Temperatures reached the 60s and the weather finally started to wane toward springtime norms this weekend. It was the perfect temperature to relax and enjoy nachos, boiled peanuts and, of course, the beginning of baseball season.
Baseball season kicked off just right for the Cougars, who swept Radford in their opening series Feb. 19 - 21. The 3-0 start and superior pitching of the Cougars will sit well with second-year coach Monte Lee as he looks to improve on the 2009 fifth place Southern Conference finish.
Charleston topped Radford 8-4 in the opening game of the series Feb. 19. Although the Cougars were scoreless with just three hits going into the seventh inning, junior Jose Rodriguez homered to left field and sophomore Thomas Brittle added a run off a wild pitch. After the Highlanders pulled ahead 3-2 with an unearned run from senior Raphael Turner at the top of the eighth, C of C scored six runs on six hits and outlasted the Highlanders for the win.
Rodriguez went 2-4 at the plate with two RBI and the homer to lead the Cougars in batting. Sophomores Jesse Mesa and Cole Rakar and junior Kolby Epley each added a pair of hits. C of C bested Radford at the mound with 13 strikeouts to Radford’s four. Junior Josh Salay led the Cougars in pitching with a game-high seven strikeouts on 18 at bats in five innings.
Saturday’s game began and ended one-sided for C of C with a 9-1 victory. The Cougars crammed five runs into the first inning on four hits, and four runs into the fourth inning on four hits. Epley led the Cougars in hitting for the day, going two-for-four with two runs and three RBI. Mesa and Rodriguez each put up pairs of RBI and hits, and Bergman and junior Ross Hanna each had a hit and a pair of runs. Sophomore David Peterson led C of C in pitching with five strikeouts in four innings.
The Cougars ended the weekend with an 11-3 win over the Highlanders. Rakar, a second team all-conference outfielder, led the Cougars in batting by going three-for-four with three runs and two RBI. Bergman added two hits including a homer to right field in the bottom of the fifth. Mesa added pairs of hits and RBI and Rodriguez went two-for-four with a run and an RBI.
Each win was highlighted by C of C’s ability to score multiple runs in single innings. The Cougars also led substantially in hits (34-20) and more than doubled Radford’s strikeouts (35-14) on the weekend.
The Cougars will play 15 straight home games at Patriots Point, beginning with a series against UNC Asheville Feb. 26-28.