COLUMBUS - After a perfect opening weekend, the Columbus State University baseball team will open its 2020 home schedule on Friday hosting Florida Southern.
Friday's game will begin a three-game series with first pitch at 4 p.m. Saturday's and Sunday's game will start at 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcasted live on CougarSportsTV on Youtube.
Single-game tickets are $5 and are available at the gate of Burger King Stadium at Ragsdale Field. Only cash is accepted at this time.
The Cougars (3-0) were impressive last weekend in Tampa, Fla. picking up three victories. CSU defeated Saint Leo (10-7), No. 5 Catawba (6-2) and Barton (9-1) at the New York Yankees' Spring Training complex.
"It was a nice way to start the season, but we know the year is a grind," commented head coach Greg Appleton. "There were positives for sure and we need to keep improving to get where we want to be."
"Florida Southern is one of the most prestigious programs in the nation, and we are excited to see how we match up against them."
Throughout the entire season, Columbus State will be honoring 50 full years of Cougar baseball. On Saturday, CSU Hall of Fame member and legendary coach Charles Ragsdale will throw out the first pitch.
| Series Information
Series History: FSC leads 9-6
First Meeting: 5/21/75 (FSC 5-3)
Last Meeting: 6/1/18 in Cary, N.C. (CSU 11-6)
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About Florida Southern
Florida Southern (4-0) is off to a quick start to the new year collecting four wins since opening day on Jan. 31. The Mocs made a statement with a three-game sweep over No. 22 West Florida in Lakeland, Ala. On Tuesday, FSC recorded a 5-1 midweek win over Eckerd.
The team has gaudy numbers over four games. Collectively, Florida Southern has hit seven homers and 18 extra-base hits. On the mound, the staff has a 1.93 ERA while limiting opponents to a .200 average.
Christian Maglich is hitting .467 with four doubles and six RBIs for head coach Lance Niekro. Zach Diewert is 5-for-11 this year and has two homers. J.J. Niekro tossed six scoreless innings to pick up the win on opening day. Chase Pilato (1-0, 1.80 ERA) and Brant Brown (0-0, 0.00 ERA) also started games last weekend. Thomas Spinelli has made three appearances out of the pen punching out five hitters in 3.2 innings of work.
Cougar Trends
• Columbus State is 15-7 in its home opener under head coach Greg Appleton.
• Columbus State has won 16 straight games against nonconference foes.
• The Cougars are off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2015. That season, CSU won its first five games of the year.
• Over three games, the Columbus State pitching staff has allowed nine earned runs while limiting the opposing teams to a .227 average.
• Junior transfer Bryson Horne was chosen as the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday. Horne was 8-for-13 over the opening weekend, collecting 11 totals bases thanks to three doubles. He had three or more hits in two of the three games, including a 3-for-4 performance against No. 5 Catawba.
• Matthew McDade (.364, 4 RBIs), Drew Webb (1.012 OPS, 1 HR, 4 RBIs), and Connor Kirley (1.031 OPS, 1 HR, 5 RBIs) all got off to good starts at the plate.
• Entering the weekend, Robert Brooks has reached base in 12 straight games dating back to last season. McDade (seven) and Webb (six) will carry hitting streaks into the series.
• In his Cougar debut on Sunday, Jamie Boatright tossed seven scoreless innings against Barton to record the victory. Only one base runner reached second against the southpaw.
• It will be the first meeting between Columbus State and Florida Southern since the 2018 NCAA Division II College World Series. The two schools split a pair of games with CSU eliminating the Mocs to advance to the championship series.
• CSU and Florida Southern are two of the top Division II baseball programs in the nation. Both schools have tallied over 1,700 wins and have combined to win nine national titles.
• It's the first regular season meetings between the Cougars and Mocs since 1998.
