April 30, 2004

Box Score

Johnson City, TN - Stephen Douglas drove-in Andy Howdeshell for the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to lead East Tennessee State to a 10-9 come-from-behind victory over The Citadel Friday night in Southern Conference baseball action in front of 347 fans at Howard Johnson Field.

The Citadel (26-15, 15-4 SoCon) got on the board in the first inning as they plated two runs on RBI-singles for senior first baseman Chip Cannon and senior left fielder Andy Phillips. After stealing second base, junior right fielder Josh Stackley scored from second on Cannon's base hit to right. With a 1-0 lead and runners on first and second, Phillips lined a single into center driving home Cannon from second for a 2-0 lead. The Bulldogs added a run in the top of the second on a Stackley run-scoring single to left field. Sophomore center fielder Matt Covington reached on a two-out base hit to single before moving to second on a single through the left side off the bat of junior third baseman Chris Ard. Covington then raced home from second to give the Dogs a 3-0 lead after two frames.

In the third, junior second baseman Jon Aughey blasted his fifth homer of the season over the left field wall. With a 1-2 count, Aughey belted the solo shot to give The Citadel a 4-0 lead.

East Tennessee State (23-22, 12-13 SoCon) tied the scored at 4-4 with four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. ETSU got three of their four runs on back-to-back homers by Andy Howdeshell and Steven Calicutt. Howdeshell blasted a two-run homer to left, while Calicutt ripped one over the right-centerfield wall.

The Bulldogs responded with a four-run inning of their own in the top of the fifth to jump ahead 8-4. Stackley started the rally with a leadoff solo homer to left center. With runners on first and second, junior catcher Will Coker ripped a double into the left-centerfield gap plating two runs, while junior shortstop Matt Matulia then drove home Coker on a RBI-single up the middle.

The Bucs scratched across a run in the sixth to cut the Bulldog lead to 8-5. With the bases loaded Stephen Douglas plated a run on a fielder's choice to second. Howdeshell trotted home from third after leading off the inning with a base on balls.

ETSU tied the score at 8-8 with three runs in the bottom of the seventh on three hits and a Bulldog error. The Bucs got their first run as a base hit to right got passed Stackley allowing Shane Byrne to score, while Howdeshell drove-in Caleb Moore on a double to right. After advancing to third, Howdeshell scored on a Josiah Glafenhein RBI-single that knotted the score at eight runs apiece.

In the ninth, The Citadel retook the lead 9-8 as Covington raced home on a fielding error by ETSU third baseman Greg Roberts. After doubling to left-center and moving to third on a base hit by Ard, Stackley bounced a ball to third that found its way into left off the glove of Roberts that allowed Covington to give the Dogs the lead.

As they have all night, East Tennessee State responded with a solo homer by Roberts, who atoned for his fielding error earlier in the inning. Roberts' homer tied the score at 9-9 with one inning to play.

Josh Kite (2-2) earned the win as he pitched the final two innings in relief of ETSU starter Tim Turner. Kite allowed one run on four hits, while fanning one and walking one. Citadel closer Shannon Sprouse (3-4) took the loss as he surrendered the game-winning run in the ninth.

Aughey connected for three hits, while four Bulldog hitters tallied at least two hits apiece. All nine Citadel batters in the lineup had one hit. Stackley and Coker both drove-in two runs.

The Bulldogs and Bucs will meet again tomorrow at 2 pm at Howard Johnson Field for game two of the three-game SoCon series.