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The Citadel, UNCG advance at SoCon Baseball Championship
Bulldogs, Spartans move on double-elimination portion of bracket
No. 8 seed The Citadel 5, No. 5 seed VMI 2
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Matthew Lively drove in three runs and No. 8 seed The Citadel used a three-run eighth inning to down No. 5 seed VMI, 5-2, in the opening game of the 2023 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field on Wednesday.
With the win, the Bulldogs (23-29) advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket and will face No. 4 seed ETSU on Thursday at 3 p.m. VMI sees its season come to an end at 26-29.
With the game knotted at 2 in the late innings, The Citadel plated three runs against its military rival to knock off the No. 5 seed in the first round for the second straight year.
Travis Elliott was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, forcing a pitching change for the Keydets. Wells Sykes followed with a bunt single and advanced to second on a throwing error that allowed Elliott to go to third, setting the stage for Lively’s bloop single, which dropped into shallow center field to plate Elliott with what would prove to be the winning run. One out later, Thomas Rollauer singled to right to drive in Sykes and Lively with some insurance runs.
VMI went down in order in both the eighth and ninth innings, with Gant Starling (2-2) getting a pair of strikeouts and a groundout in the ninth to shut the door.
The Keydets pushed across the game’s first run in the bottom of the first with some small ball. After Justin Starke worked a leadoff walk, a Cole Garrett single put runners on the corners. Trey Morgan then dropped a squeeze bunt to score Starke, but The Citadel starter Cameron Reeves got a pair of groundouts to escape further damage.
The Citadel pulled ahead in the top of the sixth with a two-out rally. Elliott got things going with a dribbler up the middle, followed by Sykes being hit by a pitch and Anthony Badala drawing a walk to load the bases. Lively, The Citadel’s 9-hole hitter, then singled through the right side to plate Elliott and Sykes to put the Bulldogs in front 2-1.
The Keydets wasted no time pulling even, again manufacturing a run in the bottom half of the sixth. After Morgan walked on four pitches to open the inning, Zac Morris reached on a bunt single and Cole Jenkins followed with a sacrifice bunt to put two runners in scoring position. Ty Swaim followed with a fielder’s choice to shortstop to drive in Morgan to make it 2-2.
Rollauer (3-for-5) and Elliott (3-for-4) both had three-hit days to pace The Citadel’s 12-hit attack. Six different players accounted for VMI’s six hits. All 18 hits in the contest were singles.
Starling worked the final 2 2/3 innings to pick up the win, allowing just one hit and getting eight outs against just eight batters faced. Reeves took the no-decision, allowing two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings.
VMI starter Nathan Light also did not factor into the decision, throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits. Will Riley (3-5) suffered the loss after allowing three runs on two hits in 2 1/3 innings, while Morgan worked the final two innings on the mound for VMI, allowing two runs on four hits.
No. 6 seed UNCG 4, No. 7 seed Western Carolina 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Pinch-hitter Luke Jenkins drilled a two-run double off the wall down the left-field line in the bottom of the ninth inning to send No. 6 seed UNCG past No. 7 seed Western Carolina, 4-3, in Wednesday's second game of the 2023 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field.
The Spartans (23-32) advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket and will face No. 3 seed Wofford on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. The Catamounts see their season come to an end at 21-33.
Western Carolina seemed poised to advance after scoring a pair of runs in the top half of the ninth on consecutive two-out RBI singles from Jack Spyke and pinch-hitter Cole Jones to take a 3-2 lead.
The Spartans came roaring back in the bottom half of the frame, however, with Dallas Callahan and Daniel Cerda drawing walks to open the inning. After a popup on the infield for the first out, Kennedy Jones drilled a single to left, but pinch-runner Jeremy Wolf tripped rounding third and UNCG was unable to score. Jenkins remedied that just four pitches later, bringing Wolf and Cerda home to keep the Spartans’ season alive.
UNCG entered the ninth with a 2-1 lead after plating a pair in the fourth. Zack Budzik led off the frame with a home run well over the Green Monster in left, and the Spartans doubled their lead on Bradley Bott’s RBI double later in the inning.
Western Carolina got a run back in the top of the fifth on Kyle Harbison’s RBI groundout after the Catamounts opened the inning with a pair of singles.
Jones, the Most Outstanding Player of last season’s tournament, continued to hit well at Fluor Field, going 3-for-4 on the evening. Caleb Cozart was 2-for-3 with a run scored for the Spartans, who totaled 11 hits and drew seven walks in the contest.
James Hinson paced the Catamounts’ seven-hit attack, going 2-for-2 with two of Western Carolina’s five walks.
Luke Thomas (4-4) picked up the win for UNCG despite surrendering the two runs in the top of the ninth, as he pitched the final two innings, allowing three hits. Starter Julien Peissel allowed one run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Jonathan Todd (2-5), the fourth WCU pitcher of the day, took the loss for the Catamounts after allowing a pair of runs in an inning of work, giving up two hits.
UNCG’s win sets up a rematch of last season’s Championship Sunday. The Spartans defeated top-seeded Wofford twice that day to win the tournament.
2023 SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
May 24 (Wednesday)
Game 1: #8 The Citadel 5, #5 VMI 2
Game 2: #6 UNCG 4, #7 Western Carolina 3
May 25 (Thursday)
Game 3: #8 The Citadel vs. #4 ETSU, 9 a.m.
Game 4: #6 UNCG vs. #3 Wofford, 12:30 p.m.
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. #1 Samford, 4 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. #2 Mercer, 7:30 p.m.
May 26 (Friday)
Game 7: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5, 9 a.m.
Game 8: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 6, 12:30 p.m.
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 4 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 7:30 p.m.
TBD
Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9, TBD
Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11, TBD
Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser^, 40 minutes after Game 12
^ if necessary
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Matthew Lively drove in three runs and No. 8 seed The Citadel used a three-run eighth inning to down No. 5 seed VMI, 5-2, in the opening game of the 2023 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field on Wednesday.
With the win, the Bulldogs (23-29) advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket and will face No. 4 seed ETSU on Thursday at 3 p.m. VMI sees its season come to an end at 26-29.
With the game knotted at 2 in the late innings, The Citadel plated three runs against its military rival to knock off the No. 5 seed in the first round for the second straight year.
Travis Elliott was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, forcing a pitching change for the Keydets. Wells Sykes followed with a bunt single and advanced to second on a throwing error that allowed Elliott to go to third, setting the stage for Lively’s bloop single, which dropped into shallow center field to plate Elliott with what would prove to be the winning run. One out later, Thomas Rollauer singled to right to drive in Sykes and Lively with some insurance runs.
VMI went down in order in both the eighth and ninth innings, with Gant Starling (2-2) getting a pair of strikeouts and a groundout in the ninth to shut the door.
The Keydets pushed across the game’s first run in the bottom of the first with some small ball. After Justin Starke worked a leadoff walk, a Cole Garrett single put runners on the corners. Trey Morgan then dropped a squeeze bunt to score Starke, but The Citadel starter Cameron Reeves got a pair of groundouts to escape further damage.
The Citadel pulled ahead in the top of the sixth with a two-out rally. Elliott got things going with a dribbler up the middle, followed by Sykes being hit by a pitch and Anthony Badala drawing a walk to load the bases. Lively, The Citadel’s 9-hole hitter, then singled through the right side to plate Elliott and Sykes to put the Bulldogs in front 2-1.
The Keydets wasted no time pulling even, again manufacturing a run in the bottom half of the sixth. After Morgan walked on four pitches to open the inning, Zac Morris reached on a bunt single and Cole Jenkins followed with a sacrifice bunt to put two runners in scoring position. Ty Swaim followed with a fielder’s choice to shortstop to drive in Morgan to make it 2-2.
Rollauer (3-for-5) and Elliott (3-for-4) both had three-hit days to pace The Citadel’s 12-hit attack. Six different players accounted for VMI’s six hits. All 18 hits in the contest were singles.
Starling worked the final 2 2/3 innings to pick up the win, allowing just one hit and getting eight outs against just eight batters faced. Reeves took the no-decision, allowing two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings.
VMI starter Nathan Light also did not factor into the decision, throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing six hits. Will Riley (3-5) suffered the loss after allowing three runs on two hits in 2 1/3 innings, while Morgan worked the final two innings on the mound for VMI, allowing two runs on four hits.
No. 6 seed UNCG 4, No. 7 seed Western Carolina 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Pinch-hitter Luke Jenkins drilled a two-run double off the wall down the left-field line in the bottom of the ninth inning to send No. 6 seed UNCG past No. 7 seed Western Carolina, 4-3, in Wednesday's second game of the 2023 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field.
The Spartans (23-32) advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket and will face No. 3 seed Wofford on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. The Catamounts see their season come to an end at 21-33.
Western Carolina seemed poised to advance after scoring a pair of runs in the top half of the ninth on consecutive two-out RBI singles from Jack Spyke and pinch-hitter Cole Jones to take a 3-2 lead.
The Spartans came roaring back in the bottom half of the frame, however, with Dallas Callahan and Daniel Cerda drawing walks to open the inning. After a popup on the infield for the first out, Kennedy Jones drilled a single to left, but pinch-runner Jeremy Wolf tripped rounding third and UNCG was unable to score. Jenkins remedied that just four pitches later, bringing Wolf and Cerda home to keep the Spartans’ season alive.
UNCG entered the ninth with a 2-1 lead after plating a pair in the fourth. Zack Budzik led off the frame with a home run well over the Green Monster in left, and the Spartans doubled their lead on Bradley Bott’s RBI double later in the inning.
Western Carolina got a run back in the top of the fifth on Kyle Harbison’s RBI groundout after the Catamounts opened the inning with a pair of singles.
Jones, the Most Outstanding Player of last season’s tournament, continued to hit well at Fluor Field, going 3-for-4 on the evening. Caleb Cozart was 2-for-3 with a run scored for the Spartans, who totaled 11 hits and drew seven walks in the contest.
James Hinson paced the Catamounts’ seven-hit attack, going 2-for-2 with two of Western Carolina’s five walks.
Luke Thomas (4-4) picked up the win for UNCG despite surrendering the two runs in the top of the ninth, as he pitched the final two innings, allowing three hits. Starter Julien Peissel allowed one run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Jonathan Todd (2-5), the fourth WCU pitcher of the day, took the loss for the Catamounts after allowing a pair of runs in an inning of work, giving up two hits.
UNCG’s win sets up a rematch of last season’s Championship Sunday. The Spartans defeated top-seeded Wofford twice that day to win the tournament.
2023 SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
May 24 (Wednesday)
Game 1: #8 The Citadel 5, #5 VMI 2
Game 2: #6 UNCG 4, #7 Western Carolina 3
May 25 (Thursday)
Game 3: #8 The Citadel vs. #4 ETSU, 9 a.m.
Game 4: #6 UNCG vs. #3 Wofford, 12:30 p.m.
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. #1 Samford, 4 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. #2 Mercer, 7:30 p.m.
May 26 (Friday)
Game 7: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5, 9 a.m.
Game 8: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 6, 12:30 p.m.
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 4 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 7:30 p.m.
TBD
Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9, TBD
Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11, TBD
Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser^, 40 minutes after Game 12
^ if necessary
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