BULLDOGS TO BATTLE A PAIR OF TOP-10 TEAMS IN MIDWEEK
The Citadel will play a pair of in-state top-10 teams this week in the second meeting with both squads as they travel to No. 9 Coastal Carolina on Tuesday at 6 p.m. On Wednesday, No. 5 South Carolina comes to Riley Park for a 7 p.m. first pitch.
'DOGS AND CHANTS MEET IN CONWAY
The Citadel heads to Conway for a return trip with No. 9 Coastal Carolina on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs and Chanticleers met earlier this season at Riley Park with CCU coming out on top, 7-1, in that match-up on March 23.
The Chanticleers hold the all-time series advantage, 37-32, and hold the 21-14 series lead in games played in Conway. The Citadel has scored only one run in each of the past five meeting games against the Chants, having lost all five contests.
SCOUNTING THE CHANTICLEERS
Coastal Carolina comes into the game with an overall record of 27-5 and ranked No. 9 in the country. The Chanticleers have won eight in a row and are coming off a sweep of High Point at home as they improved to 8-0 in the Big South for the first time since 1991.
Catcher Jose Iglesias continues to shine for the Chants. He is batting .379 with seven homers and 48 RBI. Leadoff man Rico Noel has added 27 stolen bases to go with his .345 batting average. The junior has scored 42 runs and laced 13 doubles.
The CCU pitching staff has a collective ERA of 3.18. Anthony Meo anchors the staff with his 6-1 record and 2.23 ERA in 44.1 innings pitched in eight starts. Closer Austin Fleet is 3-1 with five saves in 29.0 innings pitched. He sports a 2.48 ERA with 25 punch-outs.
The game vs. The Citadel closes out an eight-game home stand for Coastal Carolina as they have played every game in April in Conway.
THE CITADEL DROPS FIRST WEEKEND SERIES OF 2010
Indiana State took two of thee from The Citadel last weekend, handing the Bulldogs their first series loss of the season. It was also the first time The Citadel has lost a series at home since the opened the 2009 season dropping three of four games, also to the Sycamores. In Friday night's game, the Bulldogs rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the bottom of the ninth to win 4-3 on a walk-off single by Justin Mackert. Indiana State took game two on Saturday by a final of 11-7 and the Sycamores scored twice in the top of the ninth on Sunday to break a tie game to win 4-2 and take the series.
FIRST RANKING SINCE 2001
The Citadel baseball team earned their first national ranking since 2001 on Monday, March 29 as they were slotted at No. 25 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30.
The last time the Bulldogs were ranked was in 2001 when they were also ranked in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30.The Citadel was ranked for three weeks following a 20-6 start that season and ranked as high as No. 21 in the nation.
WOJO WORKS HIS MOJO
Asher Wojciechowski did not receive a decision for the first time this season on Friday night against Indiana State. He did throw 8.0 innings for the fourth time this season and still sports a 7-0 mark on the year. In his four starts against SoCon teams, Wojciechowski has struck out 45 and walked four in 31.0 innings. His 76 total punch-outs and seven wins are the most in the Southern Conference and also first nationally in Division I.
JORDAN SETS RECORD FOR MOST WINS IN SCHOOL HISTORY
On Wednesday, March 31, head coach Fred Jordan passed legendary head coach Chal Port for the most wins in Citadel history. The 5-0 shutout win over Charleston Southern gave Jordan his 642nd career win in his 19th season as the Bulldogs' skipper. Port had a career record of 641-386-2 at The Citadel and took the Bulldogs to the College World Series in 1990.
A RECORD FIVE CONSECUTIVE SOCON SWEEPS
The Citadel's 18-game regular season SoCon winning streak came to an end on April 3 in a 12-11 loss at Wofford. The 18 straight conference victories and five straight series sweeps set a school record. To end the season in 2009, the Bulldogs swept Furman in Greenville on May 7-10 and then followed that by taking all three against cross-town rival College of Charleston at Riley Park on May 14-16. To start the 2010 conference season, The Citadel bested Western Carolina in all three games at Riley Park on March 12-14 and then took out Elon in a three-game set from March 19-21. To cap off March, the Bulldogs swept Appalachian State at Riley Park.
QUICK STARTERS
The Bulldogs have scored in the first inning in 19 of their 34 games this year. The Cadets are outscoring their opposition 31-9 in the opening frame. They have also scored first in 24 games this season.
BULLDOGS IN THE TOP 20 IN RPI
The Citadel ranks No. 19 in the most recent RPI Index according to Boyd's World. Their .607 rating is the highest of any SoCon school.
Boyd's World RPI Index 11-20 (As of 4/12/10)
11 0.619 25 7 Florida State
12 0.618 18 12 Cal State Fullerton
13 0.614 21 11 Alabama
14 0.612 23 9 Miami, Florida
15 0.611 26 8 Vanderbilt
16 0.608 26 8 Western Kentucky
17 0.608 26 6 Louisiana State
18 0.607 27 5 Georgia Tech
19 0.607 23 11 The Citadel
20 0.606 25 7 South Carolina
WOJCIECHOWSKI NAMED TO PITCHER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Junior Asher Wojciechowski has been named to the initial Pitcher of the Year Watch List announced by the College Baseball Foundation on March 23.
The list included 49 pitchers from all across the country. The Bulldog right-hander was the only player listed from the Southern Conference and one of only three pitchers from a school in South Carolina.
The Pitcher of the Year Award will be presented in Lubbock, Texas, on July 2 as part of the College Baseball Awards Show.
RACKIN UP THE SAVES
Drew Mahaffey is tied for second in the Southern Conference with six saves on the year. Matt Reifsnider and Mahaffey have both collected 13 career saves and rank in the top 10 in career saves at The Citadel.
COPE SETS APPEARANCES RECORD
Raymond Copenhaver passed Tom Martin (1995-1998) for the most appearances in Bulldog baseball history against Winthrop on March 24. His 113th appearance eclipsed Martin's previous record of 112. Copenhaver has averaged 34 appearances per year in his three previous seasons with the Bulldogs. The senior has 18 appearances so far in 2010 and 120 for his career.
PRITCHER PICKS UP FIRST COLLEGIATE WIN
Freshman Austin Pritcher earned his first collegiate win on March 24 against Winthrop. He went 6.0 innings, allowing five hits, two runs, four walks and striking out three on 100 pitches to pick up the win. He followed that performance up with 6.0 scoreless innings on March 31 against Charleston Southern to earn his second consecutive victory.
BOYCE FINALLY BREAKS THROUGH
It took Chris Boyce three years, but he finally earned his first collegiate win in 2010. The senior from Simpsonville, S.C. is 4-0 on the season and pitched a career-high 4.0 innings to claim the win against Delaware on Feb. 20. He is second on the team with four wins.
TRIPLE PARTY!
The Citadel has already hit 14 triples this season. The Bulldogs hit only 16 triples all of last season. David Greene has doubled his career total to four as he hit a triple in each of the first two tournaments. Against Saint Joseph's on Feb. 26, Brad Felder became the first Bulldog to triple twice in a game since Chris Swauger did it in 2006. William Ladd, Justin Mackert, Matt Simonelli and Grant Richards have also tripled for The Citadel. The 14 team triples are the most of any SoCon school this season and rank eighth nationally.
A recap and box score will follow both games. Live stats will be available for both contests. On Wednesday's game against South Carolina at 7 p.m. at Riley Park, play-by-play announcer Darren Goldwater will be broadcasting the game on The Citadel Sports Network on Fox Sports Radio 1450 AM in Charleston and video will be available at CitadelSports.com.
