The Citadel 3, Furman 1

 

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Wes Wrenn pitched a complete game and Richard Jones and Chris McGuiness belted consecutive home runs in the sixth inning to propel The Citadel to a 3-1 Southern Conference victory over Furman in baseball action Thursday evening at Latham Stadium.

 

The triumph marked the 300th SoCon victory for The Citadel head coach Fred Jordan, now in his 18th season as head coach of the Bulldogs.  His 300 league wins are the most by any coach in SoCon history.

 

Wrenn (8-2) scattered seven hits and walked two while striking out five en route to the victory for The Citadel, which improves to 29-19 overall and 15-10 in SoCon play.

 

The loss dropped Furman to 21-14 overall and 9-16 in league action, a game ahead of Samford and Wofford for eighth place in the league standings.  The top eight teams qualify for the SoCon Tournament, set for May 20-24 at Greenville’s Fluor Field.

 

Ian Parry (3-5) took the loss for the Paladins, working a career long seven innings and allowing seven hits and three runs, all earned.  He walked two and fanned five.

 

Furman grabbed a 1-0 in the third on a Matt Hemingway single through the left side that scored Connor Lind.

 

The Citadel answered in the fourth on a double play grounder off the bat of Richard Jones.

 

Jones redeemed himself in the sixth when he deposited a one-out Parry offering over the left center field fence to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead.  On the next pitch McGuiness cracked a shot to left field to stretch the Bulldog advantage to 3-1.

 

Wrenn kept Furman’s bats at bay, allowing only three singles the rest of the way.

 

McGuiness had three of the Bulldogs’ nine hits with a 3-for-4 performance.

 

The two teams play game two of the series Friday at 3:00 p.m.