Weekly Recap - March 29 - April 4

There were so many great things going on in CSU Athletics this week, but hopefully you had time to relax, get together with your church and/or family and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord on Easter. What a great moment in history, and one that gives us such a great future!

As for the action on the field, tennis clinched at least a share of the regular season championship, softball earned a sweep over Presbyterian College, and the track team moved up on the national and world rankings, breaking a couple of Big South records in the process.

Javon Young has been named the CSU Athlete of the Week after his stellar performance at the Florida Relays. Young ran 10.17 in the 100m dash, breaking a 13-year-old Big South record while posting the fourth-best time in the world this year.

Young followed that up with a 20.64-second time in the 200m dash, breaking another Big South record in the process. He is currently tied for third in the NCAA’s in the 100m dash behind two SEC runners and is tied for fourth in the 200m dash behind runners from Tennessee, Texas A&M and South Carolina.

Andrea Schutte (Tennis), Tom Burkett (Baseball), Jana Matthews (Softball) and Olivia Jordan-Higgins (W. Golf) were also considered for the honor this week.

March 30 – Baseball @ College of Charleston – L, 9-4
The baseball team started this week’s action, trying to steal one on the road against a team they fell to the week before. Patrick Dolan had a solid outing on the mound, giving up just three runs in five innings. He left the game trailing 3-2, but a five-run seventh inning increased the margin for the Cougars and despite a pair of runs in the ninth for CSU, they held off the Bucs for their third victory over CSU this season.

March 31 – Tennis vs. Coastal Carolina – W, 4-3
Probably the most anticipated women’s tennis match in school history, CSU knew it could make a strong case for the #1 seed in the upcoming tournament with a victory over Coastal Carolina. Trying to maintain their undefeated record in the Big South, CSU took the doubles point with a thrilling 8-6 victory at the top flight (Schutte/Torres) and an 8-5 win at the number two spot (Makhova/Dzakovic). From there, CSU did just enough in singles action to get by and move to 5-0 in the Big South this season.

March 31 – Softball @ Coastal Carolina – W, 9-6, L, 3-0
CSU got plenty of hits out of their bats in game one, needing almost all of them to defeat CCU on the road. Unfortunately, it appeared they used the day’s quota of hits as they were unable to pound one out in game two, splitting the day’s double header with the Chanticleers. Erin Kegley and Jana Matthews each tallied a homerun in the first game, tying the single season record for homeruns (8). Shayla Cullum was a perfect four-for-four in the first game as well.

March 31 – Baseball @ The Citadel – L, 5-0
The baseball team had plenty of chances, but couldn’t come up with the clutch hitting as they grounded into four double plays in the first five innings against their other cross-town rival, The Citadel. Even without plating a run, CSU hung around, trailing just 1-0 utnil the bottom of the sixth inning. Charlie McCready had pitched a gem until that point, getting knocked out of the game with just one out in the sixth. McCready was changed with all five runs, with only three being earned after CSU committed four errors. Jesse Cadenhead came in and closed the door, pitching 2.2 innings and giving up just one hit.

April 1 – W. Tennis vs. Wofford – W, 7-0
Many times teams have a let down after such a big victory, but not the case for the women’s tennis team as they flexed their muscles against Wofford, beating the SoCon opponent 7-0. All five of the singles matches went to CSU in straight-sets, with CSU dropping just a combined eight games. Wofford was forced for forfeit the number six singles and number three doubles spot, aiding CSU as they cruised to victory.

April 2 – 4 – W. Golf @ MSU Ocala Spring Invitational – 5th
Olivia Jordan-Higgins led the first two rounds and finished second overall at their last tournament before the Big South Championships (April 12 – 14). The team shot a combined 929 for the three-round tournament and posted its’ highest finish of the spring.

April 2 – Track & Field @ Florida Relays / Duke Invitational
The men’s track and field team split up this weekend as the sprinters went south to the Florida Relays, where Javon Young broke two Big South records and Levi Brooks finished 11th overall in the 400m dash while Dantwan Spreads and Anthony Ward each ran their best times of the season. The distance and throw squads went north to the Duke Invitational, with Andrew King finishing second in the 5,000m run, while Matt Smith finished second in a different heat. Both ran their best times of the season. James Hayes also posted a personal best in the hammer throw.

The women’s team all went to Duke, with Amerikorie Odey finished fifth overall in the 400m hurdles on day one, while Jessica Thomas, Channell Futrell and Gabrielle Houston all posted at least one new personal best at the meet.

April 2 – 3 – Softball @ Presbyterian - W, 1-0, 11-1, 14-9
The slow start at the plate carried over to game one against Presbyterian College as CSU scored just one run. Thankfully, Sondra Vetter turned in a complete game shut out to earn the victory. After that, the Bucs exploded for a combined 25 runs in the next two games, including nine runs in the first inning on Saturday. Jana Matthews broke the school record for home runs, doing so with a grand slam, her first hit of the series. She went on to send out another one later in the same game, her second multi-homerun game of the year.

April 2 – 3- Baseball @ Radford – W, 7-5, 9-6, L, 9-3
The Bucs had a number of firsts this weekend, handing Radford its first conference loss, while winning a road and conference series for the first time in 2010. CSU had plenty of runs, combining for 19 runs in the three-game series. Jesse Cadenhead came in as a relief pitcher again to gent the win in game one as CSU outscored RU 3-1 in the final two innings to take game one. Tyler Thornburg earned the win in game two, going six innings and giving up just two earned runs while striking out six. He left the game with a 7-3 lead, and CSU was able to hold on despite giving up late runs to the Highlanders. In game three, it was another big inning that proved too much for CSU, giving up six runs in the sixth inning after having tied it 1-1 in the top of the fifth.

April 3 – W. Tennis vs. Radford – W, 7-0
It was senior day for Andrea Schutte, and CSU clinched at least a share of the Big South regular season championship to celebrate its senior. It was another blow out for CSU as all of the singles matches went to CSU in straight sets. The top two doubles teams also made quick work of the Highlanders, winning 8-2 and 8-3, respectively.

What’s coming up?

April 6 – Baseball vs. The Citadel – 3 p.m.

April 7 – W. Tennis @ Presbyterian – 2 p.m.

April 7 – Baseball @ Furman – 6 p.m.

April 9 – Baseball vs. Winthrop – 2 p.m.

April 9 – Softball vs. Liberty (DH) – 2 / 4 p.m.

April 10 – W. Tennis vs. Florida State College (Jacksonville) – 10 a.m.

April 10 – Softball vs. Liberty – 1 p.m.

April 10 – Baseball vs. Winthrop – 2 p.m.

April 10 – Football Spring Game – 2 p.m.

April 11 – Baseball vs. Winthrop - 2 p.m.

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Weekly Recap - March 22 - 28

The baseball team took down another nationally ranked team on the road, beating #28 VMI 1-0 in the second game of the three-game series. After pitching eight innings of scoreless ball and earning the victory, Tyler Thornburg has been named the CSU Athlete of the Week.

Thornburg gave up just two hits and struck out 11 in the game, moving his season record to 4-1.

Also nominated were Kelvin Day, Nick Chinners, Olga Makhova, Patria Norman, Levi Brooks and Andrew King.

March 22 – 23 - W. Golf @ Pinehurst Spring Challenge – T-15th
Olivia Jordan Higgins finished in the top-10 for the fifth time this season, helping lead CSU to a 15th-place team finish. Katrin Rumpf finished second on the team in 67th, while Amanda D’Ostroph had a good third round to move into 80th. Madison Jeter (89th) and Katelyn Bensch (92nd) also finished in the top-100 of the event for CSU.

March 23 – Baseball @ Savannah State – W, 12-6
Nick Chinners, Patrick Dolan and Tyler Thornburg all homered, while Stew Brase shut the Savannah State bats down on the mound to give CSU a win on the road over Savannah State. Brase gave up three runs in the first but only one more over the next five innings, scattering five hits and striking out six. The performance earned Brase his first win of the season. Jon Matthews, Tom Burkett and Chinners all finished three-for-five on the day.

March 23 – Softball @ Campbell – L, 7-1, W, 9-2
Jana Matthews moved ever-closer to the school record for homeruns, even though we are only in March, as she homered twice against Campbell to help CSU earn a double-header split on the road. Erin Kegley had three hits while Megan Hall and Megan Lombard each notched a pair of hits on the day.

March 24 – Baseball vs. College of Charleston, L, 28-9
CSU took on their cross-town rivals for the second time this year on the baseball field and it seemed like a football game broke out. A CofC team that leads the SoCon and is near the top in the nation in just about every offensive category showed why as they blasted 25 hits and took full advantage of three CSU errors to put a 28-spot on the board. Knowing they had their work cut out for them, CSU did not help their case giving up 12 in the second inning, including two grand slams in the same inning. After falling into the 15-0 hole, CSU could never recover.

March 24 – W. Tennis @ UNC Charlotte – W, 6-1
The record moved to 11-0 with a dominant win on the road against UNC Charlotte. Both the #1 and #2 doubles teams (Schutte/Torres, Makhova/Dzakovic) won to give CSU the doubles point. From there, CSU lost just the #2 singles match as Andrea Schutte battled through an injury, but fell in a tie breaker. It was her first loss of the season in singles action.

March 25-26 – W. Track and Field @ Asics/Winthrop Invitational
Patria Norman led the trio of Lady Buccaneers who went to Rock Hill to compete in the heptathlon, finishing third overall in the event, just 88 points shy of her school record. Norman finished second in the 200m dash and third in the 100m hurdles and long jump to pace her finish of 4,511 points. Channell Futrell was second on the team in all but the javelin event, where she led CSU finishing fourth. Futrell finished seventh with 3,861 points, while Ellyn Decker finished 13th with 2,101 points.

March 25 – W. Tennis vs. AUM – L, 6-1
For the first time this season, the CSU women’s tennis team suffered a loss, playing the #1 team in the NAIA ranks on a neutral site. Don’t let the NAIA fool you, AUM is a six-time national champion. Marija Dzakovic filled in nicely for Schutte, who could not return from her injury the match before, winning at the #2 singles spot. All is not lost for CSU, though. Their undefeated Big South record is still in tact and they will battle essentially for the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big South Championship as they face Coastal Carolina at home this week.

March 26-27 – Baseball @ #28 VMI – L, 13-3, W, 1-0, L, 7-2
A poor weather forecast changed the plans for the baseball team in Lexington, forcing a double header on Saturday. CSU jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in Friday’s game, but could not hold onto the lead as the big bats of VMI belted three homeruns. In game one of the Saturday double header, Tyler Thornburg shut down the Keydets and it was a good thing he earned the shut out as CSU managed just one run, but got the victory. In game three, CSU again got ahead early, building a 2-0 lead, but another VMI homerun put the Keydets on top 3-2 and they never looked back, giving them the double header split and the series victory over CSU.

March 27-28 – Softball @ Radford, L, 7-1, L, 8-0, L, 15-7
Weather also played a part in the softball series, moving Sunday’s game up to 10 a.m., but it didn’t seem to faze the home team as they rallied to earn three big victories over CSU. The Bucs managed just a combined seven hits in Saturday’s double header, and the pitching didn’t show up in three as CSU scored seven runs but gave up 15. It was a nine-run first inning that did in the Bucs after they scored two in the top of the first. CSU got it back to 9-7, but RU combined to score six runs in the final two frames to earn the series sweep.

March 27 – Track and Field @ Weems Baskin Invitational
The track and field teams continued to prove that there are great things coming from them as they work toward the Big South Championships in a couple of weeks and the NCAA Championships beyond that. Gabrielle Houston finished fifth in the 100m dash, while the 4x100m relay team finished fifth. Sequoya Casey finished third overall in the long jump, the best finish on the day for the Lady Buccaneers. For the men, Levi Brooks won the 200m dash, while Andrew King finished as the runner up in the 1,500m run and also the 5,000m run. Shaun Bisson improved in the 3,000m steeplechase, finishing fourth, while Dantwan Spreads posted the fastest 100m dash time of the year for CSU finishing 3rd overall.

What’s Coming Up?

March 30 – Baseball @ College of Charleston – 5 p.m.

March 31 – W. Tennis vs. Coastal Carolina – 2:30 p.m.

March 31 – Softball @ Coastal Carolina (DH) – 4 / 6 p.m.

March 31 – Baseball @ The Citadel – 6 p.m.

April 1 – W. Tennis vs. Wofford – 2 p.m.

April 2 – 3 – Track and Field @ Florida Relays

April 2 – 3- Track and Field @ Duke Invitational

April 2 – 4 – W. Golf @ MSU Women’s Intercollegiate

April 2 – Softball @ Presbyterian (DH) – 2 / 4 p.m.

April 2 – Baseball @ Radford – 3 p.m.

April 3 – W. Tennis – Radford 11 a.m.

April 3 – Baseball @ Radford (DH) – Noon / 3 p.m.

April 3 – Softball @ Presbyterian – 1 p.m.

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Weekly Recap - March 15 - 21

The CSU women’s basketball team made history by participating and hosting a postseason tournament game for the first time in program history, highlighting this week in CSU Buccaneer athletics. In addition, the women’s tennis team continues to roll, downing nationally-ranked Winthrop on the road to put them in prime position for a #1 seed in the Big South Tournament at the end of April.

Women’s tennis player Andrea Schutte has been named the CSU Athlete of the Week after posting a 7-1 overall record this week. Schutte was undefeated (4-0) in singles last week, dropping just one doubles match to Winthrop at the number one spot.

Schutte now has a 10-0 singles record for the season, with five of her victories coming in straight-sets. She is 5-0 at the number two singles spot, including victories in both of CSU’s matches against other nationally-ranked opponents. CSU is currently ranked 65th, but will likely jump into the top-60 when the newest poll comes out on Tuesday.

March 15 – W. Tennis vs. Jacksonville State – W, 6-1
The start of a busy week, CSU took care of Jacksonville State, winning the doubles point with victories at the #1 and #3 flights, and victories in all but the #6 singles spot. Of the five singles victories, all but one was a straight-set victory, with Andrea Schutte having to come from behind to defeat Dessbesell from JSU 10-8 in the third set. The victory moved CSU to 7-0 on the season.

March 16 – W. Tennis vs. UMass – W, 5-2
A day after rolling past Jacksonville State, CSU took the court again, facing UMass in another non-conference match. CSU swept the doubles in dominating fashion (8-4, 8-4, 8-2) and won four singles matches en route to the 5-2 victory.

March 16 – Baseball @ USC Upstate – W, 8-5
Andrew White returned to form, making perhaps his final midweek start before moving back into the weekend rotation, earning a win against USC Upstate. White allowed just two runs in six innings of work, while Patrick Dolan and Matt Still homered to give CSU an 8-5 victory, and the two-game season sweep of the Spartans.

March 17 – Softball @ S.C. State – W, 20-1, 10-1
CSU combined to score 30 runs in two games against S.C. State on the road, using a 13-run second inning in game one to leave no doubt who the better team was. With 20 hits in the contest, Megan Lombard and Shayla Cullum each had three hits, while Jana Matthews was 2-3 with 5 RBIs and the lone homerun of the game.
Game two wasn’t quite as lopsided, but CSU scored in all but the third inning and held a 10-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth and final inning. Kimberly Hobbs pitched three innings to get the win, striking out three and giving up just four hits. Caitlin Allen came in to finish the game, also striking out three batters. Lombard again had three hits, going 3-for-3 on the day with two runs score and two RBIs.

March 17 – Baseball vs. Savannah State – W, 9-1
Patrick Dolan hit his third homerun of the season while Brantley Meier had three hits to pace the CSU offense in a 9-1 victory over Savannah State. Jesse Cadenhead pitched a tremendous game, scattering four hits over five scoreless innings of action. He also had five strikeouts.

March 18 – W. Tennis vs. UNC Wilmington – W, 5-2
The third of four matches this week, CSU had no trouble with the Seahawks as CSU moved to 9-0 with a 5-2 win. Once again, CSU set the tone by winning the doubles point with victories at the #1 and #3 spots, while the top three flights for CSU also took home a victory. Angie Torres at the #5 spot also won with a straight-set victory.

March 18 – Softball @ USC Upstate – L, 3-1, 5-3
Megan Hall had a 4-for-4 day with three walks in a double header while Jana Matthews had a couple of extra base hits, including her fifth homerun of the season, but it wasn’t enough as USC Upstate held serve at home with a double header sweep of CSU.

March 18 – WBB vs. #1 Appalachian State – L, 62-47
CSU found out early in the week that there was a chance at history as the WBI called and wanted the Buccaneers to join the tournament. It is the first postseason invitation in CSU women’s basketball history and just the second in basketball history (Men’s team went to the NCAAs in 1997). Not only that, CSU was selected to host the game, despite facing top-seeded Appalachian State. Center Ashlen Dewart was too powerful for CSU in the early going, scoring 15 points on a six-for-six shooting effort in the first half of the game, giving ASU a 35-19 lead at halftime. CSU came all the way back, getting it to a two-point game at 45-43 with 6:45 left, but free throws down the stretch distanced the Mountaineers from CSU.

March 19 – 20 – Track & Field @ CCU Shamrock Invitational
Levi Brooks and Javon Young posted their best starting times of their career as the outdoor season really got going this weekend. One of the largest meets of the season with 38 teams competing, CSU held its own with a victory in the 200m dash (Young), a runner-up finish and the top collegiate finisher in the 400m dash (Brooks) and a third-place finish in the women’s 200m dash (Gabrielle Houston). CSU also posted a number of other top-10 and top-20 finishes.

March 19 – 20 – Baseball vs. #8 Coastal Carolina – L, 7-5, L, 29-13
Anthony Markham pitched a great game in the first game of the series, giving CSU a 5-2 lead after seven innings of work. Nick Chinner led the way with three of the team’s seven hits, also recording three of the five RBIs on the day.
Game two did not go as well for the CSU pitching staff, as CSU used nine pitchers in the contest. After Coastal took an 8-0 lead after three at-bats, CSU got on the board and cut it to 8-7 in the fifth. CSU continued to hang around until the eighth and ninth innings, when the Chanticleers tallied a combined 14 runs in two innings to distance themselves from CSU.
Game three of the series was cancelled due to rain in the Charleston area.

March 19 – 21 – M. Golf @ Furman Intercollegiate – T-8th
Kelvin Day finished tied for fifth, while Jacobo Pastor finished tied for 20th as CSU finished tied for eighth in a tough field that included three nationally-ranked teams. Day was the top finisher out of the 20 players from the Big South Conference. Day was also one of just six players to shoot under par on the final day of competition.

March 20 – W. Tennis @ #59 Winthrop – W, 4-3
The toughest test of the season, both with Winthrop’s national ranking and the fact that it was a Big South match, CSU rallied to beat Winthrop on the road to move their record to 10-0 on the season with a 4-0 Big South mark. For just the second time this season, CSU dropped the doubles point, but won the four necessary singles matches to claim the team victory.

What’s Coming Up
March 22 -23 – W. Golf @ Pinehurst Spring Challenge
March 23 – Baseball @ Savannah State – 2 p.m.
March 23 – Softball @ Campbell (DH) – 4 / 6 p.m.
March 24 – Baseball vs. College of Charleston – 2 p.m.
March 24 – W. Tennis @ UNC Charlotte – 2:30 p.m.
March 25 – W. Tennis vs. AUM – 1 p.m.
March 26-28 – Baseball @ VMI
March 27 – Track and Field @ Weems Baskin Relays
March 27-28 – Softball @ Radford

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