The Citadel baseball team defeated South Carolina 4-0 at Founders Park on April 28, securing a season series sweep over their in-state rival. The Bulldogs’ pitching staff delivered the program’s first-ever road shutout against the Gamecocks, limiting them to just three hits.
This win marks the first time since 2009 that The Citadel has swept South Carolina in both games of their annual home-and-home series. It is also the first time since 2011 that The Citadel has held South Carolina scoreless in a game.
Michael Gibson led offensively with three hits and one run batted in, raising his batting average to .377. Christian Stratis added three hits and drove in three runs, marking his third game this season with three RBIs and increasing his average to .343. TJ Anderson scored two runs for the Bulldogs.
On the mound, Trip Brown started with four innings of one-hit ball and two strikeouts. Zane Davis earned the win after two scoreless innings of relief. Ben Brash pitched a clean inning without allowing any hits or runs. Gibson closed out the game with a save, striking out four batters over two innings while giving up only one hit, tying him for the Southern Conference lead with six saves.
Head coach Russell Triplett said: “Our goal is to play well and be more consistent, and I thought we had a great week of playing consistently. I thought we were good on the mound, and we keep working on attacking the zone. We used five different guys tonight.” Triplett continued: “To throw a shutout on the road, it doesn’t matter who you are playing; you must pitch well. I thought our guys did an unbelievable job. Brown set the tone, attacked the zone early, and only gave up one free base. I thought our bullpen did a good job, and Gibson came in at the end. I thought it was big for us to compete in the zone as we did.”
Looking ahead, The Citadel will face Presbyterian College in a three-game series starting May 1 away before returning home May 2 then finishing back at Presbyterian on May 3.
