The Citadel lost to the University of North Carolina Greensboro 9-4 on April 26 in the final game of their three-game baseball series at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
This result gave The Citadel a 2-1 advantage for the weekend but marked a setback as they tried to build momentum late in the season.
Christian Stratis led The Citadel offense with two hits, including a double and a triple, scoring once and driving in another run. Jayden Williams contributed by drawing two walks and stealing two bases, while Garrett Fulmer added two hits with one double and scored once. Aryan Patel also went 2-for-4 at the plate.
On the mound, Bryce Coulter started for The Citadel, pitching three innings and allowing three earned runs on six hits with three strikeouts and no walks. Liam Foley followed in relief but allowed three earned runs over 1.2 innings—including two home runs—and took his first loss of the season. Trip Brown pitched 1.1 innings giving up two earned runs; CJ Van Slooten delivered a scoreless inning; Ben Brash struck out one batter in his brief appearance; Mason Yokum kept UNCG hitless during his inning of work.
For UNCG, Jacob Budzik went 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs to lead their offense while John Horton (3-2) threw five strong innings from the bullpen—allowing just four hits and one earned run while striking out eight—to earn the win.
Head coach Russell Triplett said: “A disappointing day to finish a great week. I thought we were about as poor as we’ve been all year. Offensively, we had a zero approach, struck out, and executed poorly,” he said.”We didn’t execute pitches either. We got dominated in the third game.That was a big game for us and for what we’re trying to do.So,a disappointing day,but we’ll get back to work next week and see if we can fix some of these issues and correct some of the mistakes we’re making.”
Looking ahead,the Bulldogs will travel to Columbia,S.C.,to face South Carolina for a midweek game at Founders Park scheduled for Tuesday evening.
