Box Score (PDF)

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel baseball team picked up a hard-fought 2-1 win over Western Carolina on Friday afternoon inside Joe Riley Park.
 
JP Sears got the start on the mound for the Bulldogs (14-25, 4-6 SoCon), tossing 6.0 innings. The lefty allowed just one run in the first inning and then proceeded to hold Western Carolina scoreless for the next five innings, giving up three hits and fanning five. Kyle Smith and Zach Lavery followed the trend set by Sears, as the duo combined to throw the last three innings and give up just one hit. The Catamounts (20-17, 10-3 SoCon) were hitless from the third through the sixth inning.
 
Mike Deese tied the ballgame for the Bulldogs in the bottom of the sixth, crushing a double to the right field wall to score a sprinting Shy Phillips from first to make it 1-1. On the next pitch, Stephen Windham laced a single up the middle to score Deese from second to give The Citadel the lead for good.
 
Deese finished two-for-three with the game-tying RBI and the game-winning run, and Shy Phillips collected a hit and scored one run in the contest. The Bulldogs outhit the Catamounts 6-4.
 
Sears improved to 5-3 this season and Lavery picked up his sixth save in the victory.
 
The Bulldogs face the Catamounts for game two of the series Saturday at 2 p.m. Live stats, video and audio will be available at CitadelSports.com for the game. For tickets, call 843-953-DOGS (3647) or visit CitadelSports.com/tickets.
 
Scoring Summary
Top 1st – Western Carolina 1, The Citadel 0: Garrett Brown scored from 3rd after Bryson Bowman stole second with two outs
Bottom 6th – The Citadel 1, Western Carolina 1: Shy Phillips scored from 1st on a double to right field by Mike Deese with one out
Bottom 6th – The Citadel 2, Western Carolina 1: Mike Deese scored from 2nd on a single up the middle by Stephen Windham with one out
 
For more information on The Citadel baseball, follow @CitadelBaseball or visit CitadelSports.com.