University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville Baseball Plays at Coastal Carolina This Weekend
04.18.2008 | Baseball
CONWAY, S.C. ? The UNC Asheville baseball team faces a tough challenge this weekend when the Bulldogs take on defending Big South Conference champion Coastal Carolina at Watson Stadium in a three-game series beginning Friday night at 6 p.m. The series continues with a game on Saturday at
The Chanticleers have been nationally ranked all season and are 20th in the latest ESPN/USA Today Poll. They bring a 30-7 overall record into this weekend's action with a 7-2 worksheet in league play.
UNC Asheville (16-24, 2-7 BSC) enters the Coastal Carolina series on a two-game winning streak after two road wins during the week. The Bulldogs edged Wofford, 6-5 on Tuesday night and then trailed Furman 8-1 on Wednesday before storming back to record a 13-9 victory.
“We swung the bats a little better this week and picked up two good wins on the road,” commented UNC Asheville head coach Willie Stewart. “We've lost so many close games this season that it was nice to see us win a couple.”
Stewart has plenty of respect for the Coastal Carolina program and knows the Bulldogs will have their hands full this weekend.
“Coastal
The Bulldogs are scheduled to start right-hander Alan DeRatt on Friday night. DeRatt (6-1) leads the nation with the lowest ERA at 0.64. He has allowed just four earned runs this year and that happened in one game when the Bulldogs defeated Marist, 5-4 on March 14. He has one complete game shutout and teamed up with UNC Asheville relievers to pitch two more. DeRatt has a team-leading 40 strikeouts and allowed 35 hits.
