Apr. 25, 2003

Greenville, SC - Andy Phillips singled in Matt Matulia in the ninth to break a 4-4 tie to lead The Citadel over Furman 6-4 in Southern Conference baseball action Friday night in Furman Baseball Stadium.

The Citadel (24-17, 13-6) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first on Chip Cannon's RBI single that plated Andy Phillips. Phillips, who doubled to left-center field with one out, scored from second on Cannon's single to left. In the third, the Bulldogs added a run as Phillips was driven-in on Brook Dantzler's groundout that pushed the lead to 2-0.

Furman (21-17, 11-11) cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the third on Derek Norman's RBI single to left. Clint Hill, who singled to center with one out, scored on Hill's single. The Paladins then tied the score at 2-2 in the fifth as Hill and Norman connected for the second time. Hill reached on a fielder's choice and scored on Norman's second RBI base hit of the game.

The Bulldogs retook the lead, 4-2, in the sixth on Jason Randall's two-out bases loaded single that scored Cannon and Chris Ard. Cannon got the rally started with a single up the middle with one out. Ard then singled through the left side of the infield, while Weathers then followed with a walk to loaded the bases. After Furman pitcher Tom Mastny struck out Josh Stackley for out the second out of the inning, Randall singled up the middle driving in the two Bulldog runs.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Paladins added two runs to knot the score at 4-4 on two RBI singles to right field. Both Cole Hubka and Matthew Betsill singled in runs with the bases loaded. Norman scored on Hubka's RBI single, while Dominic Frankey was plated on Betsill's base hit to tie the score. Citadel relief pitcher Matt Hamer got Andrew Greene to ground into a double play to squelch the Furman rally.

Phillips, who had two doubles and a single, drove-in Matulia in the ninth to break the 4-4 tie and gave the Dogs a 5-4 lead. Phillips later scored on Dantzler's double down the left field line to extend the Bulldog lead to 6-4.

Matt Hamer (4-0) pitched 1.2 innings and did not allow a run to earn his fourth victory of the season for the Bulldogs, while Clavin Hurst (0-1) took the loss for the Paladins on 0.2 innings of work. He gave up the winning run in the ninth on Phillips RBI single. Mastny, who started for Furman, had his six-game win streak broken.

Cannon and Matulia tallied three hits for The Citadel, while Dantzler and Randall both drove-in two runs.

The Citadel and Furman will Saturday, April 26, at 6:00 pm for game two of the three-game set.