Greenville, S.C. – The Citadel rallied with five runs in the top of the seventh to take a 6-5 lead, but two errors in the bottom of the ninth allowed Furman to walk-off with a 7-6 victory to take the series at Latham Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Bulldogs (13-22, 7-13) lost their tenth one-run game of the season and committed four errors on Saturday. In two games at Furman (19-18, 9-7), The Citadel has allowed 14 unearned runs and committed 11 errors.
Leading 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth, Jeremy Long (Clover, S.C.) worked his second inning of relief and got the first out before Will Owens reached on an error at shortstop by Matt Simonelli (Orlando, Fla.). A walk to Aaron Thompkins would prompt a pitching change as Logan Cribb (Rock Hill, S.C.) entered the game and intentionally walked Reese Wade to load the bases after Thompkins and Owens stole second and third.
TJ Clarkson (Coral Springs, Fla.) was then brought in with the bases loaded and one down and got Will Miller to fly out to shallow right, but William Ladd (Winnsboro, S.C.) dropped the ball, allowing Owens to score and keep the bases loaded with one down. A strikeout of Alex Abrams would produce the second out, but Will Muzika lined a base hit just inside the left field line to score Thompkins for the game-winning run.
The Bulldogs struck first off Furman starter Daniel Stallsmith in the top of the second when William Ladd (Winnsboro, S.C.) doubled and Brad Felder (Bowman, S.C.) singled to put runners on the corners. Joe Jackson (Mauldin, S.C.) then crushed a ball to deep right, narrowly missing his first career homer by just inches as Ladd tagged and scored from third for a 1-0 lead.
An error would haunt The Citadel in the third as Owens drew a walk from Bulldog starter Austin Pritcher (Charleston, S.C.) and moved to third on a double just inside the right field line by Thompkins. Owens scored and Thompkins moved to third when Ladd's throw from right got past everyone in the infield. A groundout by Reese Wade would bring in Thompkins to give the Paladins a 2-1 lead.
Furman increased their lead to 4-1 when Abrams and Muzika hit back-to-back home runs to right field off Pritcher in the fourth. It's the first time a team has gone back-to-back on The Citadel since the Paladins did it with J.B. Jenkins and Dylan Cole off Asher Wojciechowski in the first round of the SoCon Tournament in 2010.
In the sixth, Furman got another clutch two-out hit from Hunter Burton who doubled and moved to third on another error to increase the lead to 5-1.
The Bulldogs would bat around and plate five runs in the top of the seventh to take a lead when Felder led off with a double and Jackson singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. A sac fly to left by Legare Jones (Columbia, S.C.) would plate Felder and cut the lead to 5-2. Red hot Nick Orvin (Moncks Corner, S.C.) then doubled down the left field line to plate Jackson. Drew DeKerlegand (Pearland, Texas) was hit by a pitch following the double to chase Stallsmith from the game.
Simonelli proceeded to rope an RBI single up the middle off new reliever Drake Browne to score Orvin and an RBI single by Justin Mackert (Cleveland, Ohio) would tie the game as DeKerlegand came around to score. Ladd capped the scoring with a base hit to plate Simonelli and give the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead.
Pritcher went 7.0 innings, allowing eight hits, five runs (three earned), a career-high six walks and struck out seven in the no-decision. Stallsmith went 6.2 innings, allowing nine hits, five runs, a walk and struck out two.
Orvin went 4-for-5 with a run and an RBI double to lead the Bulldog offense while Simonelli, Ladd, Felder and Jackson all collected two hits apiece. Muzika led the Paladins, going 2-for-4 with a walk, a homer and two RBI, including the game winning single.
The series finale between The Citadel and Furman is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday at Latham Stadium. Live stats and audio featuring play-by-play announcer Darren Goldwater calling the action will be available on all new CitadelSports.com.
