Charleston Baseball Hosts Youngstown State in Second Series
CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Charleston baseball will play host to Youngstown State this weekend at Patriots Point for a three game series. Fresh off sweeping a four game set with Marshall to open the season, the Cougs will be looking to continue their winning ways against the Penguins. The two programs have met 13 times previously with Charleston taking each ballgame. The last meeting came in the Coivd-19 shortened 2020 season when Charleston swept a three game series at Patriots Point.
Last Time Out
Charleston rode excellent starting pitching in the Marshall series. The quartet of Jake Brink, Aidan Hunter, Connor Campbell, and Andrew Duval combined to hold Marshall to just two runs over 21 innings pitched. Brink got things started Friday night with five no-hit innings, surrendering four walks and striking out five in a 13-5 win.
On Saturday, Aidan Hunter continued Brink’s dominance, surrendering no runs in six innings of work, giving up just three hits with no walks and four strikeouts in a 5-0 win. Connor Campbell kept the theme going on Sunday with six innings of one-run ball with no walks and five K’s in a 2-1 Cougars win. Duval got the start Monday, the lefty worked around three hits and three walks to give up just one run in four innings.
The Cougars also got great innings out of the pen. Emmett Bice appeared twice, throwing 5.2 innings of shutout ball, picking up the win in Monday’s game. Alex Lyon and Hayden Thomas both made appearances over the weekend, each surrendering no runs in two innings pitched. Newcomer Davis Aiken picked up two saves for the Cougs. In Sunday’s 2-1 win, Aiken worked around an error to slam the door on the Herd. In Monday’s 8-5 win, Aiken worked a one-two-three inning complete the four-game sweep.
Over the weekend, Charleston’s bats provided 28 runs with Cole Mathis, Avery Neaves, and Dylan Johnson each homering. The standout bat of the series was veteran Kevin Madden. The Cougs third baseman went 8-for-17 over the four game set with four runs, three doubles and three RBIs.
Scouting the Penguins
The Penguins travelled to San Marcos, Texas during the opening weekend where they were swept by Texas State. The Penguins posted an overall record of 19-36 with a 13-16 mark in Horizon League play last season. The 2023 campaign was highlighted by the program’s longest winning streak in 18 years when they won eight straight games from April 25 to May 9.
The Penguins won 12 of their final 16 games while earning four consecutive Horizon League series victories to close out the regular season. YSU was predicted to finish fifth in the Horizon preseason coaches poll. Redshirt senior shortstop Trey Law and sophomore infielder Matt Thompson were each named to Perfect Game’s Horizon League Preseason All-Conference Team in the website’s 2024 conference preview.
Law was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team and the ABCA/Rawlings East All-Region Second Team last season after batting .362 and slugging .452 with 80 hits, 17 doubles, one home run and 29 RBIs. He also recorded 50 runs scored, 24 walks, 100 total bases, a .437 on-base percentage and 10 stolen bases while starting 52 games at shortstop. Thompson, who was named the 2023 Horizon League Freshman of the Year, batted .316 and slugged .439 with 54 hits, 10 doubles, one triple, three home runs and 28 RBIs while playing in 47 games and making 46 starts at second base during his debut collegiate campaign.
Freshman outfielder Derrick Tarpley Jr. was selected as the Preseason Horizon League Freshman of the Year by D1Baseball.com in the website’s 2024 conference preview. The Brownsville, Pa., native was drafted by the Oakland Athletics with the 526th overall pick in the 18th round of the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft.
Gameday Reminders
Gates at Patriots Park will open one hour before first pitch. The College of Charleston has implemented a Clear Bag Policy for athletics events. Single-game and season tickets are still available and can be found on the team’s website.
