First Day of SoCon Baseball Championship in the Books

GREENVILLE, SC – The Citadel picked up a pair of wins Wednesday to advance to Thursday’s second round to face top-seeded Mercer and Samford captured its lone game in a run-heavy day to open the 2026 SoCon Baseball Championship, presented by Holston Gases.

GAME ONE: #5 The Citadel 21, #8 VMI 11 (8 innings)

The Citadel tied a conference tournament record with 24 hits and Jayden Williams belted a single up the middle to end a 21-11 win over rival VMI in the eighth inning. All-SoCon slugger Michael Gibson tied a tournament batting average record by going 5-for-5, finishing a triple shy of the cycle for the surging Bulldogs.

The Citadel scored four in the first and two in the second to go up 6-0 early and led 7-1 after the third. VMI rallied, scoring three runs in the fourth and fifth to tie the game, 7-7, but a five-run burst in the sixth and a seven-run explosion in the eighth ended the game.

In addition to Gibson’s big day, the Bulldogs got three hits from TJ Anderson (3-for-5), Sam Dansky (3-for-5), and Phillips Daniels, and two hits apiece from Tobin Lane, Williams, Zach Hunt, Aryan Patel. Dansky, Gibson, and Hunt each left the yard on Wednesday morning.

VMI had 12 hits in the game, with four different batters collecting two each.

Zane Davis (3-2) picked up the win in relief, tossing 2.0 innings with only one run allowed.

GAME TWO: #7 UNC Greensboro 6, #6 ETSU 5

Luke Holland led the game off with a long home run, and UNC Greensboro used an eighth-inning single from All-SoCon third baseman Jacob Budzik to get past ETSU, 6-5, in the second game of Wednesday’s action.

The Spartans led 3-0 after a Jake Barbour single a costly fielding error in the outfield, but the Buccaneers pushed four runs across in an effective bottom of the second inning – getting three-straight home runs from Mason Ault, Joey Little, and Nate Conner – to surge in front.

UNCG regained the lead on RBI knocks from Nate Conner and Barbour in the fifth, before ETSU tied the game on Jamie Palmese’s sacrifice fly in the bottom half.

An error at the hot corner allowed Luke Holland to reach for UNCG in the top of the eighth and, after Jake Mueller was plunked, Budzik singled to third base to plate the game winner.

ETSU got the winning run to third base with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth, but two strikeouts and a foul ball to first base ended the game.

Cannon Lee worked 4.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen and fanned eight batters to pick up the win for the Spartans. Barbour went 3-for-4 to lead the Spartans’ offense, with Jacob Dilley (2-for-4) and Jenkins (2-for-5) each collecting two hits.

Nate Conner led ETSU with three hits and two runs scored.

GAME THREE: #5 The Citadel 13, #4 Wofford 7

The Citadel continued its hot start in Greenville, collecting 15 hits in a 13-7 win over No. 4 seed Wofford. The Bulldogs plated six runs in the top of the first against SoCon Pitcher of the Year Alec Bouchard to set the pace.

Wofford got right back in it with five runs in the bottom of the first, with the inning lasting just under 45 minutes. The Citadel scored twice in the fourth and three times in the sixth to take control of the game. Wofford scored again in the eighth on a majestic solo home run from Ben Timblin, but The Citadel answered with an insurance run in the top of the ninth for the final margin.

Michael Gibson led the way again, going 3-for-5 with three RBI in the win. Tobin Lane (2-for-6), Jayden Williams (2-for-3), TJ Anderson (2-for-4), and Aryan Patel (2-for-5) also had multiple hits for the Bulldogs.

Andrew Buffkin picked up the win, tossing 5.0 innings with eight strikeouts and two earned runs allowed. Andrew Bowers closed the game with 4.0 effective innings for his sixth save of the season.

Wofford had 11 hits in the game, with Cade Collins (2-for-5), Niko Brini (2-for-4), Lucas Manning (2-for-4) and Tanner Hardin (2-for-4, 3 RBI) leading the way. Hardin had a pair of doubles, including a three-run hit in the first to keep Wofford in contention.

The Citadel advances to play top-seed Mercer at 9:00 am on Thursday. Wofford will await the loser of that game at 4:00 pm in an elimination game.

GAME FOUR: Samford 13, UNC Greensboro 1

Samford belted five home runs and five doubles in Wednesday’s late game to power a 13-1 win over UNC Greensboro in seven innings.

The Bulldogs went up 6-0 early and never looked back. An error starting things, with a Cade Carr grounder plating Ethan Brittain for an early lead. Trey Higgins followed with a two-run blast to left, putting the ‘Dogs up 3-0 in the first. Gus Gandy launched a solo shot with one out in the second for a 4-0 lead and Carr singled through the left side for a 5-0 lead before UNC Greensboro could get out of the jam.

Eddie Marshall joined the parade in the bottom of the third, roping a solo home run to dead center for a 6-0 lead. Higgens smashed another home run, his 13^th of the season, in the fifth to put Samford up 7-1. With his team leading 9-1, Luke Boykin cranked a grand slam deep to right field for a 13-1 lead that would hold.

Samford ace hurled 6.0 innings with only one run allowed, scattering six hits for the win. He struck out seven and walked just one.

Higgins led Samford’s 14-hit attack with three hits in four at bats, driving in three runs with his two home runs and a double. Four other Bulldogs had two hits in the win.

Luke Holland (2-for-3) and Brantley Truitt (2-for-3) each had a pair of UNC Greensboro’s six hits.

Samford advances to play No. 2 seed Western Carolina at 12:30 pm on Thursday. UNC Greensboro will face the loser of that game at 7:30 pm Thursday.

2026 SoCon Baseball Championship

Presented by Holston Gases

Wednesday, May 20

Game 1: #5 The Citadel 21, #8 VMI 11 (8 innings) 

Game 2: #7 UNCG 6, #6 ETSU 5

Game 3: #5 The Citadel 13, #4 Wofford 7

Game 4: #3 Samford 13, #7 UNCG 1

Thursday, May 21

Game 5: #1 Mercer vs. #5 The Citadel, 9:00 AM

Game 6: #2 Western Carolina vs. #3 Samford, 12:30 PM

Game 7: #4 Wofford vs. Loser of G5, 4:00 PM

Game 8: #7 UNCG vs. Loser of G6, 7:30 PM