Charleston, S.C. – The Citadel overcame a six-run deficit to defeat Savannah State, 8-7, Tuesday afternoon at Riley Park. The Bulldogs ignited for five runs in the fifth thanks to back-to-back home runs by sophomore right fielder Sonny Meade and senior first baseman Zach Brown. Freshman southpaw Chris McGuiness also earned his first collegiate win in the contest.
The Citadel (11-5) snapped Savannah State’s (14-8) six-game winning streak. The Tigers took an early 6-0 lead in the fourth but the Bulldogs rallied for their seventh come-from-behind victory this season. The Dogs are now 6-2 in games where the opposition scores first.
Freshman right-hander Matt Reifsnider made his second start of 2007. His only earned run came in the third as Brandon Javis notched an RBI-single. The Bulldogs then surrendered five unearned runs due to a costly error in the fourth. Glen Wormley started the frame with a base hit through the right side and moved over to third on a double off the bat of Jonathan Ross. Christopher Phethean grounded out to short, but Wormley held at third while Ross attempted to advance behind him. Wormley then took off for home and got caught up, but second baseman Bryan Altman threw the ball wide, allowing Wormley to score. Alfred Arnold then went down swinging for what should have been the third out, but Reifsnider gave up back-to-back walks to Timothy Waine and Antonio Richmond. A bases-clearing double by John Keene forced the Bulldogs to hand it over to right-hander Brett Bull. Bull allowed a run-scoring single before forcing Sainz to groundout to end the inning.
The Bulldogs got on the board in the bottom half of the frame thanks to an RBI-single by junior third baseman Matt Arnold. The Citadel then evened the score in the fifth. With runners at first and second, junior Conrad Kellahan laid down a bunt right in front of the plate. Tiger catcher Jon Keene attempted to get the out at third, but a wide throw went into left field and allowed sophomore catcher Sid Fallaw to sprint home. Meade then blasted a three-run shot to left center before Brown stepped in and belted a round-tripper of his own over the right field fence to make 6-6.
Brown’s home run total of five this season matches the five career home runs he had coming into 2007. Meade’s blast was his second of the year as he registered three as a freshman. The last time the Bulldogs had back-to-back jacks was in 2005 when Matt Matulia and Josh Stackley did it against Furman on May 14.
The Citadel took the lead in the sixth as freshman shortstop Kyle Jordan smacked his sixth double of the year and came around to score on an error by Tiger shortstop Javis as he attempted to throw Kellahan out at first. Junior left fielder Chris Swauger knocked in what proved to be the game-winner with a run-scoring double of his own.
Senior closer Link Saunders took to the hill in the ninth and was met by a base hit down the right field line by Keene. Meade bobbled the ball in the outfield, allowing Keene to race over to second. Saunders then forced Javis to fly out to right, deep enough to put Keene on third. Sainz grounded out to third for the second out, but an errant throw by Kellahan, who entered the game at second, allowed the sixth unearned run of the contest to cross the plate as Keene sprinted home while Wormley reached second on the error. With the tying run at second and two outs, Saunders came through for his fourth save of the season, making Ross pop out to short.
McGuiness (1-0) was credited with his first collegiate victory as he tossed a career-high 3.2 innings in relief, allowing two hits and striking out two. Marcus Cortes (4-3) suffered the loss for the Tigers as he threw 5.2 frames, giving up eight runs (six earned) on eight hits while fanning one. Only seven of the 15 runs scored on either side were earned in the contest.
Arnold paced the Bulldogs at the plate as he batted 3-for-4 on the afternoon, tying his personal best. Meade pushed across a team-high three RBI on the day, while the Bulldogs tallied at least 10 hits for the ninth time this year.
Keene led the Tigers as he was 3-for-4, including a double and three RBI while also scoring twice.
The Bulldogs will return to the diamond this weekend as they host Eastern Illinois for a three-game set March 16-18 at Riley Park. Game one is slated for Friday at 6 p.m.
