Gardner-Webb (12-9, 2-1 Big South)
at Charleston Southern (14-6, 0-0 Big South)

 SERIES SCHEDULE

Friday, March 20, 6 p.m. (Game 1) – RHP Oliver Ellison (3-1)
Saturday, March 21, 1 p.m. (Game 2) – RHP Matt Stuart (1-1)
Sunday, March 22, 1 p.m. (Game 3) – LHP Reid Bertram (3-1)
Nielsen Field at CSU Ballpark | Charleston, S.C.

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Gardner-Webb baseball returns to the diamond on March 20-22 as it travels to take on Charleston Southern in the first road conference series of the year for the Runnin' Bulldogs.

 Gardner-Webb dropped an 8-4 decision at Western Carolina during a midweek clash on Wednesday, March 18.

Kelvin Agosto leads the Dawgs at the dish, raking at a .400 average, including a team-best 30 hits to go along with 21 RBIs. Drew Ripepi has seen his time increase for the Dawgs while the redshirt junior is makng the most of it with a team second-best .361 average. Senior catcher Zack Thompson continues his great start, currently sitting second on the team with a .329 average. Thompson has compiled 25 hits, including five doubles and a triple.

Redshirt junior Matt Ilgenfritz supplies the power for the Runnin' Bulldogs with six long balls and a team-leading 22 RBIs on the season while three other players have two homeruns each.

Oliver Ellison and Reid Bertram both sit at 3-1 on the season to lead the Dawgs pitching staff. In his last outing, Bertram hurled 7.0 innings of two run and five hit baseball while striking out a season-high eight batters. For the season, Ellison has tossed a team-high 29.0 innings.

Charleston Southern is off to a 14-6 start after taking down North Florida 11-6 during a midweek matchup. However, prior to the game with the Ospreys, Charleston Southern dropped three out of its last four games. The Buccaneers had a season-high 7-game win streak to begin the 2026 campaign.

Alex Marot leads the club with a .379 average at the plate while Tyler Wright is hitting at a .359 clip. Marot sits atop the team with 25 hits, including seven doubles while Chandler Tuupo has a team-high three homeruns to go along with 22 RBIs.

Anchoring the CSU staff is Brady Bickett who is 2-1 on the year with a 2.86 earned run average. In 24.1 innings, Bickett has retired 16 batters via strikeout while allowing 10 walks.

Charleston Southern leads the all-time series over the Runnin' Bulldogs by a slim margin of 27-26, including winning three of the previous four contests.