WINGATE, N.C. – Coming off of their first game of the season, the Golden Eagles baseball team will be making the trip out to Wingate, N.C. to take on the Bulldogs of Wingate University in a three-game series taking place from Feb. 14-16.
 
A Look at the Opponent 
The Bulldogs have already played seven games up to this point of the season. They opened up their season at home against Concord University, a familiar face from the MEC. Concord was able to go into their park and take two wins from Wingate in a three-game series. Wingate won the first game by a score of 8-0, then proceeded to drop the next two games 1-5 and 11-12. 
 
Their next ballgame was ruled incomplete as inclement weather postponed the conclusion of their matchup with Erskine College in a mid-week contest. The Bulldogs came out the next weekend with another three games scheduled as they took on Valdosta State, Florida Tech and Palm Beach Atlantic. Wingate came out on top of all of those games winning the first ballgame 8-6, then 10-2 and wrapped up the weekend with a 10-4 victory. 
 
Wingate is led offensively by sophomore outfielder Ricky Clark. He has 11 h, .379 avg., with 2 2B, 2 HR, and 11 RBI's in seven games. Also providing some pop for the Bulldogs is senior infielder/outfielder McCann Mellett. He has 14 h, .467 avg., 2 HR, 8 RBI and a .833 slg%. 
 
In their seven games this season, as a team, they have posted a 4.35 ERA, 48 h, 34 runs, 30 of them earned, 61 SO, 29 BB and a .215 BA against. 
 
The Golden Eagles
Charleston is coming off of their first win of the season as they held their opening day matchup earlier this week on Tuesday against Alderson Broaddus. The Golden Eagles would handle the Battlers with ease as they took the win 20-5. 
 
With a large margin of victory, UC had a chance to give quite a few guys some at-bats. Charleston was able to bring 14 different batters to the plate within the game. As a team, they would combine for an offensive explosion as they tallied 16 h, 3 HR, 4 2B and 16 RBI's. 
 
Charleston was led offensively by the DH, Justin Robles. He went 2-5 with four RBI's on a grand slam coming in the third inning of the ballgame putting the Golden Eagles up 15-2 at the time. 
 
Senior catcher Nick Wilson also contributed some pop for the Golden Eagles in the ballgame as he went 4-6 with a home run and 3 RBI. 
 
 
In Their History
Charleston has taken on the Bulldogs a total of six times in their history, dating back to the 2018 season. Each time the Golden Eagles have squared off against Wingate, it has been on the road. Charleston has not yet figured out how to top the Bulldogs as they have a 0-6 record in head-to-head contests. 
 
Their most recent series came last year as the Golden Eagles fell in all three games. They dropped the first game 4-10, the second 7-14 and final game of the series 3-8. UC will try to look past their prior record against Wingate and come out with a few wins this weekend. 
 
What to Expect
Head Coach Robbie Britt was pleased with what he saw from the mid-week game on Tuesday. "We got production from all parts of the lineup," said Britt, "we still produced a lot of runs, even with the top of the order struggling a little bit." 
 
With only one game under their belt, Charleston hopes to stick to their approach and keep with their current mindset. "I hope that our lineup will continue to have a good mindset and approach of staying middle of the field, keep putting the ball in play and doing the things that we talk about as far as leaving the situation better than we find it," said Britt, "when you step in the box versus when you leave the box, you want it to be a better situation. Whether it is moving runners, laying down a bunt, driving a guy in, walking, whatever it may be, you are trying to leave it better than you found it." 
 
On the mound, good starts and players taking control of the game coming out of the bullpen will be key to UC's success going into the weekend. 
 
"With three nine-inning games, we have to get good starts from all three of our starters," said Britt, "even though it is early and they may not go as deep now as what they will a month down the road, if we can get a good start, pitch to soft contact and throw a lot of strikes, that will put us in a good position to make plays behind our pitchers and keep us in the game." 
 
Despite having only played one game to this point compared to Wingate's seven, coach Britt is confident in his team's ability to get the job done.
 
"The huge benefit for us is that we have been outside and on the field every day in the preseason," said Britt. "From January 13 until today, we have literally touched that turf every single day since then. For us, we are not a cold-weather team, we have not been cooped up in a gym, we have been training and preparing every day since January. The expectation is, is that we come out and there are no excuses, you go out and you get after it."
 
Coverage
Friday night's ballgame will be played at 6:00 p.m. and will be displayed on ESPN 3. Charleston will turn around and play the Bulldogs in an afternoon matchup at 4:00 p.m. Saturday and then will play a 1:00 p.m. game on Sunday before returning to campus.
 
Live Stats Link: https://wingatebulldogs.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary 
Friday Live Broadcast Link: https://www.espn.com/watch/search/wingate
Saturday Live Broadcast Link: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/wingate/