Charleston, S.C. – The Citadel threatened late but was unable to rally from a 4-0 deficit as the Bulldogs dropped a close game to NC State, 4-3, in the final game of the Charleston Firefighter Memorial Challenge presented by the Charleston Crab House Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd of 1,458 at Riley Park.
The Citadel (4-3) allowed NC State (4-2) to take the 4-0 lead before the ‘Dogs could get a run across the plate. Wes Wrenn (0-1), who was responsible for all four Wolfpack runs, was credited with the loss.
NC State’s Eryk McConnell (1-0) was credited with the win after pitching 6.0 innings and giving up only one run off four hits, holding the Bulldogs hitless until the fourth inning.
Jimmy Gilheeney (1) earned his first save of the year after pitching 1.1 innings and striking out all three Bulldog batters in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the win.
Chris Swauger scored two of The Citadel’s three runs in the game, but did not record a hit. Altman went 2-for-4 on the day, leading the Bulldogs offensively.
The Citadel threatened in the eighth as leadoff man Matt Simonelli earned a free pass to first after being hit by NC State reliever Jake Buchanan. Buchanan then walked Chris Swauger to put runners on first and second. Richard Jones followed with a groundball to the mound as Buchanan threw to third to force Simonelli for the first out.
Sonny Meade drove in Swauger from second as a hit Buchanan’s second offering to NC State’s centerfielder Devon Cartwright, who fired it to third to catch Jones on the force out. The Wolfpack then brought in relief pitcher Jimmy Gilheeney who issued a walk to Chris McGuiness, advancing Meade to second. Gilheeney ended the Bulldog threat as he forced Bryan Altman to ground out to the mound.
Gilheeney struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to end any further chance of a Bulldog comeback in the game.
Raymond Copenhaver struck out both batters he faced as he pitched 0.2 innings, replacing Brett Bull in the ninth after Bull had walked two straight.
The Citadel scored three runs on seven hits and committed one error as the Bulldogs left six runners stranded. All three runs came late in the game as The Citadel scored one in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.
NC State scored all four runs in the first six innings as they recorded nine hits and left eight runners on board.
The Citadel continues their 14-game homestand to open the season as the Bulldogs host USC Upstate on Tuesday, March 4 at 6 p.m. at Riley Park. Bulldog fans worldwide can watch all of the action live on Bulldog Insider with Darren Goldwater bringing you the play-by-play.
For complete coverage of Bulldog Baseball, visit the official home of The Citadel Athletics at CitadelSports.com.
