Weekly Recap – Monday March 23 – Sunday March 29

Sondra Vetter was named the Big South Pitcher of the Week after mowing down 21 hitters and posting an ERA of 1.24 en route to a 3-0 record last week. She got her week started with nine strikeouts in a complete game win against Coastal Carolina on March 25. Two days later against Presbyterian, she tossed six innings, struck out nine hitters and gave up just two hits. She closed out the week with three strikeouts in four innings pitched against the Blue Hose on March 28. For the week, Vetter allowed just three runs and nine hits in 17 innings pitched. The honor marks her second Pitcher of the Week plaudit this season.

Tuesday, March 24 – W Tennis vs. Gardner-Webb
With just one match this week, the women’s tennis team got their first Big South win of the season with a 6-1 beating of Gardner-Webb. CSU Swept the doubles matches to take that point, and Olga Makhova, Andrea Schutte, Brooke Pletcher, Angie Torres and Anne Akimien all won their singles matches to take the easy victory for CSU. The win runs their Big South record to 1-1.

Tuesday, March 24 – Baseball vs. Furman
One of three non-conference games this week and none of them seemed to go the way of the Bucs as they fell 8-1 to Furman on Tuesday. Tyler Thornburg and Derek Smith each had a pair of hits, with Thornburg scoring the only run of game after a leadoff triple in the ninth inning. Freshmen relievers Tim Murphy and Evan Woodbury each pitched an inning to close out the game, neither pitcher giving up a run and only three combined hits.

Tuesday, March 24 – Softball @ N.C. State
Stuck right in the middle of a series against Coastal Carolina, the focus of the Buccaneer softball team had to change to the ACC as they traveled up north for one game against North Carolina State. CSU put two on in the first but couldn’t score, finishing the game by leaving three runners on base. Megan Lombard and Amy Trenkamp each recorded a hit in the 9-0 loss.

Wednesday, March 25 – Softball vs. Coastal Carolina (DH)
CSU was able to bounce right back from the long trip, and tough loss to N.C. State as they split a double header with Coastal Carolina on Wednesday at Buccaneer Field. The Bucs took game one 5-2, giving up a pair of late runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Efficiency was the name of the game as CSU scored five runs on six hits, with Sondra Vetter pitching the complete game to get her seventh win of the season.

Game two was a heart breaker as the Bucs out-hit CCU 10-6, but fell 4-3 after giving up a three-run fifth inning. Megan Hall tried to start a rally as she led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, scoring on an RBI double by Gail Matsushima to get to within a run. With two on, two strikeouts ended the threat and the game for CSU.

Wednesday, March 25 – Baseball vs. The Citadel
Moments after announcing that they would add a game against cross-town foe The Citadel on April 13, CSU would face the Bulldogs on the diamond at Buccaneer Ballpark. Holding on to a 2-0 lead in the sixth, the arms gave out on CSU and they gave up a six-run inning, losing a lead that they would never regain. The Bucs had seven hits on the day, but it was Patrick Dolan, Nick Chinners and Brantley Meier that did the bulk of the damage with two hits each, while Scotty Radabaugh added the final base-knock of the day.

Thursday, March 26 – Baseball vs. Air Force (Completion of previous game)
Having started the game on Feb. 28, the Bucs and Falcons would finally get around to finishing a game that was halted by rain. With CSU trailing 12-6 in the top of the fifth inning to start Thursday, the Bucs would immediately cut into that lead with a three-spot in the bottom of the fifth. They continued to give up runs, forcing more work for themselves and a run in the fifth, sixth and seventh put Air Force up 15-9. In the bottom of the seventh, the CSU bats would come alive as Patrick Dolan and Blake Hunt each pounded out three-run homeruns to tie the game at 15-15. Again CSU gave up runs in the final two innings, trailing 18-15 going into the bottom of the ninth. Nick Chinners led off the inning with a home run, giving the Bucs hope for walk-off heroics. They would not come on Thursday, but given the opportunity again, CSU would prove up to the task … (how’s that for foreshadowing!)

Friday, March 27 – Sunday, March 29 – Baseball vs. VMI
Looking to get things started right with a Friday victory as they did against UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb, the Bucs had to claw back from an early 3-0 hole in the first inning. Nick Chinners scored Tom Burkett with an RBI triple into the gap to put one on the board, and Mark Perry scored Jake Cox on a sacrifice fly in the second to cut the VMI lead to one. They finally tied the game in the fourth with an RBI double by Scotty Radabaugh, and back-to-back homers by Chinners and Tyler Thornburg sent the game in to extra innings. Thornburg shut VMI down in the top of the 10th, and then came the excitement. Leadoff singles by Patrick Dolan and Chinners put two on. A ground ball put them in scoring position, leading to an intentional walk of Cox. A force play at home brought up reserve right fielder Keith Hustedt with the bases loaded and two outs. You want clutch performances, Hustedt provided it as he took a 2-2 pitch over the wall for a walk-off grand slam, giving CSU the 9-5 victory. Not to be overlooked, though, was the fact that Chinners ended the game having hit for the cycle, needing only the bunt single in the bottom of the tenth to complete it. He reached safely and became the first Buc in recent history to complete the feat.

Rain washed out Saturday’s action as the Bucs were anxious to get back on the field and try to carry momentum on to their third-straight Big South series victory. They would have to wait until Sunday, but I think they would agree it was worth the wait.

With a double header starting at 1 p.m., CSU again found themselves trailing early as VMI posted four runs in the second inning to take a lead, and they would never look back, tying the series at 1-1 with an 11-5 victory.

Jesse Cadenhead took the mound in game three, determined to lift the team to their best start since 2002, and he did so with a complete-game victory, notching 12 strikeouts, including two in the top of the ninth. CSU pounded out 11 hits offensively, including three by Patrick Dolan who scored two of the Bucs’ seven runs in the 7-2 win.

Friday, March 27 – Saturday, March 28 – Softball vs. Presbyterian
Just two days after finishing their first Big South series victory of the season, the Buccaneer softball team looked for their first sweep in a series as they hosted Presbyterian. A 9-0 victory in game one started things off right, and CSU followed that with a 4-0 victory in the second game of the double header Friday. Brittany Giannini had three hits on the day, including two doubles, while Melissa Adams and Amy Trenkamp also had three hits, each scoring once.

With one more game to go, CSU grabbed a 3-0 lead, and despite giving up the first runs of the series in the fifth, held on for a 3-2 win, completing the sweep. Sondra Vetter got the victory, her third of the week, giving up just one run before giving way to Jamie Wellons, who earned her first save of the season. Amy Trenkamp and Megan Hall combined to knock in all three runs, while it was the bottom of the order in Melissa Adams and Brittany Giannini that scored two of the three runs.

Friday, March 27 – Sunday, March 29 – M Golf @ Furman Invitational
Rainy and windy conditions proved too much for the golf team as they played two rounds over three days at the Furman Country Club. Kelvin Day and Herve Gevers tied for the low round on the team, while Jonathan Rustin finished just two shots back of them.

Saturday, March 28 – Track and Field @ Georgia Southern Invitational
Rain also affected the track and field teams in Statesboro, Ga., shortening the meet by eight events. With one water trap already coming into play, Brittany Owens fought through it and won the 3000m steeple chase event, while Tia Habersham won the hammer throw. The 4x400m relay team finished as runners up to round out the top finishers on the women’s side.

For the men, it was Levi Brooks who led the way as he easily won the 400m dash event. The 4x100m relay team and Jean Pierre Poisson each notched runner-up finishes as J.P. claimed second in the men’s hammer competition.

What’s coming up this week:

Monday, March 30 – W Tennis @ Coastal Carolina – 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 31 – W Tennis vs. Presbyterian – 2 p.m.
Tuesday, March 31 – Baseball vs. College of Charleston – 3 p.m.
Wednesday, April 1 – Baseball @ Tennessee – 6:30 p.m.
Friday, April 3 – W Tennis @ Liberty – 1 p.m.
Friday, April 3 – Softball @ Liberty (DH) – 2 / 4 p.m.
Friday, April 3 – Baseball @ Winthrop – 6 p.m.
Friday – Saturday, April 3-4 – Track and Field @ Duke Invitational
Saturday, April 4 – Softball @ Liberty – 1 p.m.
Saturday, April 4 – Baseball @ Winthrop – 4 p.m.
Sunday April 5 – Baseball @ Winthrop – 2 p.m.
Sunday, April 5 – W Tennis @ Radford – 1 p.m.

Weekly Recap - March 16 - March 22

A Big South series victory over Gardner-Webb in baseball and softball victories over rivals College of Charleston and Coastal Carolina, along with top-five finishes in golf and track highlight action in Buccaneer Athletics this week.

Tuesday, March 17 – Wednesday March 18 – Baseball vs. Auburn
The baseball team gave another SEC team all they could handle and more as the Bucs went to Auburn for a two-game showdown. After falling to South Carolina by two earlier in the season, CSU took the Tigers to 13 innings before eventually falling 7-6. Patrick Dolan, Tyler Thornburg, and Scotty Radabaugh all tied the school record for at-bats in a game with seven.

CSU put a run on the board in each of the eighth and ninth innings to force the extra frames. From there, they held a one-run lead in the top of the 12th, but Auburn was able to scratch out the tying run. Auburn went on to score the game-winner in the bottom of 13. Thornburg and Kory Morian each notched four hits to lead the way offensively.

After losing the heartbreaker on Tuesday, the Bucs tried to regroup for Wednesday’s matchup, but it was too much Auburn as they took it 18-4. CSU scattered 10 hits in the loss, while Michael Obuchowski led the team with three RBI.

Wednesday, March 18 – Golf @ Charleston Invitational
The men’s golf team took part in a four-team tournament, Wednesday, finishing third, just three shots behind the College of Charleston. Jonathan Rustin, shot the best round of the day for CSU with an even-par 72 to finish tied for third. Kelvin Day shot a 73 to help give CSU a one-round total of 298.

Wednesday, March 18 – Tennis vs. Rutgers
Andrea Schutte and Brooke Pletcher each won their singles matches, while two other singles contests went to three sets before Rutgers eventually took the matches by a final count of 5-2. Schutte dominated her match 6-2, 6-3, while Pletcher dropped the first set 4-6 and bounced back to win 6-4, 6-2.

Wednesday, March 18 – Softball @ College of Charleston (DH)
It wasn’t a long road trip, but the Bucs’ softball team went down to Patriots Point for a double header against the College of Charleston.

Game one went to extra innings as C of C took advantage of four Buccaneer errors, eventually winning 5-4. CSU scored two runs in the top of the seventh to take a one-run lead, but the Cougars bounced right back and scored in the bottom of the frame to tie it up. An error in the bottom of the eighth let the game-winning run come around from first to score.

The loss led to a sluggish start in game two, with CSU falling behind 3-0 after four innings. Needing a crooked number to keep them in the game, CSU put a four-spot on the board in the fifth to give them the lead. An error, a Megan Lombard double and a Gail Matsushima double led to the four runs. The final run came on a Brittany York single up the middle. York also hit a towering homerun in her first at-bat of the series.

Thursday, March 19 – Saturday, March 21 – Track @ Shamrock Intercollegiate
Gabrielle Houston finished fifth in the 200m dash while Jessica Thomas took eighth in the event, leading CSU at the three-day Shamrock Intercollegiate hosted by Coastal Carolina. The weekend was highlighted by a one-two finish in the heptathlon by Patria Norman and Channell Futrell. On the men’s side, Anthony Ward finished fifth in the 100m dash and Blake Eidson finished fourth in the shot put. Jean Pierre Poisson also posted a pair top-five finishes with a fourth-place distance in the discus and fifth-place finish in the hammer.

Friday, March 20 – Saturday, March 21 – W Golf @ First Market Bank Intercollegiate
Madison Jeter shot a 75-average to finish in a tie for second at the First Mark Bank Intercollegiate, hosted by the College of William and Mary. It took a four-shot improvement in round two for CSU to improve to finish third as a team. Olivia Jordan-Higgins shaved five shots off her personal score to finish second on the team while Katrin Rumpf finished one shot back of Higgins.

Friday, March 20 – Softball @ Coastal Carolina
Megan Lombard did her job as the leadoff hitter, reaching safely on a walk, and Amy Trenkamp smacked a double into the gap in right center to put CSU up 1-0 early. A five-run third helped push CSU to a run-rule 8-0 victory over Coastal Carolina in the Big South opener. Gail Matsushima and Kristin Kelleher each had a double, while Trenkamp, Hall and Matsushima each had a pair of hits as CSU out-hit CCU 9-3. Jamie Wellons earned the win in the circle pitching all five innings.

Friday March 20 – Sunday March 22 – Baseball @ Gardner-Webb
The baseball team took the big bats to Boiling Springs as they beat GWU 13-3 and 11-4 in the first and third games, respectively. The middle game was a 15-4 tilt in favor of the Runnin’ Bulldogs. It is the second series victory of the season for CSU as they move to 5-3 in Big South play. Patrick Dolan hit two homers in game two, while a five-run eighth led CSU to victory in game three.

Dolan led the way for CSU with a .692 batting average in three games (9-13) while senior Mark Perry had six hits in 12 at-bats. Nick Chinners had the most recorded at-bats of the series with 15 and had the second-most hits with seven.

On the mound Keith Hustedt pitched 3.2 innings giving up no runs on two hits to earn his first save of the season, while Anthony Markham and Jesse Cadenhead each gave up seven hits and earned the victory in their respective starts.

What’s coming up:

Tuesday, March 24 – Tennis vs. Gardner-Webb – 2 p.m.

Tuesday, March 24 – Baseball vs. Furman -2 p.m. (Video and live stats available)

Tuesday, March 24 – Softball @ North Carolina State- 5 p.m.

Wednesday, March 25 – Softball vs. Coastal Carolina (DH) – 2 / 4 p.m. (Live stats available)

Wednesday, March 25 – Tennis @ Coastal Carolina – 2:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 25 – Baseball vs. The Citadel – 3 p.m. (Live stats available)

Thursday, March 26 – Baseball vs. Air Force – 1:30 p.m. (Completion of suspended game)

Friday, March 27 – Sunday, March 29 – M Golf @ Furman Invitational

Friday, March 27 – Baseball vs. VMI – 2 p.m. (Live stats available)

Friday, March 27 – Softball vs. Presbyterian (DH) – 2 / 4 p.m. (Live stats available)

Saturday, March 28 – Track and Field @ Georgia Southern Invitational

Saturday, March 28 – Baseball vs. VMI (DH) – 11:30 a.m. (Live stats available)

Saturday, March 28 – Softball vs. Presbyterian – 1 p.m. (Live stats available)

Weekly Recap – March 9 – March 15

The winter season is officially over for CSU athletics after the Big South Women’s Basketball Championships that were held this week. The Lady Bucs put up a good fight against a very tough Liberty team, but we’ll talk more about that in a little bit. Before we get to the results from this week, special attention is deserved by four women’s basketball players that earned honors from the Big South this week. Freshman Kiki Rutledge earned Big South Freshman of the Week honors, and was named to the Big South all-freshman team before the tournament. Ali Schwagmeyer, who earned Freshman of the Week honors five times, also made the all-freshman team and was runner-up in the freshman of the year voting. Pam Tolbert was named to the All-Big South second-team, her second year in a row of being named all-conference. For her work in the classroom and on the court, Tina DeCarvalho earned a spot on the all-academic team.

Now, on to the results…

Sunday March 8 – Tuesday March 10 – M Golf @ Palmetto Intercollegiate
Kelvin Day finished second overall out of 75 competitors at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate, leading CSU to an 11th-place finish as a team. Day posted the lowest round of the tournament with a 66 in round two.

Monday March 9 – Softball vs. ETSU
The Buccaneer softball team faced outstanding defensive clubs this week, struggling to find runs. It started against East Tennessee State on Monday afternoon, when CSU dropped both games of a double header, pounding out seven hits, but failed to plate a run. Jamie Wellons and Sondra Vetter each went all seven innings in their respective starts in the pitchers circle, striking out a combined 12 hitters, but it wasn’t enough to get the Bucs of CSU over the Bucs of ETSU, falling 5-0, 1-0.

Monday March 9 – Tennis vs. East Carolina
Andrea Schutte was perfect on the day, winning her singles match 6-0, 6-4, while combining with Angie Torres to win their doubles match 9-7. Olga Makhova and Brooke Pletcher would also tally singles wins, but a tiebreak loss at the number for spot pushed the Pirates of ECU past the Lady Bucs 4-3.

Monday March 9 – WBB @ Winthrop
The Lady Buccaneers spread out the scoring with seven players recording at least three points. Lechell Rush and Katie Tull led the way with nine each and despite holding Winthrop to just 36 percent shooting, CSU fell 57-46 in the season finale. Kiki Rutledge had six points, three assists and two steals, helping pave the way for her to earn Big South Freshman of the Week honors in the final week of the regular season.

Tuesday March 10 – Baseball @ Savannah State
The Bucs were kind enough to spot Savannah State a five run lead over the first six innings of play, but Corey Deighan and Brandon Roberts shut the door in the final three innings while the CSU bats came alive to beat SSU 7-5. Senior Mark Perry had three hits on the day while Kory Morian had two helping CSU take the late lead. Roberts got the win on the mound, his first of the year as he sat down six straight batters, including striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Tuesday March 10 – Tennis vs. UNC Charlotte
Andrea Schutte continued her excellent week by winning her singles match against UNC Charlotte. Unfortunately, hers was the lone victory on the day against a very solid 49er team as CSU fell 6-1. Leonie Mandelkow and Olga Makhova gave it a yeoman’s effort in their doubles match but fell 7-5 in the tie breaker. Angie Torres also lost on a tie breaker 11-9 in the third set of her singles match.

Wednesday March 11 – Softball vs. Furman (DH)
Ashley Fowler hit .500 while Jamie Wellons and Sondra Vetter each earned complete game victories as CSU downed Furman 6-1, 2-1 at Buccaneer Field. Fowler led the way with three hits in six at-bats against the Paladins, while Megan Lombard, Amy Trenkamp, Gail Matsushima and Megan Hall each had a multi-hit day. Hall scored a team-high three runs while Lisa Rice and Lombard tied for team-high honors in RBI with two each. Wellons struck out just two, but scattered six hits and gave up just one run in her victory. Vetter went the distance in game two giving up just four hits and recording seven strikeouts.

Wednesday March 11 – Baseball vs. College of Charleston
The College of Charleston brought the heavy lumber to Buccaneer Ballpark for a midweek matchup, scoring nine runs in the first two innings. The Bucs played even after that point as pitching settled down after that giving up just four runs. CSU could not get out of the hole this time, though, as they fell 13-4. Once again, Scotty Radabaugh was the start for CSU going 4-for-5 on the day with a pair of RBI, accounting for half the runs and almost half the team’s hits.

Friday March 12 – WBB vs. Liberty (Big South Tournament)
It was quite possibly the best 20 minutes of basketball that CSU has played all season, and it came when they needed it most, the second half of the Big South Conference Tournament. Unfortunately, it was against the top-seeded Liberty Flames, and it was after a tough first half in which LU gained a 20-point advantage. The Lady Buccaneers outscored Liberty by 10 in the second half, and cut the lead to eight with 5:14 to go in the game after a fast break three by Kelsey Wasmer. The regular season, and eventually tournament champion Liberty Flames proved why they were the top seed as they held off the late charge for a 74-64 victory. Senior Pam Tolbert tried to will her team to victory in her final game in a CSU uniform as she scored 19 points to lead the way. Katie Tull continued to play well down the stretch dropping in 17 points, including five three-pointers. Kelsey Wasmer added nine points as CSU shot 58 percent in the second half.

Friday March 13 – Sunday March 15 - Baseball @ Liberty
Thanks to a Tom Burkett two-run homerun in the top of the first inning, CSU took a 2-0 lead on the road, trying to win the opening game of a weekend series for the second week in a row. Up 3-1 in the seventh, things looked to be in the books as CSU was ready to close out the game with two of their better pitchers. Liberty was not going quietly and two runs in each of the seventh and eighth innings pushed Liberty in front 5-3. An error and an RBI single by Mark Perry brought CSU back to within one, but they would leave two on base in the top of the ninth as they failed to steal the victory.

With all kinds of weather delays, Saturday’s scheduled game was eventually cancelled altogether, leaving just one more game on Sunday. The game finally started about 4:15 and again CSU wasted no time. For the second game in a row, lead off man Scotty Radabaugh did his job and got on base, this time with a walk. Kory Morian moved him over to third and a ground ball out to short scored the game’s opening run. Charlie McCready gave up just one run in 4.1 innings of work, leaving with a 3-1 lead in favor of Keith Hustedt. Keith would eventually get the win but the Bucs would never trail as they added a run in each of the last three innings to win 7-4. Closer Tyler Thornburg earned his first save of the year striking out two in the ninth inning.

Saturday March 14 – Sunday March 15 – Softball vs. Kent State and North Florida
Originally scheduled to go up to Rock Hill for the Winthrop Invitational, rain changed the plans of the Buccaneer softball team. With the first two days of the tournament cancelled, Coach Shane Winkler and his team decided to return home to host Kent State and North Florida in a series of games. Saturday did not go as planned for CSU as they struggled to find hits against either team. Jamie Wellons pitched a great game for CSU against Kent State, giving up just one run one three hits in seven innings of work, but the one run was enough to give Kent State the 1-0 victory.

After a tough loss, CSU tried to rebound against a solid North Florida team, and their former assistant coach Val Silvestrini, now with the Osprey. It was not to be as they pounded out 10 runs and held CSU scoreless again in a 10-0 UNF victory.

CSU and Kent State returned to the field Sunday for a rematch, with both teams electing to go with their best pitchers, the same two that dueled it out the day before. In the bottom of the fourth, the Bucs finally broke through with a hit, and what a hit it was! Gail Matsushima, with one on, blasted a shot off the foul pole in left for a two-run homerun to give CSU the lead. It was a lead they would hold until the sixth inning and a pinch hit triple for Kent State pushed them back out in front, giving them the sweep of CSU with a 3-2 victory.

Saturday March 14 – Track and Field @ Coastal Carolina
The field and distance crews went up Hwy 17 this weekend to compete in the CCU-Asics Invitational, leaving the majority of the sprinters at home to rest up after a busy indoor season.

Patria Norman finished second in the shot put for the women while Blake Eidson finished seventh in the same event for the men. Bridgette Copeland finished sixth overall in the long jump and the triple jump events, while Christi English finished close behind in the triple jump at ninth. Brittany Owens continued to show her improvement in the 5,000m run finishing third overall, just four seconds behind the winner.

What’s coming up:

Tuesday March 17 – Wednesday March 18 – Baseball @ Auburn

Wednesday March 18 – Tennis vs. Rutgers – 2 p.m.

Wednesday March 18 – Softball @ College of Charleston (DH) – 6 p.m.

Friday, March 20 – Softball @ Coastal Carolina – 4 p.m.

Friday March 20 – Saturday March 21 – Track @ Shamrock Invitational (Conway, S.C.)

Friday March 20 – Sunday March 22 – Baseball @ Gardner-Webb

Each week, we will bring you a weekly recap of everything that is going on in CSU athletics. For up to the minute information, please check http://www.csusports.com/.

Weekly Recap - March 2 - March 8

Wet conditions slowed things down for CSU athletics during the middle of last week. As the weekend approached, though, that all changed. The good news is that the weekend was filled with great finishes and outstanding performances both individually and as teams.

Monday, March 2 – Baseball vs. Xavier
With rainy and cold weather in the area, the baseball team saw their stretch of 12 games in 13 days cut a little short. Sunday’s game against Air Force, and Tuesday’s game against USC Upstate were both cancelled. With Xavier in town on Monday, there was still little time to rest, though, and while the cold seemed to affect the Bucs, the boys from Cincinnati brought their warm bats, beating CSU 11-4.

Wednesday, March 4 – Baseball vs. South Carolina
The first road game of the season ended up being to one of the nicest ballparks in the country as the Bucs took on #18th-ranked South Carolina in the brand new Carolina Stadium. A solo home run by Tyler Thornburg in the second inning gave CSU the lead, marking the first time in 2009 that USC has trailed an opponent. Kory Morian had an RBI single in the eighth to bring CSU to within four (6-2) going into the top of the ninth inning. A lead off walk by Thornburg led to a big inning in which the Bucs scored two and loaded the bases, but USC’s ace-closer Alex Farotto slammed the door as CSU lost 6-4.

Wednesday, March 4 – Tennis @ UNC Wilmington
The Lady Buccaneer tennis team swept the top three singles matches, but fell 4-3 to undefeated UNC Wilmington in a match that was rescheduled due to cold temperatures. Olga Makhova, Brooke Pletcher and Andrea Schutte each took singles victories with Marija Dzakovic falling in a three-set tiebreaker in the number four spot.

Friday, March 6 – WBB @ Presbyterian
A last-second three-pointer by Katie Tull put CSU over the top in Clinton, as the Lady Buccaneers posted a 50-47 victory over Presbyterian. Tull led the team with 18 points, while freshman Kiki Rutledge hit six of her nine shots and went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to score 16. Defensively, CSU held PC to a 28 percent shooting performance in the first half and forced 20 turnovers.

Friday, March 6 – Saturday, March 7 – M Golf @ Fairfield Spring Break Invitational
Herve Gevers and Jonathan Rustin each tied for second overall, while Kelvin Day shot a tournament-low 67 in round two to lead the Bucs to a 15-shot victory over the 10-team field. With a second-round 286, the Bucs were the only team all weekend to post a score under 300 as they pulled away from the pack.

Friday, March 6 – Saturday, March 7 – Softball vs. Lowcountry Invitational Tournament
The Lady Buccaneers posted a 2-1 record in the round-robin part of competition, earning the second seed going into bracket play. With a dominating 8-0 victory over N.C. A&T, the Lady Bucs earned a chance for a rematch against undefeated Lipscomb in the championships game. CSU got their revenge on the Bison with a 4-3 victory to finish as the 2009 Lowcountry Invitational Champions. Jamie Wellons was named the tournament’s most outstanding pitcher, while Megan Hall earned most outstanding player honors. Megan Lombard and Gail Matsushima joined Wellons and Hall on the All-Tourney team.

Friday, March 6 – Saturday, March 7 – Baseball vs. UNC Asheville
An RBI single in the eighth inning of game one proved the difference as CSU beat UNC Asheville in the opening game of the series 8-7. Tyler Thornburg helped his own cause with the RBI after coming in from right field to pitch the eighth and ninth innings, earning the victory on the mound. Thornburg and Nick Chinners each had three hits in the game with Thornburg and Brantley Meier each scoring twice.

In game two, the Bucs surrendered a six-run fourth inning and were unable to recover as they fell 12-6. Tom Burkett went 3-for-4 in the loss while Scotty Radabaugh had a pair of hits from his leadoff spot.

Although it looked doubtful for a while, CSU would bounce back in the second game of the double header. CSU would score two runs in the first after Radabaugh’s lead off double led to a run, and a Derek Smith sacrifice fly led to another run, putting CSU up 2-1. It was all Asheville from that point, as they managed a 10-3 lead going into the bottom of the sixth inning. A three-run home run by Patrick Dolan and another three-run shot by Kory Morian led to an eight-run inning to put CSU up 11-10. Dolan would come in from left field to close out the game pitching three shut out innings to earn the first save of his career, and give CSU the series victory in the Big South opener.

Saturday, March 7 – Track @ Virginia Tech Last Chance Meet
Dionne Gibson and Levi Brooks each had hopes of making the NCAA Championships in their respective events. Although that feat was not accomplished, both ran very well with Gibson running season-best and school-record time in the 200m dash, missing the Big South record by 0.01 seconds. Brooks also ran a season best in the 400m and missed the NCAA mark by just 0.2 seconds.

Saturday, March 7 – Sunday, March 8 – W Golf @ Lowcountry Intercollegiate
With a 316 in the final round, the Lady Bucs shot 643 as a team to finish third overall at Moss Creek Golf Club. Olivia Jordan-Higgins (Last week’s Big South Golfer of the Week), finished in a tie for fourth overall. Katrin Rumpf was one shot back, but finished in ninth overall.

What’s coming up this week:

Sunday, March 8 – Monday, March 9 – M Golf @ Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate

Monday, March 9 – Softball vs. ETSU (DH) – Noon

Monday, March 9 – W Tennis vs. East Carolina - 2 p.m.

Monday, March 9 – WBB @ Winthrop – 7 p.m.

Tuesday, March 10 – W Tennis vs. UNC Charlotte – 2 p.m.

Tuesday, March 10 – Baseball @ Savannah State – 2 p.m.

Wednesday, March 11 – Softball vs. Furman (DH) – 2 p.m.

Wednesday, March 11 – Baseball vs. College of Charleston – 3 p.m.

Friday, March 12 – WBB vs. Liberty (Big South Tournament) - Noon

Friday, March 12 – Saturday, March 13 – Track @ Coastal Carolina Invitational

Friday, March 12 – Sunday, March 14 – Softball @ Winthrop Invitational Tournament

Friday, March 12 – Sunday, March 14 – Baseball @ Liberty

Saturday, March 13 – W Tennis vs. Winthrop – 1 p.m.

Life Is Goodenough

We had an incredible PINK ZONE event on Sat. Feb 21, for Breast Cancer Awareness. Several fund raisers were going on during our game with all of the proceeds benefitting the Kay Yow Foundation. CROCs sent us pink crocs to sell while our CSU soccer team sold pink lemonade and Bruster’s sold pink ice cream for the event. I would like to say thank you to several individuals who helped tremendously with the event. Thanks to Tam Odom, Beth Boyle, and Brooke Kakassy for organizing, promoting, and running the campaign. Thank you to the girls scouts who passed out pink ribbons and sold Girl Scout cookies. Thanks to James Bradley for always having the Buc Dome ready for our games, and having extra tables, chairs, and whatever else might be needed for special events. Thank you to everyone who bought the pink crocs, (lots of men’s basketball and football players!) which were sold before tipoff! Thanks to everyone who donned their pink gear for the special night! Not only was it a huge success for a worthy cause and proceeds to a worthy foundation established by one of the classiest women’s basketball coaches, the former NC State head coach, Kay Yow, but also the Bucs dominated the court with an impressive victory over Big South foe, Radford! What a fun night to remember!

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Col. 3:17

Weekly Recap - Feb. 22 - Feb. 28

Here's what happened in CSU Athletics last week.

Sunday, Feb. 22 – Tuesday, Feb. 24 – WGolf – Kiawah Island Classic
The Lady Buccaneer golf team had a successful start to the week with a 27th-place finish in one of the largest tournaments in the country (43 teams!). Olivia Jordan-Higgins shot a three-round 230 to lead the way, finishing 37th individually and earning her Big South Golfer of the Week honors.

Monday, Feb. 23 – WBB vs. Liberty
Facing the league’s juggernaut in Liberty, the Lady Bucs put up a good fight, forcing a season-high 27 turnovers by the Lady Flames. With under 5:00 to go, it looked like CSU had a run in them as they cut the lead to 15 and started to gain momentum. The size of Liberty proved too much down the stretch, though, as the Lady Bucs fell 81-59.

Tuesday, Feb. 24 – Wednesday, Feb. 25 – Baseball vs. Chicago State
In the “Battle of the CSU’s” the Bucs got the best of it, sweeping Chicago State in a pair of midweek games. It was an 8-6 victory in game one for Coach Lake and his squad, although the game was not as close as the final score indicated. Patrick Dolan got the win in his first-collegiate pitching appearance, going five innings and striking out eight hitters. In game two, the Buccaneers flexed their offensive muscle in a 13-3 victory in which Charleston Southern had 13 hits and used five Cougar errors. TJ Green got the win, giving up just one hit in five innings of work.

Tuesday, Feb. 24 – MBB vs. Winthrop
It was truly the tale of two halves as CSU shocked the fans at the Winthrop Coliseum by putting up 42 first half points against a solid Eagle defense. Even better was the CSU defense that kept WU in check, giving the Bucs a 42-19 advantage at the break. Everything that went right in the first half went wrong in the second as CSU scored just 10 points and fell 57-52 on the road.

Thursday, Feb. 26 – MBB vs. Coastal Carolina
Follow one rival with another, and the Bucs took on Coastal, knowing they had to win to keep their chances at the playoffs alive. In honor of the two seniors, Giedrius Knysas and J.T. Knight, the Bucs took care of business on senior day with a 63-59 victory over the Chanticleers. Even so, it was the freshman, Jo’el Lamb that stole the show with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

Thursday, Feb. 26 – Friday, Feb. 27 – Track @ Big South Championships
Both track and field teams went up to Clemson for the Conference Championships with high hopes for their athletes, and teams. The women ended up third, while the men’s team claimed fourth in their respective team races. Dionne Gibson again broke the school record in the 60m dash with a 7.54-second finish in the prelims of the event. In the four sprint events (60m dash, 60m hurdles, 200m dash, 400m dash) the Lady Bucs claimed eight spots in the finals, including three in the 60m dash. The lone championship of the weekend came in the 4x400m relay, where Amerikorie Odey, Ebony Muller, Jessica Thomas and Dionne Gibson combined to run 3:51.82, just off the school record.
The men claimed nine spots in the finals, and Cornelius Tyler posted an NCAA Championship-qualifying time in the 200m dash. Tyler, Anthony Ward and Jacques Bazile finished one-two-three in the 60m dash, while Tyler and Levi Brooks swept the top two spots in the 200m dash. Levi Brooks claimed his championship in the 400m dash, blowing away the competition by almost a full second.

Friday, Feb. 27 – Saturday, Feb. 28 - SB vs. Buccaneer Invitational
It seemed that no amount of rain would deter the softball team from finishing their 2009 Buccaneer Invitational. The Buccaneers split 2-2 in the four games at the CSU softball field, taking a 4-3 victory over Norfolk State to start the tournament before falling 2-1 to Campbell. They avenged the loss with a 7-1 win the very next day, but couldn’t sustain the offense in what proved to be a driving rain storm, losing 2-0 to Norfolk State in five innings.

Friday, Feb. 27 – Saturday, Feb. 28 – Baseball vs. Air Force Academy
CSU got just two and a half games in of the scheduled four against the Air Force, splitting the two completed games. Anthony Markham pitched a gem in game one, going 7.0 innings striking out nine, but took the loss as CSU had eight hits, but failed to get a runner across the plate. Kory Morian, who now has a six-game hitting streak, went 3-for-4 in the game. In game two of the series, and the first of a schedule double-header, the Bucs had three hits, but scored three times to win 3-1 in seven innings. Brantley Meier had the two-RBI double in the bottom of the sixth to break the game from a 1-1 tie. Tyler Thornburg earned the victory, coming in after starter Charlie McCready pitched five innings giving up one run and striking out four. The second game of the double header was suspended due to rain and will be completed starting at noon on Thursday, March 12. The final scheduled game of the series was cancelled altogether.

Saturday, Feb. 28 – MBB @ Gardner-Webb
Knowing that they would need a win to make the Big South Tournament, the Buccaneers had a tough test in Gardner-Webb, who was fighting for their own seeding. Playing in his final game as a Buccaneer, Giedrius Knysas tried to will his team to victory, posting 17 points to lead all scorers. Unfortunately for Knysas and the Bucs, it was not enough as GWU won 68-59, ending the season for CSU. The good news for Buccaneer fans is that despite losing two great seniors in Knysas and JT Knight, the team is still young (2 juniors, 4 sophomores and four freshman on the roster this year), and we are all confident that Coach Radebaugh and his staff will post another outstanding recruiting class.

Saturday, Feb. 28 – WBB vs. Gardner-Webb
The Lady Bucs are making a late run up the Big South standings, and a big senior day victory helped their cause significantly. With only one senior in Pam Tolbert, the Lady Buccaneers put four players in double-figures, pushing past GWU 80-68. Katie Tull led the way with six 3s and 23 points, while freshman Ali Schwagmeyer had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Lady Buccaneers are now just one win out of a tie for sixth place in the League standings.

Saturday, Feb. 28 – Tennis vs. Gardner-Webb
Cancelled due to rain

What’s coming up this week:
Monday, March 2 – Baseball vs. Xavier – 2 p.m.

Monday, March 2 – Tennis @ UNC Wilmington – 1:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 4 – Baseball @ South Carolina – 7 p.m.

Friday, March 6 – WBB @ Presbyterian – 5 p.m.

Friday, March 6 – Saturday, March 7 – Mgolf @ Spring Break Invitational

Friday, March 6 – Saturday, March 7 – Softball hosts Lowcountry Invitational

Friday, March 6 – Saturday, March 7 - Baseball vs. UNC Asheville (2 p.m. /11:30 am DH)

Saturday, March 7- Track @ Virginia Tech Qualifier

Each week, we will bring you a weekly recap of everything that is going on in CSU athletics. For up to the minute information, please check http://www.csusports.com/.