CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston (19-19, 7-7) returns to action on Wednesday, April 21 when they travel to nearby rival Charleston Southern (23-23-1) for a non-conference softball double-header. The fifth and sixth meetings between the teams this season, first pitch is slated for 2 p.m. at the CSU Softball Field in Ladson, S.C.
Team Capsules
College of Charleston Cougars
2010 Record: 19-19, 7-7
2009 Record: 23-26, 14-9 (2nd in Southern Conference)
The Cougars enter the non-conference double-header following a 4-1 week and 10 wins in their last 13 games dating back to a March 30 double-header sweep at South Carolina State.
This past week, CofC earned hard fought 2-1 and 1-0 wins over UNC Wilmington before taking two of three games from Southern Conference foe Appalachian State over the weekend. In that series, senior pitcher Terri Mesko (McDonough, Ga.) earned both victories and appeared in all three games while sophomore third baseman Katie Forbes (Odessa, Fla.) batted .462 on the week with a .692 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage.
After allowing a run on a sacrifice fly in the first inning of Game 1 against the Mountaineers, the College of Charleston knotted the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the inning when junior outfielder Kristi Woodall (Huntersville, S.C.) scored on a throwing error. A solo homerun in the top of the second then gave the lead right back to ASU, 2-1.
That would be as far as they would get however, as senior designated hitter Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) ripped a game-tying homerun over the left centerfield fence in the third inning to tie the game at 2-2. A line drive single from junior shortstop Hillary Stringer (Summerville, S.C.) and a deep double to center by Kristie Shifflett then produced a run a piece and gave the Cougars a 4-2 advantage. They would add a fifth run on an infield single by Forbes to make it 5-2.
Appalachian State earned an 8-2 victory in Game 2 after scoring the game’s first five runs with a pair in the third inning and three in the fifth, but that success would not carry over to the final game of the series.
In that game, Mesko struck out the first three batters and the College of Charleston jumped out ahead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning as Woodall lofted an RBI double to center and the scored on an error. Following a Mountaineer run in the second inning, CofC struck for three runs in the third to make it 5-1 as Forbes and redshirt-junior catcher Katie Pesature (Brewster, N.Y.) each produced RBI singles and sophomore outfielder Amanda Lonergan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) doubled home the third run.
After staving off a near-game tying rally in which Appalachian State scored three runs in the sixth and had their top player struck out with runners on second and third, Mesko and the Cougars retired the side in order in the seventh to lock up the 5-4 victory.
Statistically, senior designated hitter Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) continues to lead the team in batting average (.379), slugging percentage (.653), on-base percentage (.523), hits (36), doubles (10) and walks (26) and is tied for second with 18 RBIs.
Amanda Lonergan leads the team in homeruns (5) and RBIs (23), is second in slugging (.578) and on-base percentage (.444) and is second with a .324 batting average. Kelley Dillon is third with a .317 batting average and 17 RBIs to go along with a .465 slugging percentage, .412 on-base percentage and nine doubles.
Amber Shifflett is hitting .289 with nine doubles, four triples and four homeruns, has a .529 slugging percentage and leads the team with 13 steals in 15 attempts. Her 57 career steals (57-64) is currently tied for the most in program history and she is a triple away from tying the program mark of 10 for a career.
In the pitching circle, Terri Mesko leads the team with a 10-7 record, 2.35 ERA, 110.1 innings pitched, 91 strikeouts and a .219 opposing batting average. She has thrown nine straight complete games in her last nine starts and has won five straight decisions. Junior Alexa Datko (San Diego, Calif.) is second with a 4-9 record, 2.69 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 83.1 innings.
In the NCAA National Rankings, the College of Charleston is currently 16th in doubles per game (1.61) and 24th in triples per game (0.27) while Amber Shifflett is 18th in triples (4) and 22nd in triples per game (0.12). Her sister, Kristie Shifflett is currently 29th in walks per game (0.76).
Charleston Southern Buccaneers
2010: 23-23-1, 7-8 (Big South)
2009: 26-33, 7-11
The Buccaneers are 23-23-1 on the season and are 3-4 on their current nine-game home stand that will be capped off with the Wednesday double-header. CSU dropped the first series of that stretch to Liberty with a pair of losses (3-0, 5-1) and beat the Flames 5-4 before falling to Coastal Carolina by a 5-3 score in a single game on April 14. In their most recent series against Winthrop, Charleston Southern claimed the first two games by 8-3 and 5-3 scores before the Eagles notched an 11-0 shutout in the finale on April 17.
Jana Matthews leads the team with 10 homeruns, has a .504 slugging percentage and is one of three players on the team with 30 RBIs this season. Megan Lombard also has 30 RBIs to go along with nine doubles, a .366 batting average, .627 slugging percentage and a .420 on-base percentage while Erin Kegley has eight homeruns, 30 RBIs and a .525 slugging percentage. Shayla Cullum is right on the cusp of that RBI plateau with 29 and Megan Hall leads the team with a .382 batting average.
Sondra Vetter anchors the CSU pitching staff with 91 strikeouts in 123.1 innings and is 8-13 with a 3.58 ERA while Caitlin Allen is 5-3 with a 3.50 ERA. Kimberly Hobbs rounds out the pitching staff with an 8-6 record and 3.85 ERA.
Series History with Charleston Southern
The College of Charleston leads the all-time series with Charleston Southern by a 32-29 margin dating back to the program’s first meeting on March 5, 1993. With four wins in the series this season, the Buccaneers have won six of the last seven meetings.
All-Time Series Results with Charleston Southern (32-29)
Date Winner Score
3/5/93 Charleston Southern 11-2
3/5/93 Coll. of Charleston 6-5
4/2/93 Charleston Southern 8-6
4/17/93 Coll. of Charleston 6-2
4/17/93 Charleston Southern 9-3
2/28/94 Charleston Southern 11-1 (5)
2/28/94 Charleston Southern 1-0
4/1/94 Coll. of Charleston 7-5
4/2/94 Coll. of Charleston 2-1
4/11/94 Coll. of Charleston 4-2
4/11/94 Charleston Southern 4-2
2/28/95 Coll. of Charleston 7-1
2/28/95 Coll. of Charleston 4-3
3/29/95 Coll. of Charleston 4-3 (9)
3/29/95 Charleston Southern 9-3
4/1/95 Coll. of Charleston 3-0
2/20/96 Coll. of Charleston 9-6
2/20/96 Charleston Southern 7-2 (6)
4/16/96 Charleston Southern 14-3 (5)
4/16/96 Charleston Southern 11-5
3/1/97 Charleston Southern 5-4
3/1/97 Charleston Southern 7-5
3/19/97 Charleston Southern 3-1
3/19/97 Charleston Southern 2-0
3/15/98 Coll. of Charleston 2-1
4/20/99 Coll. of Charleston 4-3
4/20/99 Coll. of Charleston 12-2
2/21/01 Charleston Southern 4-2
2/21/01 Coll. of Charleston 4-3
2/25/01 Coll. of Charleston 3-1
3/3/01 Charleston Southern 1-0
3/14/01 Coll. of Charleston 5-4
3/14/01 Coll. of Charleston 9-5
2/25/03 Coll. of Charleston 11-1
2/25/03 Coll. of Charleston 5-1
4/13/04 Coll. of Charleston 16-0
4/13/04 Coll. of Charleston 10-0
4/5/05 Coll. of Charleston 9-1
4/5/05 Coll. of Charleston 3-2
2/28/06 Coll. of Charleston 8-0
2/28/06 Coll. of Charleston 16-2
4/18/07 Coll. of Charleston 6-1
4/18/07 Coll. of Charleston 8-0
5/2/07 Coll. of Charleston 2-1
5/2/07 Charleston Southern 12-7
3/26/08 Charleston Southern 3-1
3/26/08 Coll. of Charleston 4-0
4/15/08 Charleston Southern 5-3
4/15/08 Coll. of Charleston 6-1
3/18/09 Coll. of Charleston 5-4 (8)
3/18/09 Charleston Southern 5-4
4/22/09 Charleston Southern 7-3
4/22/09 Coll. of Charleston 2-0
2/14/10 Charleston Southern 6-4
2/14/10 Charleston Southern 3-2
2/23/10 Charleston Southern 3-2
2/23/10 Charleston Southern 6-4 (9)
Team Capsules
College of Charleston Cougars
2010 Record: 19-19, 7-7
2009 Record: 23-26, 14-9 (2nd in Southern Conference)
The Cougars enter the non-conference double-header following a 4-1 week and 10 wins in their last 13 games dating back to a March 30 double-header sweep at South Carolina State.
This past week, CofC earned hard fought 2-1 and 1-0 wins over UNC Wilmington before taking two of three games from Southern Conference foe Appalachian State over the weekend. In that series, senior pitcher Terri Mesko (McDonough, Ga.) earned both victories and appeared in all three games while sophomore third baseman Katie Forbes (Odessa, Fla.) batted .462 on the week with a .692 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage.
After allowing a run on a sacrifice fly in the first inning of Game 1 against the Mountaineers, the College of Charleston knotted the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the inning when junior outfielder Kristi Woodall (Huntersville, S.C.) scored on a throwing error. A solo homerun in the top of the second then gave the lead right back to ASU, 2-1.
That would be as far as they would get however, as senior designated hitter Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) ripped a game-tying homerun over the left centerfield fence in the third inning to tie the game at 2-2. A line drive single from junior shortstop Hillary Stringer (Summerville, S.C.) and a deep double to center by Kristie Shifflett then produced a run a piece and gave the Cougars a 4-2 advantage. They would add a fifth run on an infield single by Forbes to make it 5-2.
Appalachian State earned an 8-2 victory in Game 2 after scoring the game’s first five runs with a pair in the third inning and three in the fifth, but that success would not carry over to the final game of the series.
In that game, Mesko struck out the first three batters and the College of Charleston jumped out ahead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning as Woodall lofted an RBI double to center and the scored on an error. Following a Mountaineer run in the second inning, CofC struck for three runs in the third to make it 5-1 as Forbes and redshirt-junior catcher Katie Pesature (Brewster, N.Y.) each produced RBI singles and sophomore outfielder Amanda Lonergan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) doubled home the third run.
After staving off a near-game tying rally in which Appalachian State scored three runs in the sixth and had their top player struck out with runners on second and third, Mesko and the Cougars retired the side in order in the seventh to lock up the 5-4 victory.
Statistically, senior designated hitter Kristie Shifflett (Virginia Beach, Va.) continues to lead the team in batting average (.379), slugging percentage (.653), on-base percentage (.523), hits (36), doubles (10) and walks (26) and is tied for second with 18 RBIs.
Amanda Lonergan leads the team in homeruns (5) and RBIs (23), is second in slugging (.578) and on-base percentage (.444) and is second with a .324 batting average. Kelley Dillon is third with a .317 batting average and 17 RBIs to go along with a .465 slugging percentage, .412 on-base percentage and nine doubles.
Amber Shifflett is hitting .289 with nine doubles, four triples and four homeruns, has a .529 slugging percentage and leads the team with 13 steals in 15 attempts. Her 57 career steals (57-64) is currently tied for the most in program history and she is a triple away from tying the program mark of 10 for a career.
In the pitching circle, Terri Mesko leads the team with a 10-7 record, 2.35 ERA, 110.1 innings pitched, 91 strikeouts and a .219 opposing batting average. She has thrown nine straight complete games in her last nine starts and has won five straight decisions. Junior Alexa Datko (San Diego, Calif.) is second with a 4-9 record, 2.69 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 83.1 innings.
In the NCAA National Rankings, the College of Charleston is currently 16th in doubles per game (1.61) and 24th in triples per game (0.27) while Amber Shifflett is 18th in triples (4) and 22nd in triples per game (0.12). Her sister, Kristie Shifflett is currently 29th in walks per game (0.76).
Charleston Southern Buccaneers
2010: 23-23-1, 7-8 (Big South)
2009: 26-33, 7-11
The Buccaneers are 23-23-1 on the season and are 3-4 on their current nine-game home stand that will be capped off with the Wednesday double-header. CSU dropped the first series of that stretch to Liberty with a pair of losses (3-0, 5-1) and beat the Flames 5-4 before falling to Coastal Carolina by a 5-3 score in a single game on April 14. In their most recent series against Winthrop, Charleston Southern claimed the first two games by 8-3 and 5-3 scores before the Eagles notched an 11-0 shutout in the finale on April 17.
Jana Matthews leads the team with 10 homeruns, has a .504 slugging percentage and is one of three players on the team with 30 RBIs this season. Megan Lombard also has 30 RBIs to go along with nine doubles, a .366 batting average, .627 slugging percentage and a .420 on-base percentage while Erin Kegley has eight homeruns, 30 RBIs and a .525 slugging percentage. Shayla Cullum is right on the cusp of that RBI plateau with 29 and Megan Hall leads the team with a .382 batting average.
Sondra Vetter anchors the CSU pitching staff with 91 strikeouts in 123.1 innings and is 8-13 with a 3.58 ERA while Caitlin Allen is 5-3 with a 3.50 ERA. Kimberly Hobbs rounds out the pitching staff with an 8-6 record and 3.85 ERA.
Series History with Charleston Southern
The College of Charleston leads the all-time series with Charleston Southern by a 32-29 margin dating back to the program’s first meeting on March 5, 1993. With four wins in the series this season, the Buccaneers have won six of the last seven meetings.
All-Time Series Results with Charleston Southern (32-29)
Date Winner Score
3/5/93 Charleston Southern 11-2
3/5/93 Coll. of Charleston 6-5
4/2/93 Charleston Southern 8-6
4/17/93 Coll. of Charleston 6-2
4/17/93 Charleston Southern 9-3
2/28/94 Charleston Southern 11-1 (5)
2/28/94 Charleston Southern 1-0
4/1/94 Coll. of Charleston 7-5
4/2/94 Coll. of Charleston 2-1
4/11/94 Coll. of Charleston 4-2
4/11/94 Charleston Southern 4-2
2/28/95 Coll. of Charleston 7-1
2/28/95 Coll. of Charleston 4-3
3/29/95 Coll. of Charleston 4-3 (9)
3/29/95 Charleston Southern 9-3
4/1/95 Coll. of Charleston 3-0
2/20/96 Coll. of Charleston 9-6
2/20/96 Charleston Southern 7-2 (6)
4/16/96 Charleston Southern 14-3 (5)
4/16/96 Charleston Southern 11-5
3/1/97 Charleston Southern 5-4
3/1/97 Charleston Southern 7-5
3/19/97 Charleston Southern 3-1
3/19/97 Charleston Southern 2-0
3/15/98 Coll. of Charleston 2-1
4/20/99 Coll. of Charleston 4-3
4/20/99 Coll. of Charleston 12-2
2/21/01 Charleston Southern 4-2
2/21/01 Coll. of Charleston 4-3
2/25/01 Coll. of Charleston 3-1
3/3/01 Charleston Southern 1-0
3/14/01 Coll. of Charleston 5-4
3/14/01 Coll. of Charleston 9-5
2/25/03 Coll. of Charleston 11-1
2/25/03 Coll. of Charleston 5-1
4/13/04 Coll. of Charleston 16-0
4/13/04 Coll. of Charleston 10-0
4/5/05 Coll. of Charleston 9-1
4/5/05 Coll. of Charleston 3-2
2/28/06 Coll. of Charleston 8-0
2/28/06 Coll. of Charleston 16-2
4/18/07 Coll. of Charleston 6-1
4/18/07 Coll. of Charleston 8-0
5/2/07 Coll. of Charleston 2-1
5/2/07 Charleston Southern 12-7
3/26/08 Charleston Southern 3-1
3/26/08 Coll. of Charleston 4-0
4/15/08 Charleston Southern 5-3
4/15/08 Coll. of Charleston 6-1
3/18/09 Coll. of Charleston 5-4 (8)
3/18/09 Charleston Southern 5-4
4/22/09 Charleston Southern 7-3
4/22/09 Coll. of Charleston 2-0
2/14/10 Charleston Southern 6-4
2/14/10 Charleston Southern 3-2
2/23/10 Charleston Southern 3-2
2/23/10 Charleston Southern 6-4 (9)
