March 20, 2004

Box Score

Charleston, SC - Junior right fielder Josh Stackley collected three hits including a three-run homer to help The Citadel past Western Carolina, 6-3, in Southern Conference baseball action Saturday afternoon in Riley Park.

The Citadel (10-8, 4-1 SoCon) opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning as junior third baseman Chris Ard scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of junior designated hitter Chris Altman.

Western Carolina (9-12, 0-5 SoCon) was held scoreless until the top of the fifth when junior left fielder Chad McKown blasted a solo home run to start the inning.

The Bulldogs broke the tie in the bottom of the frame as they plated three runs in the frame. Stackley's three-run homer that plated sophomore left fielder Matt Covington and Ard highlighted the inning. The Citadel added another run in the bottom of the sixth as junior second baseman Jon Aughey scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Covington. The Catamounts posted two runs in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to 5-3 as junior third baseman Chris Davis posted a RBI single and senior catcher Denver Edick added a run scoring double. Bulldog reliever Zach Brown thwarted the rally in the seventh, as he struck out junior right fielder Alex Gary with the bases loaded.

The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth as Ard laced a single to right center that scored junior catcher Will Coker.

Sophomore right-hander Ken Egleton improved to 3-1 on the season as he pitched 6.2 innings and struck out four. Junior closer Shannon Sprouse picked up his second save of the season as he pitched the final inning and struck out one. For the Catamounts, freshman reliever Eryk McConnell suffered the loss and fell to 2-2 on the year.

Stackley's three hit performance extended his hit streak to 19 games which ranks him tied for seventh place on the school's all-time charts with former Bulldog Stuart Jordan who accomplished the feat in 1999.

The Citadel and Western Carolina wrap up the three-game series on Sunday, March 21st at 1:00 pm in Riley Park.