Game Notes | Overall Stats | Live Stats | Video | Audio

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel baseball team will wrap up its 2016 home slate inside Joe Riley Park this weekend when Samford comes to town for a three-game Southern Conference series.
 
The Bulldogs gained some momentum last weekend after defeating second-place Mercer 9-8 in the series finale between the two schools.
 
Samford was picked to finish first in the coaches' poll and second by the media but was swept last weekend by ETSU. The Citadel took two of three from Samford last year in Birmingham, Alabama, tallying 34 hits over the course of the three-game series.
 
Game times are set for 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Sunday will also be senior day with a pregame recognition for all seven seniors taking place approximately 10 minutes before first pitch. Live stats, video and audio will be available at CitadelSports.com for the games.
 
Notes:
• Winthrop struck first in Wednesday's midweek game, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning and The Citadel was unable to mount a rally despite outhitting the Eagles 9-8.
• Ben Peden, Stephen Windham and William Kinney all recorded two hits in the game and Clay Martin, Bret Hines and Taylor Cothran each chipped in one. With the hits, Windham and Hines have each reached base safely in nine consecutive games. Both of Kinney's hits were doubles for his 22nd and 23rd of the year.
• Clay Martin hit his fourth home run of the year in the bottom of the sixth inning to plate the only run in the game for The Citadel.
• Zach Lavery started his first career game on the mound for the Bulldogs and registered his 30th appearance on the bump this year, which is tied for sixth best in the nation.
• After tallying two singles in Wednesday's game against Winthrop, Stephen Windham broke the 100-hit plateau for his career. The senior now has 101 hits during his time at The Citadel.
• William Kinney has played every inning of the 2016 season.
• Samford is lead this season by sophomore first baseman Austin Edens who boasts a .342 batting average and 51 RBI. Edens has hit 156 home runs this season and has a .648 slugging percentage.
• The fellow Bulldogs were picked to finish first in the SoCon by coaches and second in the media poll.
• The Citadel took two of three from Samford last year in Birmingham, Alabama, tallying 34 hits over the course of the three-game series.
• Sunday's series finale against Samford will also serve as senior day when seniors Nate Brecklin, Mike Deese, Steven Hansen, Bret Hines, Zach Lavery, Jason Smith and Stephen Windham will be recognized prior to first pitch.
• 2016 marks the 20th year of The Citadel playing along the banks of the Ashley River at Joseph P. Riley Park.
• The first game at the Joe came on April 6, 1997, against Western Carolina and the first pitch was fouled into the marsh. The Bulldogs eventually went on to win the game thanks to a walkoff home run by Ryan Butler.
• Head coach Fred Jordan is the only Citadel skipper to have ever coached at Joe Riley and has amassed a 426-244 (.642) record during his 20 seasons there.
• Including this season, The Citadel has played 670 games at the Joe.
• The largest crowd to ever take in a Citadel game was on April 16, 2014, when the Bulldogs hosted South Carolina in front of 6,500 fans. Earlier this season, 6,298 fans were in attendance for The Citadel's game against the Gamecocks on March 1.
• The Citadel hit five home runs in the series with Mercer, tying the previous season-high five they launched in the series at VMI March 25-27.
• The 35 hits the Bulldogs collected last weekend at Mercer matches a series high The Citadel previously set April 15-17 at Wofford.
• The Bulldogs have recorded 14 double-digit hit games this season, most recently knocking 14 hits in the series finale at Mercer May 8.
• Stephen Windham and Bret Hines have reached base safely in nine straight games. Windham also picked up his 10th multiple-hit game of the season Wednesday against Winthrop.
• The Citadel continues to do its damage in the latter half of the game, scoring 136 of its 211 runs after the 5th inning.
• Mike Deese leads the team with 12 multiple-hit games this season and is tied for first on the team with five multiple-RBI games. The senior also boasts a team-best 45 hits this season, including three triples and four home runs.
• Every starter tallied a hit on May 8 at Mercer for the first time since February 26 against Siena.
• The Bulldogs hit leadoff home runs in the first and second innings against Mercer on May 5. The 'Dogs scored in the first inning of every game of the series, with two of those runs coming courtesy of home runs.
• The Citadel pitching staff has allowed the second fewest home runs in the Southern Conference this season with 32. Bulldogs' pitchers rank fifth in the conference in ERA (6.14), opposing batting average (.293) and batters struck out (358).
• On May 5 at Mercer, The Citadel pitching staff held the nation's home run leaders to just seven hits and outhit the Bears 35-28 over the course of the series.
• Morgan Foulks pitched 2.0 innings of scoreless and hitless ball, fanning a new career-high four batters against Mercer on May 6.
• The Bulldogs have recorded double-digit strikeout totals 10 times in 2016, most recently striking out 10 against Georgia Southern on April 20.
• The 21 combined strikeout performance by JP Sears and Kyle Smith on March 25 at VMI ranks fourth in the country in a single game this season. Sears' 19 K performance in the contest is the most in a single game in the NCAA this season.
 
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