes on Saturday with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. All games this weekend will be streamed on ESPN+.
Game Details
Who: Gardner-Webb vs Charleston Southern
Where: CSU Softball Complex
When:
How to Watch: ESPN+
