CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel put the tying run in scoring position with one out in the ninth before Mercer's Dmitri Kourtis came out of the bullpen to strike out a pair and secure a 3-2 victory, dropping the Bulldogs into an elimination game in the Southern Conference Tournament later this afternoon.
The Citadel (26-29) will face the loser of the upcoming game between VMI and UNCG. It is tentatively scheduled for a 5:30 first pitch but will likely start later than that. Check citadelsports.com, Facebook or Twitter for schedule updates.
Regular season SoCon champion Mercer (32-21) will take on the VMI-UNCG winner at 12:30 on Friday.
Steven Hansen led off the ninth with an infield single to third off Morgan Pittman and was sacrificed to second by
Ryan Kilgallen. Kourtis stranded Hansen in scoring position when he fanned pinch hitters
Mike Deese and
Bailey Rush for his third save of the year and second against The Citadel.
The Bulldogs trailed 3-2 since the third but had scoring opportunities in each of the final four innings.
William Kinney walked and
Austin Mapes singled to start the sixth and end the day for Mercer starter Eric Nyquist.
Pittman got two outs before walking
Stephen Windham to load the bases with two outs, but escaped the jam by striking out
Drew Ellis. Hansen singled to lead off the seventh but was left at second, and the Bulldogs were unable to capitalize on two-out singles by
Connor Walsh and Windham in the eighth.
Freshman left-hander
JP Sears battled through 5 1/3 innings and allowed three hits and six walks but was able to keep the game within reach by striking out a season-high 10. Mercer stranded seven runners in the first four innings but got a clutch two-out bases loaded double by Charlie Madden in the third to plate three unearned runs.
Both bullpens took over from that point.
Zach Lavery got the final two outs in the sixth to leave a runner at second, and
Kevin Connell allowed four base runners but no runs in two innings to give the Bulldogs a shot at the win in the ninth.
The Bulldogs scored single runs in the first two innings, with Walsh slamming his ninth home run of the season with two outs in the first. Ellis reached on an error to lead off the second, moved to third on a balk and wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kilgallen for what proved to be The Citadel's final run of the game.
Nyquist (8-2) surrendered three hits and the two Bulldog runs (one earned) in five innings to pick up the victory. Pittman went 3 1/3 innings in relief and allowed four hits while striking out five.
