Charleston, S.C. – Senior right-hander Nick Chigges tossed eight innings and held The Citadel to only five hits to lead No. 25 College of Charleston past the Bulldogs, 7-2, Friday night in Southern Conference baseball action at Riley Park. The Dogs and Cougars each collected seven hits in the contest, but five errors by the Bulldog defense were partly responsible for the 7-2 decision. The Dogs fall to 24-17, 8-8 SoCon while the Cougars improve to 32-10, 13-3 SoCon.
The Dogs’ five errors led to three unearned runs on the night. The College of Charleston actually took the early lead in the first courtesy of an unearned run as Oliver Marmol drew a lead-off walk and appeared to be gunned down at second on a steal attempt, but the throw popped out of freshman shortstop Kyle Jordan’s glove, allowing Marmol to race to third. A grounder by Chris Campbell pushed Marmol home to give the Cougars a 1-0 advantage.
Bulldog starter Wes Wrenn then retired six straight before Stuart Haywood began the fourth with an infield single. Campbell sacrificed him over before a grounder skipped under the glove of senior first baseman Zach Brown, allowing Haywood to sprint home. Ben Lasater then hit a triple off the top of the wall in right t0 plate another run, extending the Cougar lead to three.
The Citadel answered back in the bottom of the inning as sophomore right fielder Sonny Meade got things started with an infield hit to short. Brown popped out before freshman designated hitter Richard Jones earned a free pass. Freshman Chris McGuiness then roped a single to center, sending Meade across the dish to make it 3-1.
Three runs in the fifth and one in the eighth pushed the Cougars’ lead to 7-1. Haywood knocked in two with a single to center while Campbell sent in another run with a base hit back up the middle. The Citadel suffered another unearned run in the eighth as Michael Kohn notched a pinch-hit sac fly on what should have been the third out of the inning.
Sophomore catcher Sid Fallaw was responsible for the Bulldogs’ second run in the ninth as he lifted a 1-0 offering from Cougar reliever Brian Schlitter over the left field wall for his second round-tripper of the season. The scoring ended there to make the final, 7-2.
The Bulldogs put runners on first and second with less than two outs on three occasions and were unable to capitalize as Chigges continually closed the door on The Citadel offense. The Dogs left nine on base on the night.
Chigges (8-0) preserved his perfect record with the win as he tossed 8.0 innings, giving up one run on five hits while striking out four and walking four. Wrenn (3-5) suffered the loss as he threw 7.0 frames, allowing six runs (four earned) on five hits while fanning two and walking one.
With the loss, the Bulldogs have dropped three of four Friday night games in conference play. The Dogs have actually rebounded to take two series victories against Appalachian State and Davidson after losing the Friday contest.
Haywood and Lasater led the Cougar offense as they both notched two hits on the evening while McGuiness was the only Bulldog to enjoy a multi-hit game with two of his own. Haywood and Campbell drove in four of CofC’s seven runs as they both collected two RBI.
The Bulldogs and Cougars will square-off for game two of the three-game set on Saturday, April 28 at 5 p.m. at Riley Park. Left-hander Matt Crim (4-2, 5.00 ERA) is expected to take the mound for the Dogs while CofC will counter with southpaw Jeff Beliveau (3-1, 3.79 ERA).
