Tag: Charleston Southern

Rutgers baseball wins two of three to capture the series over Charleston Southern

Over the weekend, Rutgers baseball won two of three games over Charleston Southern to capture their third series victory in 2024.

Over the weekend, Rutgers baseball (8-2) won two of three games over Charleston Southern (5-6) to capture another series victory. The Scarlet Knights opened their three-game set with an 11-8 loss on Saturday morning but would bounce back to win 9-1 on Saturday night and 9-7 on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights captured their third series victory in 2024 with back-to-back wins.

Game 1

Rutgers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in game one, but the Scarlet Knights failed to hold the lead, giving up three runs in the bottom of the first inning and an RBI double in the second inning, cutting the lead to 5-4.

In the top of the third inning, Rutgers RJ Johnson increased the lead to 7-4 with a two-run double. The Scarlet Knights added another run in the top of the fourth inning with a sac fly by Hugh Pinkney.

Charleston Southern chipped away at the lead with a solo home run, cutting Rutgers’ lead to 8-5. Rutgers’ momentum would end in the bottom of the fourth inning when the Buccaneers closed the game with six unanswered runs to capture the 11-8 victory.

 

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Game 2

Game two started slow, with both teams trading zeroes in the first two innings. In the top of the third inning, Rutgers Josh Kuroda-Grauer, Pete Durocher, and Jordan Sweeney drove in runs with RBI singles to give Rutgers a 3-0 lead.

With Jackson Natili, Johnny Volpe, and Cameron Love registering a single, a sac bunt, and a sac fly, the Scarlet Knights extended their lead to 6-0 in the top of the fourth inning. In the seventh inning, the Scarlet Knights added three more runs to extend their lead to 9-0.

Rutgers pitcher Justin Sinibaldi recorded a career performance on the mound for the Scarlet Knight, logging a career-high 11 strikeouts. He went a career-high eight innings, giving up just one run on four hits and zero walks.

Game 3

The Scarlets Knights continued their offensive momentum in game three by recording nine runs on 15 hits. After falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, Rutgers chipped away at the Buccaneers’ lead with one run in the third. The Scarlet Knights exploded in the fourth inning, registering five runs to take the lead.

Charleston Southern didn’t quit, tying the game at 6-6 with a two-out double in the seventh inning. In the eighth inning, Love produced an RBI single to center to break the tie, giving Rutgers a 7-6 advantage. Again, the Buccaneers did not go away easy, tying the game at 7-7 in the bottom of the eighth with two straight doubles to start the frame.

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Pinkney started the rally in the top of the ninth inning for the Scarlet Knights, recording a double with one out. Rutgers’ Trevor Cohen recorded the game-changing blow, lining a single up the middle to make it 8-7. After Cohen’s RBI single, Durocher added an insurance run to extend Rutgers’ lead to 9-7.

Rutgers pitcher Joey DeChiaro held the Buccaneers scoreless in the bottom of the ninth to capture the 9-7 victory.

The Scarlet Knights return to action for their home opener on Tuesday against Wagner at 3 p.m. at Bainton Field.

 

Rutgers baseball takes on Charleston Southern in a three-game set

After winning two of three games last weekend and a midweek road win, Rutgers gets ready to take on Charleston Southern in a three-game set.

After taking two of three games from Old Dominion last weekend and a midweek road victory against St. Joe’s, Rutgers baseball (6-1) gets ready to take on Charleston Southern (4-4) in a three-game set starting on Friday.

Friday will mark the first time the Scarlet Knights will face off on the diamond against Charleston Southern, with the first pitch scheduled at 5 p.m. In game one, Rutgers will have Christian Coppola on the hill, followed by Justin Sinibaldi and Zack Konstantinovsky in games two and three on Saturday and Sunday.

Last time out, the Scarlet Knights won its second straight road series to start the season, defeating Old Dominion 10-3 on Friday and 7-6 on Saturday to secure last weekend’s series. The Scarlet Knights strung together ten runs on 15 hits at the plate to compliment a stellar performance by Coppola in game one. Coppola recorded nine strikeouts throughout his six innings of work.

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As for their 15-9 victory over St. Joe’s on Tuesday, Rutgers’ offense was led by redshirt sophomore infielder Tony Santa Maria with two home runs, recording a three-hit game.

Rutgers heads into their weekend matchup against Charleston Southern, ranking among the Big Ten and the nation’s best in multiple categories. The Scarlet Knights lead the Big Ten Conference with 7.03 hits allowed per nine innings, 18 stolen bases, 2.57 stolen bases per game, a 2.98 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and a 1.14 WHIP.

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Dabo Swinney shares high praise for his team after a recovery win over Charleston Southern

Swinney speaks highly of the Tigers’ after Saturday’s win over Charleston Southern.

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers’ 66-17 win over Charleston Southern Saturday was a nice recovery win and another performance where the offense could produce yards, but this time, they scored points.

Clemson cleaned up many of their mistakes from their Week 1 loss to Duke. While we still saw a couple of crucial turnovers in the first half, Garrett Riley’s offense came out in the second half and put together a near-perfect half of football. Wins should come when an offense has 200 yards on the ground and through the air, with the Tigers now 59-1 when they do so. 

“I am thankful we won this one. I know y’all didn’t like my comment the other day,” Swinney said. “I’ll take 200-plus, 200-plus every game, and I’ll take those odds without the turnovers. Ross (Taylor, Clemson’s Director of Football Communications) did some research on that. I think it was about 1,800 times that’s happened since 2014, and that team’s won 98 percent of the time. So, I’ll take those odds. Now, we found the two percent anomaly. We figured out how to do that.”

The one loss came on Week 1 to the Duke Blue Devils, where the Tigers’ offense made critical mistakes throughout the game even when they could move the ball downfield. Totaling 422 yards of offense in the loss, the Tigers failed to score on three straight red zone drives with a blocked kick and two fumbles inside the 10-yard line. 

Swinney knows it isn’t what we want to hear, but he knows they did a lot of good things in that performance. 

“It’s a dadgum shame we lost the game, but we freakin’ did some things that you’ve got to do to win football games,” Swinney continued. “Again, the fun’s in the winning, but I’ve been encouraged.”

Whether you agree with that sentiment or not, we definitely saw positives in this matchup against the Buccaneers. In the game they totaled a big 679 yards, including 405 through the air and 274 on the ground. As mentioned, we saw mistakes in the first half, but they really cleaned things up in the second half. It was the type of response you want to see from your team.

“I’m super excited, man. These guys are confident,” the head coach said. “Garrett’s got a good feel for what we’re doing. It’s been a blast. We’re playing good up front. … The turnovers will kill ya, and so if we can get that out of our system, we can be really, really good.

“Because we’ve demonstrated we can really run the football and a game like today… What was Cade, 28-of-37 or something like that? I mean, geez, you talk about gaining some confidence. We caught the ball well. … We threw the ball all over the place and demonstrated some good stuff.”

The Tigers’ next opportunity to impress will be at home against Florida Atlantic. 

Five takeaways from Clemson’s bounce-back win over Charleston Southern

Here are five takeaways from Clemson’s win over Charleston Southern as a second-half surge sees the Tigers win big.

It was a tale of two halves for Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program as the Tigers took down Charleston Southern, 66-17, in Death Valley on Saturday. 

A poor first half looked like many of the issues from their poor showing in the Week 1 loss to Duke had rolled over. Heading into the half with a 24-17 lead, Swinney’s squad came out red hot in the third quarter. 

Scoring 28 points in the third quarter and another 14 in the fourth, Clemson looked like a completely different team in the second half. It was a great sign. While we know there is much to improve on, a response like that in the second half is what the team needed. 

With a win or a loss come five takeaways. Here are five takeaways from Clemson’s bounce-back win over Charleston Southern.

A big second half lifts Clemson to a 66-17 win over Charleston Southern

Clemson recovers from a poor first half with an excellent second as they handle business against Charleston Southern in Death Valley.

It was a tale of two halves for the Clemson football team as Dabo Swinney and the Tigers beat Charleston Southern 66-17 in Death Valley on Saturday.

Clemson ended the first half with a 24-17 lead over the Buccaneers, in a half that felt very similar to their game against Duke other than them actually being able to score. There were two bad turnovers for the Tigers in the half that led directly to Charleston Southern points, with the first coming on a 4th and 1 fumble on the Tigers’ own 29 and the second on a 67-yard pick-six after a poor decision from starting quarterback Cade Klubnik.

Wide receiver Antonio Williams was one of the few bright spots of the first half, scoring two of three touchdowns. The other first-half score came from Phil Mafah’s touchdown run.

A great sign for Clemson fans was the way Swinney’s squad responded in the second half. The Tigers scored 28 points in the third quarter and completely controlled the game.

It started with a Mafah 5-yard touchdown run, and on the next drive, Wade Woodaz made a huge play. Woodaz took advantage of a pass breakup and took it to the house for a 35-yard pick-six.

These scores were followed by two Klubnik touchdown passes. One was to wide receiver Beaux Collins on a pass down the middle, he took 69 yards to the house, and the other on a Josh Sapp 25-yard touchdown.

In the matchup, Klubnik completed 28-37 passes for 315 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. His top receivers were Antonio Williams (5 catches, 64 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Beaux Collins (7 catches, 137 yards, 1 touchdown). On the ground, Phil Mafah took 9 carries for 59 yards and two scores, with Will Shipley adding nine carries for 72 yards.

Clemson’s defense was dominant in this performance, allowing just 73 yards of total offense.

Our staff score predictions for Clemson vs. Charleston Southern

The staff made score predictions for Clemson’s Week 2 matchup with Charleston Southern.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program had a brutal opening to their 2023 season that saw the Tigers fall to Duke 28-7 on the road. With that behind us, the Tigers have an excellent opportunity to bounce back in Week 2 against Charleston Southern. 

We all know this wasn’t the start the team or fans were hoping for, but there is no changing the past. The Tigers now need to turn their attention to the Buccaneers and work on putting together a complete game in their home opener. 

As we do every week, the staff gathered and made score predictions for Saturday’s matchup with Charleston Southern. Here is a look at what each of us is thinking heading into this matchup.

A look at Clemson’s next opponent, Charleston Southern

Time for the Tigers to prepare for the next matchup, the Charleston Southern Buccaneers. 

While there is still much to say about the season-opening loss to Duke, it’s time for the Tigers to prepare for the next matchup, the Charleston Southern Buccaneers.

What usually would be a game to treat likely has become more critical for the Tigers with a 0-1 start. This will be the first meeting between the two schools, separated by a three-hour drive on Interstate 385.

Since 2002, the Buccaneers are 0-26 against FBS schools. During that span, their opponents averaged 53 points per game while averaging 9 points. Only twice did the Buccaneers come within one possession.

The Buccaneers haven’t had much success on the FCS level, with only two playoff appearances since 1991, when the program started.

Gabe Giardina won his first game as the new head coach, escaping an upset by D-II school North Greenville. This is Giardina’s third stint on the sidelines at Charles Southern, first as a head coach. His coaching career started in 2005 at Alabama as a Graduate Assistant, eventually landing his first head coaching job in 2017 with Albany State.

The team is young, with 27 first-year students on the roster. Girdina brought five transfers with him from Albany State, including his starting quarterback, Kaleb Jackson.

“It’s an inexperienced team overall. That’s been a big challenge,” Girdina said. “We have to learn how to overcome adversity. It’s different when you are a freshman and have never played and you make a mistake. How are you going to respond? With a lot of players, we just don’t know yet.”

This is a perfect tune-up game for Clemson to find a rhythm offensively. Monday night’s loss was filled with mistakes, and the offense didn’t look prepared. Garret Riley and Cade Klubnik from this game are playing against a defense with all new starters.

Nothing less than a blowout for the Tigers.

ChatGPT ranks top 10 running backs in Notre Dame history

How do you feel about this list?

We recently put AI writing tool ChatGPT to the test and had it list what it believed was Notre Dame’s top 10 quarterbacks. The list surely caused some debate for some readers, but guess what? We’re going to cause you to think again by having it generate its list of the top 10 running backs in program history.

Some of you might disagree with what ChatGPT says, and others might even say the list is too short. However, the point of this is to make you think and spark discussion. Also, even though ChatGPT has not been updated since September 2021, it’s a safe assumption that no one on the Irish since then has played well enough to have a place on this list with the possible exception of [autotag]Kyren Williams[/autotag]. Just out of curiosity though, would you include him?

Anyway, without further adieu, here’s the list with ChatGPT’s descriptions of each player. Some entries have been edited for clarity and updates:

Tennessee-Charleston Southern postgame social media buzz

A look at Tennessee-Charleston Southern baseball postgame social media buzz.

No. 2 Tennessee (8-2) defeated Charleston Southern (3-6), 8-2, Wednesday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Wednesday’s win completed a two-game sweep for Tennessee against the Buccaneers.

Blake Burke went 2-for-3, recording one home run, four RBIs, two runs and one walk in Tennessee’s win versus Charleston Southern on Wednesday.

Jake Fitzgibbons (2-0) pitched two innings, earning the win for Tennessee.

The Vols have won eight consecutive games. Tennessee will host Gonzaga, Friday-Sunday, at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello recaps Vols’ series sweep versus Charleston Southern

Tennessee baseball remains ranked No. 2 in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Following Tennessee’s series sweep versus Charleston Southern, Vols Wire looks at postgame social media buzz. Tennessee-Charleston Southern postgame social media buzz is listed below.

Tony Vitello recaps Vols’ series sweep versus Charleston Southern

Tony Vitello recaps the Vols’ series sweep versus Charleston Southern.

No. 2 Tennessee (8-2) defeated Charleston Southern (3-6), 8-2, Wednesday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Wednesday’s win completed a two-game sweep for Tennessee against the Buccaneers.

Blake Burke went 2-for-3, recording one home run, four RBIs, two runs and one walk in Tennessee’s win versus Charleston Southern on Wednesday.

Jake Fitzgibbons (2-0) pitched two innings, earning the win for Tennessee.

The Vols have won eight consecutive games. Tennessee will host Gonzaga, Friday-Sunday, at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

PHOTOS: Tony Vitello through the years

Following the Vols’ win Wednesday, Vitello met with media and discussed Tennessee’s series sweep versus Charleston Southern. Vitello’s media availability can be watched below.