A solid performance by The Citadel starter Wes Wrenn backed by five Bulldog runs kept the Dogs alive in the Southern Conference Tournament with a 5-2 victory over No. 3 Elon Saturday afternoon at Riley Park. With the win, the Bulldogs advance to the championship game against No. 9 Wofford at 7 p.m.
Wrenn (6-6) tossed seven shutout innings before two earned runs in the eighth. The sophomore allowed seven hits, only two for extra bases, while fanning two and walking one. Wrenn also earned the victory in the single-elimination round on Tuesday with a 7-0 win over No. 10 Davidson. Jamie Maxwell, Raymond Copenhaver and Matt Reifsnider combined to hold the Phoenix scoreless on only one hit over the final three frames.
Elon starter Ryan Basham (2-2) suffered the loss as he lasted 2.2 frames, giving up four runs on six hits while striking out and walking one.
The Citadel struck early to take a 1-0 lead in the first. Freshman second baseman Bryan Altman registered an infield single with two outs before senior right fielder Joe Hoerter was hit by a pitch. Freshman catcher Richard Jones hit a line drive to center to plate Altman for the one-run advantage.
The Bulldogs returned in the third to post three more as sophomore designated hitter Sonny Meade ripped a one-out double to the gap in right center before senior first baseman Zach Brown drew a walk. Jones then roped a base hit to right to drive in Meade and move Brown to third. Basham threw a pitch in the dirt that skipped past Elon catcher Drew Davis, allowing Brown to race home and putting Jones on second. After a flyout to left, Altman hit one back up the middle to send Jones across the dish, putting the Dogs up, 4-0.
A bases loaded walk to Arnold tacked on one more for the Dogs to extend the lead to five in the seventh. The Phoenix were able to avoid the shutout as they pushed across two in the eighth. After a single and double, senior left-hander Maxwell came to the hill and forced Pat Irvine to groundout to second with Adam Weaver coming home. The Citadel then turned the mound over to Copenhaver who immediately produced the second out with another RBI-groundout off the bat of Davis. After a walk, Copenhaver made Ryan Addison pop out to short to get the Dogs back in the dugout.
The Dogs loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, but were unable to add any insurance as Chris Vasami forced a fielder’s choice to end The Citadel threat. An eager Elon squad tried to rally in the ninth with Reifsnider on the bump. Reifsnider caught Kevin Pratt looking for the first out before surrendering a single to Chase Austin. The freshman right-hander then registered two more strikeouts to preserve the 5-2 victory and pick up his second save of the season.
Jones and Altman paced the Dogs at the dish with two hits on the day while Addison and Austin picked up two for Elon.
The Bulldogs will have a rematch with Wofford after the Terriers put The Citadel in the losers’ bracket with a 6-2 win in game 13 Friday afternoon. The Dogs and Terriers will play in the championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday night at Riley Park. If The Citadel should win, the Bulldogs will have to play Wofford again at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 27 at Riley Park.