Charleston, S.C. – The College of Charleston earned its first ever sweep over The Citadel with a 10-4 win over the Bulldogs in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Riley Park. The Dogs took their first lead of the weekend with a 3-1 advantage after the first, but the Cougars put runs on the board in every inning except two to run away with their sixth consecutive Southern Conference series victory.
The last time the Bulldogs suffered a sweep was in 1998 when UNC Greensboro took all three contests at Riley Park. The Citadel actually went on to win the SoCon Tournament that season. Previous to this weekend, the Dogs had won three straight SoCon series. The Citadel falls to 24-19, 8-10 SoCon while #25 College of Charleston improves to 34-10, 15-3 SoCon.
The Cougars took the lead in the first for the third straight contest as Oliver Marmol jumped on the first pitch of the game and sent it over the left field wall. The Bulldogs quickly retaliated with three runs in the bottom half as Cougar starter Michael Bunton issued two consecutive walks to begin the frame. Sophomore Sonny Meade loaded the bases with a single before senior first baseman Zach Brown stepped in and plated two with a base hit to the gap in left center. Meade then scored on a double-play ball to put the Dogs up, 3-1.
After a scoreless second, CofC scored six unanswered runs over the third through fifth innings. Chris Campbell notched an RBI-single. Michael Kohn pushed another run across with a triple off the left field wall and ended up scoring on a wild pitch. Michael Harrington registered another RBI-single for the Cougars before Ben Lasater added two with a homer over the fence in left center.
Marmol drove in his second run of the day with a base hit up the middle in the fifth but The Citadel finally responded in the home half of the frame as junior third baseman Matt Arnold was able to score on a fielder’s choice off the bat of sophomore catcher Sid Fallaw.
The Dogs kept the Cougars off the board in the seventh, but CofC added some insurance in their final two at bats. Graham Maiden notched a third homer for the Cougars as he led off the eighth with a solo shot to left-center. A wild pitch allowed Haywood to race home in the ninth, capping off the scoring to make the final 10-4.
Marmol and Campbell paced the Cougar offense as they both tallied three hits. Three other Cougars enjoyed a two-hit outing, while Marmol and Lasater each collected two RBI on the day. Freshman second baseman Bryan Altman led the Bulldogs at the plate as he batted 2-for-4 while Brown was responsible for half of the Dogs’ runs as he knocked in two.
Michael Bunton (4-0) was credited with the victory as he tossed 5.0 frames, allowing four runs on four hits while walking five but not striking out a single Bulldog batter. The Dogs only struck out one time on the afternoon.
Freshman Chris McGuiness (2-1) suffered his first loss for the Bulldogs as he tossed 4.2 frames, surrendering seven runs on 10 hits while fanning four and walking one. The College of Charleston enjoyed 16 hits to The Citadel’s six.
Russ Tomlinson picked up his second save of the season with the win as he finished out the final four frames, holding the Dogs scoreless and allowing only two hits while striking out one.
Senior reliever Jamie Maxwell had not allowed a single earned run in 11 appearances, but his streak was snapped as he allowed a homer to Maiden in the eighth.
The Bulldogs return to action this weekend, May 4-6, as they travel to face UNC Greensboro at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
