CHARLESTON, S.C. - Bailey Rush and Philip Watcher homered to lead off the bottom of the fourth, triggering a six-run inning that powered The Citadel to its fifth straight win, a 16-2 victory over Lafayette on Sunday at Riley Park.

The Bulldogs (10-7) swept the three-game series and are in the midst of their longest winning streak since running off 10 in a row from April 12-27, 2013. It was the second sweep of the year for The Citadel, which also took three in a row from Air Force to open the 2015 season.

The Bulldogs set a season high for runs in a game and matched their season best with 18 hits. Watcher and Stephen Windham both had three hits, with Windham driving in three runs while extending his hitting streak to five games during which he is 11 for 19 to raise his batting average to a team-leading .413.

The game was tied at 2 when Rush drove a homer over the wall in left center, and Watcher followed with a shot to right for the first home run of the freshman second baseman's young career. Windham singled in two runs, Drew Ellis knocked one in with a base hit, and Rush added his second RBI of the inning with a bases loaded ground out to give the Bulldogs an 8-2 lead.

The runs were more than enough for starter Austin Livingston to pick up his first win of the season. The junior right-hander struggled in the first, allowing four hits and two runs, but blanked the Leopards (1-6) on two hits over his final four innings to even his record at 1-1. He struck out four and did not walk a batter.

Four Bulldog relievers each went a scoreless inning, with Jacob Watcher and Kevin Connell both striking out two.

The Citadel added single runs in the sixth and seventh, the latter on an RBI pinch-hit single by Mike Deese, and tacked on six in the eighth, highlighted by a three-run homer by Steven Hansen, the first hit of the reserve outfielder's career.

Connor Walsh contributed two hits and scored four runs for the Bulldogs, and Ellis drove in three runs.

The Bulldogs are heading into a busy week with home contests against Georgia Southern on Tuesday at 6 and Winthrop on Wednesday at 5 before hosting UMBC in a three-game series next weekend to wrap up a 14-game homestand.