CCU

Softball Heads to Charleston Southern for Big South Doubleheader

       

Softball Heads to Charleston Southern for Big South Doubleheader

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COASTAL CAROLINA SET TO TRAVEL TO CHARLESTON: The Chanticleers will hit the road for the first time since March 1 as the squad head’s to Charleston, S.C. to take on the Charleston Southern Lady Bucs in a doubleheader on Wednesday. The Chants will look for revenge on Wednesday, as Coastal Carolina was shutout 8-0 in five innings by the Lady Bucs on March 20 in the Big South opener for both squads.

CHANTICLEERS DROP C OF C 9-8 IN THRILLER, SPLIT DOUBLEHEADER: In game one on March 22, the Chanticleers jumped out to a 1-0 lead early on, but the Cougars bounced back with a home run to give the Cougars the 2-1 lead in the second inning. The Chants would retake the lead, scoring runs in the second and third innings, but CofC would blow the game wide open in the fourth, as the Cougars scored five runs on the inning for a 7-3 lead. College of Charleston would add a run in the final three innings to increase the lead to 10-3. The Chants would score a trio of runs in the bottom of the seventh, but fell short in their comeback attempt, dropping the 10-6 decision. In game two, Coastal Carolina would again take a 1-0 lead, but again would surrender the advantage in the second inning. Coastal Carolina would tie the game up at 2-2 in the bottom half of the inning, and take the 3-2 lead in the third. CofC would tie the game up once again at 3-3 in the third inning. The Chants busted the game open in the fourth, as they scored a season-high six runs on the inning to take the 9-3 lead. The Cougars would cut the game to 9-7 heading into the seventh, and added a run on a homer in the inning. Freshman Ivy McCranie then entered the game with the go-ahead run at bat, but closed the game out for her first collegiate save and preserved the 9-8 Coastal Carolina victory.



CHANTS SPLIT DOUBLEHEADER WITH LIMESTONE: In Coastal Carolina’s first games of the week on March 17, the Chants fell to the Limestone Saints 1-0 in game one and bounced back to defeat the Saints 2-0 in game two. In game one, the Chants could not get on the board, squandering a solid pitching performance by freshman Ivy McCranie, who allowed one run on eight hits in six innings of work. In game two, Coastal Carolina scored both of it’s runs in the fourth inning on a Brittany Birnbaum two RBI single to give Coastal Carolina the 2-0 advantage. The cushion was all that pitcher Ashley Frederick would need, as she would pick up her third victory of the season in the complete game shutout. In total, the Lusby, Md. native fanned six Saints in the victory.

WILLIAMS DOUBLES UP ON THE WEEK: Sophomore transfer Olivia Williams had herself quite a week, as she was 5-of-12 at the dish (.417) with a double and a pair of RBI. After entering the week hitting only .118 on the season in primarily a pinch-hitting role, where she was 2-of-11 (.182) on the season, the Greensboro College transfer started a trio of games on the week at designated player, and doubled her average to .241 after the outstanding week at the plate.

SCOUTING THIS WEEK’S OPPONENTS:
Charleston Southern: The Lady Bucs enter this week with a 15-16 overall record, and will take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack on March 24 before hosting Coastal Carolina in the doubleheader. Charleston Southern is led by slugger Gail Matsushima, who is batting .400 in the year (32-for-80) with 13 doubles, two home runs, and 21 RBI. In the circle, Jamie Wellons is the top Lady Buc hurler, as she is 9-11 on the season with a 2.06 ERA. Both Matsushima and Wellons excelled in the 8-0 blanking of Coastal Carolina on March 20, as Matsushima was 2-for-3 with three RBI, while Wellons threw a five-inning three hit shutout in the victory. Even with the loss to the Lady Bucs this season, Coastal Carolina still maintains a 46-20 advantage in the all-time series.