College of Charleston will look to continue the momentum of its third-straight SoCon sweep by hosting Charleston Southern and Jacksonville in mid-week games on Tuesday and Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Cougars have struggled in the week, losing the last three non-weekend games.
The Cougars shut down Davidson over the weekend winning 16-3, 6-2 and 6-0. Sunday’s win marked the fourth shutout by CofC this season and the fifth series victory of the year.
The Cougars used strong pitching from the weekend rotation once again as neither Matt Pegler nor Christian Powell allowed an earned run and Josh Renfro tied his career high yet again with 11 strikeouts in 7.2 innings.
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Brandon Murray and Marty Gantt each hit two home runs and combined for 15 RBIs on the week as Gantt now boasts an eight-game hit streak and Murray leads the team with six home runs. The strong pitching performances lowered the staff ERA to 2.28, the best in the SoCon and fourth-best in the nation.
On Air
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Tuesday’s game against Charleston Southern will be aired on ESPN 910 AM with Jeff McCarragher, the Voice of the Cougars, and Dennis Trapani.
Probable Starters
Tuesday
RHP #12 Kyle Ward CSU 0-1, 2.35 ERA, 5 BB, 16 K
RHP #29 Ryan West CofC 2-2, 3.96 ERA, 7 BB, 21 K
Wednesday
LHP #9 Corben Madden Jax 1-1, 9.22 ERA, 15 BB, 9 K
RHP #25 Griffin Jones CofC 0-1, 2.57, 8 BB, 13 K
Series Notes
College of Charleston is 41-15 all-time against Charleston Southern with the Buccaneers coming through for a 4-3 victory in the team’s last meeting at Patriots Point on 4/13/11. The Cougars are 7-3 all-time against Jacksonville, taking a 7-0 win over the Dolphins earlier this season in a near-perfect game effort.
Scouting the Buccaneers
Charleston Southern enters the game after a 6-5 win against High Point that halted a three-game losing streak.
Bobby Ison continues to be a bright spot for Charleston Southern this season. Ison currently sits tied for 10th in the Big South in batting average hitting .351. He also currently has an 11 game reached base streak and is tied for the team lead in multi-hit games this season at eight.
Scouting the Jaguars
The Jaguars split a double-header with Kennesaw State on Sunday to fall in the A-Sun opening series.
Chris Anderson leads Jacksonville with a .345 batting average and 12 RBI. Adam Brett Walker has hit a team-best three HRs and has 19 RBI and a .466 slugging percentage.
CofC In the Statistical Rankings
The Cougars currently lead the SoCon in pitching with a team ERA of 2.28 and an opposing batting average of just .205. The staff ERA ranks fourth nationally, while the Cougars are fifth in the NCAA in hits allowed per nine innings (6.72).
Christian Powell is now best in the league with an ERA of 1.37, while Matt Pegler leads the Southern Conference with an opposing batting average of .176. Josh Renfro is third in the league with 41 strikeouts.
David Peterson is tied for second place in the SoCon for saves with 6. That mark ranks 15th nationally.
Marty Gantt leads the conference and is seventh in the country in runs scored with 31 and is second in the SoCon in batting average (.411). Gantt’s slugging percentage of .705 ranks third in the league and his on-base percentage of .486 is first.
Slugger Daniel Aldrich is in first place in the conference and 28th in the country in triples with three, while he’s tied for fifth in the SoCon in walks (16).
The Cougars are 11th in the NCAA in home runs per game with 1.04 per contest.
Murray Named SoCon Player of the Week
College of Charleston left fielder Brandon Murray was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week, the conference office announced on March 26.
Murray led the Cougars’ offensive output in a series sweep over Davidson over the weekend. He led the team with a batting average of .636 and a slugging percentage of 1.182, hitting two home runs and tallying eight RBIs. He had multiple hits in each of the games against Davidson and scored five runs.
A sophomore from Nassau, Bahamas, Murray tallied a career-best five RBI including a two-run home run in a 16-3 offensive explosion over the Wildcats on Friday. Murray hit a solo home run in the first inning in Saturday’s win, and knocked in two RBI on Sunday. This award is Murray’s first SoCon Weekly honor.
Going Streaking
Marty Gantt has led the team all season in batting average after opening with a strong series at South Alabama. Gantt currently sports a team-best 21-game reached base streak and is currently on an eight game hitting streak.
Gantt has shown that he can hit for power and contact as he leads the team in batting average (.411), slugging percentage (.705), on-base percentage (.486), RBI (24), runs (31), stolen bases (11) and is second in home runs (5).
Renfro Deals and Delivers
CofC senior lefty Josh Renfro has proven to be the master of the strikeout. Renfro ranks third in the conference in K’s with 41 after two straight weeks with career-high 11-strikeout outings. Each time the Cougars get 12 strikeouts in a home game, the fans are treated to Kickin Chicken bucks. Renfro has helped Cougar fans win the promotion twice this season, and came one strikeout short on a third occasion.
Watts Coming On Strong
After starting the season in a hitting slump, DH Dre Watts has come on strong in the last nine games. He has hit .318 with one home run, eight runs and five walks for an on-base percentage of .500.
Between a rock and a 'Hard' place
Senior Rob Harding has come through when it’s counted this year. 13 of his 20 RBIs have come in 2-out situations, and he is hitting .323 overall when there are two outs. Harding leads the team with an average of .481 with runners in scoring position.
B-Murr, Benz or Bentley
College of Charleston sophomore Brandon Murray has been a power generator at the plate, blasting a team-best six home runs and boasting a slugging percentage of .600. Murray was named the SoCon Player of the Week on March 26.
Patience at the Plate
College of Charleston slugger Daniel Aldrich has shown that he can hit for power. The first team All-American led all freshman in home runs last season and has tallied a slugging percentage of .486 this season with 16 RBIs.
However, Aldrich has made patience at the plate into a prevalent aspect of his game this season. Aldrich leads the team in walks with 16 and his on-base percentage of .404 is second on the team.
What’s Happened By The 4th Inning?
CofC games this season have largely been determined by the action in the first four innings. The Cougars are an impressive 14-1 when leading after the fourth inning and are 1-5 when trailing after the fourth inning.
When It Rains, It Pours
College of Charleston has seen its share of rain interruptions this season, including a game cancellation at Charleston Southern on March 21. Overall, seven games have been moved or delayed because of weather conditions this season. CofC is 5-2 in games affected by from rain.