Charleston, S.C. – Brett Tompkins turned in the best outing of his Bulldog career, allowing only two hits and one run in a career-long six innings to lift The Citadel to a 4-3 win over Rhode Island Tuesday evening at Riley Park.
The Bulldogs (3-5) snapped a five-game losing streak in the opener of an eight-game homestand. The Citadel hosts Charlotte on Wednesday at 5 p.m. before Nebraska visits Riley Park for a three-game series beginning Friday.
In the eighth start and second victory of his career, Tompkins threw only 67 pitches with 48 strikes to get through his six innings. The Rams reached him for a pair of one-out singles in the second and scored their lone run against him on an RBI ground out by TJ Lynch.
Only three Rhode Island batters reached over Tompkins' final four innings including a leadoff walk in the sixth. But the junior right hander proceeded to get a pair of infield pop ups to second and a fly out to center to finish his night with The Citadel in front 4-1.
The six innings bettered by one his longest previous mound stint of five hurled against North Florida on May 1, 2012.
David Rivera worked a perfect seventh before the Rams scored a pair of runs off Zach Sherrill in the eighth on two walks and a two-run double to left center by Pat Quinn on which Hughston Armstrong just missed making a running catch on the warning track.
Closer Skylar Hunter ran into some trouble in the ninth, allowing a two-out double and a walk, before striking out pinch hitter Chase Livingston to finish off his second save of the season and 15th of his career.
The Citadel stranded five runners in the first two innings against Rhode Island starter Milan Mantle before taking the lead with two runs in the third. After Calvin Orth doubled for his first extra base hit of the season and Bo Thompson walked, Drew DeKerlegand drove in the tying run when his single plated Orth.
Johnathan Stokes followed with another hit to load the bases, and Bailey Rush gave the Bulldogs a lead they would never relinquish on a sacrifice fly to left. Mason Davis doubled and scored on a Griffin single in the fourth, and an inning later Stokes doubled and came across on a single by Rush.
Davis, Stokes and DeKerlegand each had two hits, and Davis swiped three bases, one shy of his career high set against Davidson during his freshman season in 2012. The Bulldogs had a total of five stolen bases on the night, including one by Thompson, the third of his career.
