Defending Southern Conference baseball co-champions Appalachian State University and College of Charleston will meet for the final time as SoCon foes this weekend when the Mountaineers travel to Charleston for a three-game series. Game times are set for 4 p.m. Friday (note time change due to forecast for inclement weather), 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at the Ballpark at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant, S.C.

Appalachian State and College of Charleston shared the SoCon title with identical 21-9 records in conference play a season ago. The conference title was Appalachian's first since 1987 while Charleston claimed its fourth regular-season crown since 2004. Both clubs would go on to earn NCAA regional berths with Appalachian State earning a place in the finals of the Charlottesville Regional before its season came to an end just three wins shy of its first-ever College World Series appearance.

This season, the defending SoCon co-champs are off to relatively slow starts and tied for sixth in the conference standings at 3-3 in league play. Appalachian State (11-7) has lost five of its last nine games but is coming off of an impressive 10-2 win at North Carolina A&T on Tuesday night. College of Charleston (12-9) has dropped three of its last five, including losing 2-of-3 games in a home series versus Western Carolina last weekend.

Friday's series opener pits two of the SoCon's top pitchers in Appalachian's Jamie Nunn (4-1) and preseason Pitcher of the Year Matt Pegler (1-0) of Charleston. The right-handers rank fourth and fifth in the conference in ERA (Pegler - 1.85, Nunn - 2.31) and top the league in innings pitched (Nunn - 35.0, Pegler - 34.0). Both are also among the SoCon's top 10 in opponents' batting average (Pegler - .213, Nunn - .219) while Nunn ranks sixth in the conference with 33 strikeouts.

Charleston has traditionally had the Mountaineers' number on the baseball diamond with a commanding 33-11 advantage in the all-time series between the programs. However, Appalachian has narrowed the gap in recent years, winning two of the last four series versus the Cougars, including 2-of-3 games in Boone last season and 2-of-3 at Patriots Point in 2009.

The series is the final one between Appalachian State and College of Charleston in SoCon play, as Charleston will leave the conference following this season to move to the Colonial Athletic Association.