February 20, 2012
MOBILE, Ala. -- College of Charleston took both games of the doubleheader Sunday to earn a series sweep of South Alabama on opening weekend.
The Cougars won the first game, 6-3, and the seven- inning finale, 3-0.
The Cougars' pitching staff was impressive as it gave up only three runs, two earned, in the doubleheader. Charleston also allowed just six hits on the day and combined for 10 strikeouts. Junior Matt Pegler picked up the win in the first game with senior David Peterson earning the save, while junior Christian Powell pitched an impressive six innings of two-hit, shutout ball to earn the win in the second game.
The Cougars were led offensively by Marty Gantt, who went 5 of 7 with three runs, two RBIs and two stolen bases. Gantt's double in the first game drove in the eventual game-winning runs as the Cougars scored four runs in the sixth inning.
Freshman Gunnar Heidt went 4-of-8 with one run, while Daniel Aldrich hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot in the fourth inning of the second game.
"I was very proud of our pitching," said Charleston coach Monte Lee. "We only gave up two earned runs and our bullpen was outstanding. We need to be a little better in RBI situations, and our infield defense played well but still has room to improve. If we pitch the way we did this weekend, we can win a lot of baseball games. It's always great to open the season with a sweep on the road."
Charleston hosts the Cougar Invitational next weekend as Rhode Island, Xavier and Connecticut come to Patriots Point.
Live 5 News
College of Charleston Sweeps South Alabama In Opening Series (VIDEO)
Feb. 19, 2012
Post and Courier
Cougars overcome shaky start
Tommy Braswell
February 19, 2012
The College of Charleston battled back from an early 12-point deficit and hung on for an 80-73 win over Kent State in an ESPN BracketBuster game played at the M.A.C. Center in Kent, Ohio.
The Cougars managed to build up a 19-point second half lead only to have the Golden Flashes find the range from beyond the 3-point line and whittle it to two points. But Charleston hit 8 of 10 from the free throw line, including its final six, to up its record in BracketBuster games to 5-1.
Charleston improved to 17-11. Kent State saw a seven-game winning streak end as the Golden Flashes fell to 19-7. The Cougars return to Southern Conference action Thursday at 8 p.m. against Georgia Southern in their final home game of the season. Charleston ends its regular season at 3 p.m. Saturday at The Citadel.
The Cougars got a career-high 27 points from sophomore Nori Johnson, who was the eighth man in the rotation when the season began but has now started the last 12 games. Senior Antwaine Wiggins, who ended up at point guard because of Andrew Lawrence's foul troubles, added 17 points, 10 of which came from the foul line. And sophomore Trent Wiedeman earned his ninth double-double of the season and 13th of his career with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Kent State jumped out to a 17-5 lead before the Cougars finally began to get untracked offensively. Charleston went on an 8-0 run and finally tied the game at 23 when Wiggins got a steal and hit Johnson who knocked down the second of his five 3-pointers. Kent State immediately moved back in front. But Charleston enjoyed a productive final minute with Matt Sundberg hitting a long 3-pointer, Wiedeman hitting two free throws and Jordan Scott getting a steal and a free throw to give the Cougars a 36-33 halftime lead.
Byington, now 5-3 since taking over for Bobby Cremins who is out on a medical leave of absence, called the win "unbelievable."
"(Kent State) was 11-1 at home, and I can see them in the NCAA Tournament," Byington said. "It was a great, great road win. I'm proud of our guys. Nori was great."
CollegeSwimming.com
College of Charleston, Florida Gulf Coast Grab CCSA Titles
February 18, 2012
The College of Charleston men won the 2012 CCSA Swimming and Diving Championships at the Gabrielsen Natatorium on the campus of the University of Georgia. The Cougars picked up a total of 890.50 points, earning their third CCSA Championship title.
Davidson College finished in second with 884 points in front of Gardner-Webb who totaled 717.50 points. VMI took fourth with 338.50 points, while Howard earned 235 points to round out the list.
Drew Onken of Davidson earned the Men’s Swimmer of the Year for the second-straight year and took home the Men’s Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet. The junior earned three CCSA Swimmer of the Week honors this past season while holding the season’s top spots on the top 16 list in the 100-yard freestyle (46.24), 200-yard backstroke (1:50.96), 200-yard breaststroke (2:02.23), 200 IM (1:51.03) and 400 IM (3:53.35). In the meet, Onken won first in the 200 IM and earning a B cut with a time of 1:46.69 as well as first in the 400 IM and earning a B cut with a time of 3:47.38 and the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:59.65.
Peter Gibbons of College of Charleston garnered Men’s Most Outstanding Diver of the Meet and Men’s Diver of the Year for the second straight year. The junior took first in the 1-meter and 3-meter dive with a score of 278.80 and 291.75, respectively. During the season, Gibbons earned two CCSA Men’s Diver of the Week honors
Dylan Ludwick of Davidson was tabbed the Most Outstanding Freshman Performer, placing first in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:25.34 and the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:40.50. Both his 500 free time and 1,650 free time set new meet and conference records.
Thirteenth-year head coach Bruce Zimmerman of College of Charleston won Male Swimming Coach of the Year, while Brittany Collins took home Male Diving Coach of the Year.
Post and Courier
Little goes right for Charleston in loss to UNCG
Tommy Braswell
February 16, 2012
UNC Greensboro had to play Wednesday without leading scorer Trevis Simpson, but the Spartans got career highs from two other players on the way to a 78-63 victory over the College of Charleston at the Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum.
Derrell Armstrong, starting in place of Simpson, who was out with a broken toe, scored 30 points, and Aloysius Henry added 22 for Greensboro, which won for the 10th time in 11 games. The Spartans' streak to the top of the Southern Conference North Division began Jan. 12 when they beat
Charleston, 73-66, and ended an 11-game losing streak. Greensboro is now 12-15 and and 10-5 in the league.
Charleston fell to 16-11 and 8-8 in the SoCon South. The loss also ended a three-game winning streak by the Cougars.
Charleston shot only 36 percent from the floor (21 of 59) and hit only 5 of 25 3-point attempts. The Cougars tied their season-high with 22 turnovers, and got only two points from their bench players compared to Greensboro's 39.
The one bright spot for Charleston was sophomore forward Trent Wiedeman, who had 21 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, his 12th career double-double. He had 10 points and 11 rebounds by halftime. Andrew Lawrence finished with 11 points, but committed 10 turnovers. Antwaine Wiggins also scored 11 points and Nori Johnson added 10.
Charleston trailed by as many as nine in the first half but battled back to within 31-30 at the break. The Cougars started the second half strong and grabbed a 39-33 lead, prompting a Greensboro timeout that turned the tide. The Spartans went on a 16-1 run and enjoyed a double-figure lead the remainder of the game.
Cougars interim coach Mark Byington, 4-3 since taking over for Bobby Cremins, who is out on a medical leave of absence, said Greensboro had the Cougars on their heels from the beginning.
"We were stagnant in our offense. We weren't cutting hard and we weren't breaking hard to get open," Byington said. "It was uncharacteristic for us to have that many turnovers. We've done a good job of taking care of the ball, but tonight it was everyone. We weren't sharp in our offense, and what hurt us defensively was the amount of turnovers we gave up on our turnovers.
"We'll prepare better. We'll learn from it. We took a step back. We will work hard to get our momentum going again. I told our guys to let this be the last time a team we play is more aggressive than we are."
Post and Courier
Pitching strong suit for Cougars
Tommy Braswell
February 16, 2012
Pitching has been an overlooked commodity for the College of Charleston baseball team in recent seasons. The Cougars have relied on the long ball to carry them to an average of 39 wins in the three seasons Monte Lee has been the head coach.
And while there's still plenty of power around, including preseason All-American Daniel Aldrich, the returning pitching staff is what has Lee most excited.
"I think that's the strength of our team. We have a veteran pitching staff," Lee said.
Two of the Cougars' returning pitchers are preseason all-conference picks: junior right-hander Christian
Powell, who was selected to the first team by the league coaches, and senior left-hander Josh Renfro, a second-team pick. Charleston also returns senior starter David Peterson, senior reliever Kyle Owings and junior reliever Jake Zokan. Powell, Renfro and Peterson combined to go 22-10 while starting 42 games last year.
Renfro said the pitching staff is expecting a lot and points to other teams' postseason success, saying the teams with the best pitching enjoy the most success.
"Last season was a little disappointing. We fell short of our expectations. We're definitely coming in with a chip on our shoulder, something to prove, after coming so close to the postseason but falling short. We're definitely more motivated and focused on the task at hand.
"We definitely have the talent. We have to work on coming together and jelling as a team."
Lee said the coaching staff will have to be patient as they adjust to replacing six position players in the lineup.
Lee said he expects Bradley Goodson, a junior transfer from Central Florida Community College, to be one of the better shortstops in the league. Sophomore Brandon Glazer is expected to replace third baseman Matt Leeds, who had 39 home runs for the Cougars the last two seasons. Rob Harding played in 49 games last year and will start at second base. The first baseman is expected to be Tyler Jackson, a transfer from Spartanburg Methodist, who led the team in hitting in the fall. And Lee thinks sophomore Jimmy Holton and junior Ryan Welke give the team a good combination at catcher.
"We feel like we've got a good group that can replace what we lost, but it's going to take some time. There's going to be an adjustment period for the guys who haven't started yet. It will take (the coaching staff) some time to figure out the right batting order," Lee said.
