Game Notes | Overall Stats

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel baseball team will host Charleston Southern on Tuesday and then travel to Coastal Carolina on Wednesday for two in-state midweek matchups.
 
The Bulldogs (11-13, 2-1 SoCon) took two of three from VMI over the weekend, clinching their first Southern Conference series of the year. The Citadel pitching staff combined for 36 strikeouts in the series and the offense belted five home runs.
 
First pitch for both games is at 6 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at CitadelSports.com for both games. For tickets, call 843-953-DOGS (3647) or visit CitadelSports.com/tickets.
 
Notes:
• JP Sears recorded 19 strikeouts, the most by a pitcher in the NCAA this season, and picked up the win in his sixth start of the year after fanning 19 of the 28 batters he faced on March 25. Following the dominant performance, Sears picked up his second SoCon Pitcher of the Week award of the season.
• Sears struck out five of the first six outs for the Bulldogs and continued to mow down the Keydets en route to a new career-high 19 strikeouts, finishing just one shy of the school record on Friday. The 19-strikeout performance by Sears ties Mike Cherry, who fanned as many against Augusta in 1983 and is tied for fourth best in conference history.
• Beginning in the fourth inning of the Friday contest Sears retired 15 straight Keydets, 13 of which were strikeouts.
• Kyle Smith pitched 1.0 inning of relief and struck out two on March 25, pushing the Bulldogs' strikeout total to 21 to tie the single-game school record. The 21 strikeouts are the most VMI has been struck out in a single game. The 21 Ks are also third-best in the country in a single game this season.
• Mike Deese hit two home runs in back-to-back innings in the win, marking the first time since May 12, 2015, when Steven Hansen hit two, that a Bulldog belted two homers in a game.
• The Citadel exploded for 18 hits on March 25, topping the season-best 16 the team collected on March 6 against the College of Charleston. With seven Bulldogs tallying multiple hits, it was also the first time since that contest that six or more players finished with at least two hits. The team also recorded six doubles in the 10-2 victory.
• William Kinney went four-for-five on March 25, marking the first four-hit game for a Bulldog this season. Three of those hits were doubles for the sophomore, a feat that had not been accomplished since April 9, 2011, by Nick Orvin.
• The Bulldogs drew 10 walks on Friday, marking the first time since May 17, 2014, that The Citadel has walked more than 10 times.
• The Citadel smacked five home runs in the series victory over VMI, the most homers in a series this season.
• Stephen Windham tied the individual game record for putouts in a nine-inning game with 20 against VMI on Friday.
• The Bulldogs split the home and home series with Charleston Southern last season. Thomas Byelick picked up the win over the Buccaneers on April 21 at Joe Riley Park, pitching 5.0 innings of one-hit ball, and Stephen Windham went two-for-three at the plate.
• Coastal Carolina took the only matchup between the two schools last season by a score of 5-1.
• This will be the first time since 2014 that The Citadel will travel to Conway to face the Chanticleers.
• Behind three Ks in 2.0 innings pitched, senior Zach Lavery picked us his fifth save of the season against VMI on Sunday.
• Lavery ranks among the top-two in four categories in the SoCon.
• The Goose Creek, South Carolina, native is second in the SoCon with 15 appearances and 15 games in relief. He is tied for first in the conference with 11 games finished.
• Lavery has 17 strikeouts in 18.2 innings pitched and holds a 4.34 ERA.
• Philip Watcher hit just the second home run of his career for the go-ahead run against VMI on Sunday. Watcher was joined by Mike Deese, Drew Ellis and Clay Martin in the home run club over the weekend.
• The Bulldogs came up with timely hitting against VMI on March 25, going 8-for-17 with two outs compared to the Keydets who went 0-for-9.
• JP Sears tossed a career-high 8.0 innings, recording the second-highest single-game strikeout total in school history with 19, and allowing just three hits against the Keydets on March 25. Following the performance, Sears leads the team with 47 strikeouts in 36.2 innings pitched and a 2.21 ERA. Sears is currently tops in the SoCon in batters struck out (47) and batters struck out looking (16), and he is third in the conference with just 10 runs allowed. The lefty improved to 4-1 this year.
• Jacob Watcher pitched a career-high 6.0 innings on Sunday against VMI, to earn the series-clinching win. Watcher fanned five and allowed just five hits to the Keydets, who lead the NCAA in home runs.
• Jacob Watcher and JP Sears are tied for second in the conference with four wins each. Sears is also tops in the SoCon with 47 batters struck out and 16 batters struck out looking.
 
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