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The Citadel, Samford Advance To Saturday's SoCon Baseball Title Game
Battle of the Bulldogs Set For ESPNU at 7:30 PM
GREENVILLE, SC – The Citadel continued its red-hot run at Fluor Field, beating top-seed Mercer 14-4, Friday morning, and Samford used a pair of late home runs to win a 13-inning marathon over Western Carolina and advance to Saturday’s SoCon Baseball Championship Game.
The Citadel and Samford will meet for the first time ever in the SoCon Baseball Championship, as two sets of Bulldogs battle for the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship at 7:30 pm ET on ESPNU.
GAME ONE: #5 The Citadel 14, #1 Mercer 4 (7 innings)
The Citadel scored five runs in the third inning and six runs in the seventh to power a 14-4 win over No. 1 seed Mercer and advance to their first SoCon Championship Game appearance since 2013.
The Bulldogs have won eight SoCon baseball championships, with the last trophy coming in 2010.
The Citadel’s Bryce Coulter went the distance on the mound, scattering 10 hits and four runs for the win.
Christian Stratis provided plenty of pop at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBI to lead a 16-hit offensive effort for the ‘Dogs. Lane Tobin (2-for-4), Jayden Williams (2-for-3), Michael Gibson (2-for-4, 4 RBI), Zach Hunt (2-for-5), and Phillips Daniels (2-for-3) also had big days in a balanced attack.
The Citadel wasted little time going in front, scoring twice in the top of the first on RBI singles by Gibson and Hunt. Gibson now has 13 hits in the tournament, just three shy of the event record set by Kennedy Jones (UNCG) in 2022.
Mercer cut the lead to 2-1 on a sacrifice fly in the second, but Straits roped a two-run single in the third, followed by an RBI knock from Sam Dansky, and another RBI single from Daniels. Williams pushed the lead to 7-1 when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Gibson had the big hit in the seventh, clearing the bases with a double to put the Bulldogs up 12-2. Stratis followed with his fourth RBI of the game, and Zach Hunt plated the final run for The Citadel with a double.
Mercer got long home runs from Chris Katz (419 feet) and Michael Graziano (420 feet) in the game, with Katz going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. Brant Baughcum also went 3-for-4 for the Bears, who remain inside the top 30 nationally in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI).
GAME TWO: #3 Samford 5, #2 Western Carolina 1
Samford scored four runs in the top of the 13th after a rain delay that lasted nearly three hours (2:57) and held on for a 5-1 win over Western Carolina to advance to face The Citadel for the 2026 SoCon title on Saturday night.
The game was halted with a man on second in the top of the 12th with one out. Western Carolina relief ace Mason Snyder retook the mound after the lengthy delay and quickly got a ground ball and strikeout to get the Catamounts back on offense. Western Carolina managed a base runner, but Samford tracked down a deep fly ball to avoid a potential winning run – and got a strikeout to send the game into the 13th.
Gabe Gandy drew a leadoff walk, and Jeffrey Ince was plunked with one out to set the stage for high drama. Jackson Harris lined a 1-1 pitch to right that caught a piece of the replica Pesky’s Pole 302-feet away in right field for a 4-1 lead. A replay review upheld the call, and Luke Boykin belted his 20th home run of the season to left center two batters later for what would be the final margin.
Zak Spurrier came on for Samford in the bottom of the 13th and recorded a pair of strikeouts to end the game.
Samford had 12 hits in the game and Western Carolina had 10, but the teams combined to strand 29 base runners in a low scoring affair.
Boykin led Samford offensively, going 3-for-6 with the solo home run. Trey Higgins had a pair of hits as well. Cameron Murray went 4-for-5 to pace Western Carolina’s offense.
The Bulldogs are making their fourth championship game appearance in four seasons, last winning the title in 2023. Samford also won titles in 2012, 2018, and 2021.
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: #5 The Citadel 9, #1 Mercer 2
Game 6: #3 Samford 9, #2 Western Carolina 5
Game 7: #1 Mercer 9, #4 Wofford 8
Game 8: #2 Western Carolina 4, #7 UNC Greensboro 3
Friday, May 22
Game 9: #5 The Citadel 14, #1 Mercer 4
Game 10: #3 Samford 5, #2 Western Carolina 1
Saturday, May 23
Championship Game, 7:30 pm (ESPNU)