The Citadel defeated Charleston Southern 15–5 on April 14, powered by an 11-run fifth inning at Nielsen Field.
The game was significant for The Citadel as the team recorded its most runs in a single inning since setting a program record against UT-Martin earlier in the season. Zach Hunt led the Bulldogs offensively, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs, marking both a career and team single-game high for RBIs this season. Hunt now leads the team with seven home runs and has driven in 29 runs so far this year. Michael Gibson contributed three hits, three RBIs, and scored three times, while Christian Stratis added three hits including a double and drove in three more runs.
Hunt became the second Bulldog this season to have a multi-home run game; Gibson previously hit two homers against Charleston Southern on April 7. The Bulldogs reached double-digit hits for the fourteenth time this year. In their last three matchups against Charleston Southern, The Citadel has outscored them by a combined total of 44-19.
On the mound, Jacob Deacon started for The Citadel pitching two innings and allowing six hits and three runs (two earned). Riley Ballard followed with three scoreless innings of relief to earn his fourth win of the season. Mason Yokum pitched just over an inning while Steven Trone closed out the game efficiently. For Charleston Southern, Kain Collins had two hits while Caden Wolfley and Cross Yarborough each drove in two runs.
Head coach Russell Triplett said: “It’s nice to get back on the winning track. I thought we made many of the same mistakes early in the game that showed up this past weekend, but I didn’t think they’d affect us for the rest of the game. We talked about that today, about not letting mistakes linger and affect you two or three innings later, and I thought we got a little cleaner after that. I could tell from BP that our guys were on a mission, not trying to do too much. So it was a good offensive day. Good to get back on the winning track. We’ll practice tomorrow to get ready for the weekend.”
The Citadel will next travel to Johnson City for a conference series against ETSU starting April 17.
