Box Score (PDF)

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel baseball team fell to Samford on Saturday afternoon in a 5-4 nail-biter that was decided on a close call at second base to end the game.
 
With two outs and runners on first and second, Mike Deese hit a grounder up the middle that was fielded by the Samford (29-22, 10-10 SoCon) shortstop behind second base and flipped to the second baseman who narrowly tagged the base before a sliding Clay Martin reached the bag for the game's final out.
 
Ben Peden got The Citadel (16-35, 6-14 SoCon) on the board first with a two-run bomb over the left center field wall scoring Stephen Windham, who drew a leadoff walk, to make it a 2-0 Bulldogs' lead in the second inning. The homer was the freshman's fifth of the year.
 
Jacob Watcher held Samford hitless through three innings before allowing a two-out single in the top of the fourth. The sophomore induced a fly out just one pitch later to get out of the jam and keep the fellow Bulldogs off the board. Watcher finished the game with 4.2 innings pitched and allowed two runs while fanning four.
 
Samford evened things in the top of the fifth inning, scoring two before Zach Lavery came in and forced a ground out with the bases loaded on his first pitch to keep things tied at 2-2.
 
The Citadel took the lead again in the bottom of the seventh inning after Bret Hines started things off with a bunt single and then advanced to third on a double down the left field line by Barrett Charpia. The Bulldogs loaded the bases two batters later after Martin drew a two-out walk, bringing Shy Phillips to the plate. Phillips watched four straight balls to score Hines and give The Citadel a 3-2 lead.
 
Samford took its first lead of the game just a half inning later, tallying a walk and two hits with two outs to take a 5-3 lead.
 
Peden closed the gap to 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth with his second homer of the game, launching the solo shot to center field. He is the first Bulldog to hit two home runs in a game since Charpia did so at Wofford on April 16.
 
Hines and Peden both finished with two hits, and Peden tallied two runs and three RBI in the game.
 
The series concludes Sunday with the 1 p.m. series finale. Sunday will also serve as senior day for the seven Bulldog seniors with a recognition ceremony beginning approximately 10 minutes before first pitch. Live stats, video and audio will be available at CitadelSports.com.
 
Scoring Summary
Bottom 2nd – The Citadel 2, Samford 0: Stephen Windham scored from 1st on a home run over the left center field wall by Ben Peden with no outs
Top 5th – The Citadel 2, Samford 1: Danny Rodriguez scored from 3rd on a single through the left side by T.J. Dixon with one out
Top 5th – The Citadel 2, Samford 2: Ben Carrick scored from 3rd on a single to third base by Heath Quinn with two outs
Bottom 7th – The Citadel 3, Samford 2: Bret Hines scored from 3rd on a walk by Shy Phillips with two outs
Top 8th – The Citadel 3, Samford 3: Heath Quinn scored from 2nd on a single up the middle by Jared Watson with two outs
Top 8th – Samford 5, The Citadel 3: Jared Watson scored from 2nd and Danny Rodriguez scored from 1st on a double to right field by Jordan Fucci with two outs
Bottom 8th – Samford 5, The Citadel 4: Ben Peden hit a solo home run over the center field wall with one out
 
For more information on The Citadel baseball, follow @CitadelBaseball or visit CitadelSports.com.