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.