March 27, 2011
Bulldogs Split Doubleheader with Terriers on Sunday
Spartanburg, S.C. – The Citadel Baseball team split a doubleheader with Wofford on a cold Sunday afternoon at Russell C. King Field. In game one, the Terriers held on for a 6-4 win to clinch the series. The Bulldogs blistered the Terriers in the series finale, 13-5.
Game One
Both teams would score a run in the first inning as Drew DeKerlegand (Pearland, Texas) doubled just inside the left field line off Wofford starter Drew Sherdian and scored on an RBI single to center by William Ladd (Winnsboro, S.C.). Ladd then attempted to score on a double to deep right by Joe Jackson (Mauldin, S.C.) but was gunned down at the plate to end the threat.
The Terriers (13-10, 2-3) would respond off Citadel starter Austin Pritcher (Charleston, S.C.) in the bottom of the frame when Mac Doyle doubled to left and scored on an RBI triple off the right field wall by Konstantine Diamaduros.
In the bottom of the third inning, Clark Wise tripled to the right field corner and scored on an RBI single through the right side by Doyle to give the Terries a 2-1 lead.
In the top of the fifth, the Bulldogs would tie the game when Brad Felder (Bowman, S.C.) singled, advanced to second when Josh Pless (Boiling Springs, S.C.) walked, moved to third on a balk by Sheridan and scored on an RBI groundout off the bat of Nick Orvin (Moncks Corner, S.C.).
Wofford would break the tie in the sixth when Josh McKinney singled and scored on a double to right by Landon Bennett off Pritcher. Bennett then stole third and scored on a throwing error by Jackson. Pritcher (3-2) went 6.0 innings, allowing seven hits, four runs (three earned), two walks and struck out seven.
In the seventh, Felder launched a solo homer to right off Terrier reliever Ryan Traylor. Wofford responded in the bottom half of the inning off Bulldog reliever Logan Cribb (Rock Hill, S.C.) when Doyle doubled and scored on an RBI single to center by Diamaduros. McKinney then reached when his ball grazed off the glove of Pless and Diamaduros scored to increase the lead to 6-3.
Orvin hit a solo homer in the top of the eighth to cut the lead to 6-4. Wofford closer John Cornely earned his fourth save and second of the series to prevent any further runs and to secure the series win for the Terriers. Doyle went 3-for-3 with a pair of runs, a walk and an RBI while Diamaduros went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI to lead Wofford. Felder went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and two runs scored while Orvin homered and drove in two to lead the Bulldogs on offense.
Game Two
Wofford took a quick 2-0 lead off Bulldog starter Justin Russell (Jacksonville, Fla.) in the bottom of the first when Wise reached on a fielder's choice and moved to second on a base hit by Doyle. After a strikeout, McKinney dropped a single into right to score Wise and move Doyle to third. McKinney was then caught in a run down between first and second that allowed Doyle to score before he was tagged out to end the frame.
The Bulldogs cut the lead in half in the second when Justin Mackert (Cleveland, Ohio) walked, stole second base and scored on an RBI double just inside the right field line by Josh Pless (Boiling Springs, S.C.) to make it 2-1.
In the sixth inning, The Citadel would score three to take the lead as DeKerlegand was hit by a pitch and scored on an RBI double off the bat of Matt Simonelli (Orlando, Fla.). A single by Ladd put runners on the corners with no outs and chased Wofford starter Tom Dolinak from the game. After a pop up in foul territory by Mackert, Felder walked to load the bases. Pless then picked up an RBI when he walked to score Simonelli. Legare Jones (Columbia, S.C.) then hit a sac fly to left to score Ladd to make it 4-2.
"I felt pretty good out there today," said Russell of his start in the second game of the doubleheader. "I was just trying to go out there and do my job to get the guys back up at the plate. I had all the confidence in the guys behind me making plays and hopefully we will carry the fire we brought in the second game into the rest of the season."
Russell went 6.0 innings, allowing seven hits, two runs, two walks and struck out six in a n- decision. Wofford would rally to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh off Bulldog reliever Bryce Hines (Hanahan, S.C.). James Foster led off with a walk and moved to third on an infield hit by Doyle. A groundout by Diamaduros and a single by McKinney would tie the game at 4-4.
In the top of the eighth, the Bulldogs would break things open with five runs off the Wofford bullpen. Pless walked, moved to second on a base hit through the right side by Jones and advanced to third to load the bases when Jackson singled to center. Orvin then drew an RBI on a bases-loaded walk. After a shallow fly out to right, Simonelli punched a base hit to right to score Jones and a wild pitch by Erick Eck would plate Jackson. Simonelli and Orvin then came around to score when Ladd dumped a single into left field to make the score 9-4.
Wofford would chase Hines in the bottom of the eighth and threaten to get right back into the game when Roney doubled, pinch hitter Josh Hyman and Alex Lee each walked with no outs. Drew Mahaffey (Summerville, S.C.) came in and did a tremendous job of getting the Bulldogs out of trouble when Foster hit a sac fly to center to score Roney. After a big strikeout of pinch hitter Taylor Rozier, Mahaffey got Doyle to fly out to right to preserve the lead.
In the ninth inning, Mackert and Felder both reached on singles and Pless reached on an infield bunt attempt that was perfectly placed down the third base line. Tyler Griffin (Hawthrone, Fla.) then entered the game as a pinch hitter and drove a ball deep to right that bounced of the top of the wall for a grand slam, the first of his collegiate career to make it 13-5 in favor of The Citadel.
"It was huge adrenaline rush," said Griffin on his first career homer going for a grand slam. "It really felt great. It was nice to explode offensively in the second game today and get some frustration lifted off the team. Hopefully it carries on into our games coming up this week."
With the win, the Bulldogs snapped their four-game losing streak and have now hit five homers in the last four games after hitting just three home runs in their first 19 games of the season. Jones tied his career high in hits going 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI while Pless went 2-for-3, tying his career high in hits. He also tied his career high with two walks with two runs and set a new career high with a pair of RBI. Ladd, Orvin and Simonelli also each picked up two hits for the Bulldogs.
Leading Wofford at the plate was McKinney who went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI. Hines (2-2) picked up the win, while Mahaffey pitched 2.0 scoreless innings to close out the game, allowing just one hit and striking out two.
The Citadel returns home on Tuesday to Riley Park when they host Charleston Southern at 6 p.m. The game will feature live video stream and play-by-play audio along with live stats. For more information on Bulldog Baseball, visit CitadelSports.com.
_(2).jpg)
.jpg)
