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.