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CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel baseball team will face ETSU in a three-game series beginning Thursday for the last regular-season series of the year.
 
The Bulldogs squared off with No. 10 South Carolina Tuesday in their final midweek game of the year and received strong showings on the mound from Ryan Stamler, Johnny Croley and Kyle Smith. Seniors Stephen Windham and Bret Hines highlighted the offense for the Bulldogs with each recording two hits, one run and one RBI.
 
ETSU is currently seventh in SoCon standings with a 10-11 record and a 23-28 record overall. The Bucs are currently second in the SoCon with a .311 batting average and .502 slugging percentage and are led by Hagen Owenby who leads the team with a .373 batting average and 79 hits.
 
First pitch from Thomas Stadium in Johnson City, Tennessee, is set for 6 p.m. Thursday, 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday with live stats, video and audio available on CitadelSports.com for all three games.
 
Notes:
• The Bulldogs traveled to No. 10 South Carolina on Tuesday for their final midweek game of the season.
• Nate Brecklin made his first start this season Tuesday at South Carolina. The senior's last career start before Tuesday came on May 13, 2014, at South Carolina.
• Ryan Stamler tossed 1.2 hitless innings against No. 10 South Carolina on
Tuesday, striking out the first two batters he faced and then retiring the Gamecocks in order in his only full inning of work.
• Freshman Johnny Croley fanned a career-high four batters against the Gamecocks on Tuesday. Croley previously pitched a career-best 3.1 innings against South Carolina earlier this season in Charleston on March 1.
• With 1.0 innings of work Tuesday on the mound, Kyle Smith has now appeared in seven straight games.
• The Bulldogs tallied eight hits against the Gamecocks including Barrett Charpia's first career triple and Stephen Windham's third home run this season.
• William Kinney has played every inning of the 2016 season.
• The Citadel and ETSU squared off four times last season with the Bulldogs claiming all four games, including an 8-2 win over the Bucs in the SoCon Tournament.
• The Bulldogs hit four home runs in back-to-back games and outhit the Bucs 40-23 over the course of the series.
• ETSU is currently hitting .311 as a team, but The Citadel pitching staff has held its opposition to a .297 batting average this season.
• The Citadel's bats have caught fire in the month of May, tallying five double-digit hit games in the nine games during the month. The Bulldogs have recorded 16 double-digit hit games this season, most recently knocking 10 hits in the series finale against Samford May 15.
• Ben Peden hit two home runs against Samford May 14, marking the third time this year that a Bulldog has recorded two home runs in a single game.
• Shy Phillips recorded his first career triple against Samford May 13, lacing a two-out line drive down the right field line to plate two.
• Steven Hansen hit his first home run of the season May 15, giving him six for his career.
• Jason Smith tallied his second career triple May 15 against Samford, marking the eighth triple of the year for The Citadel.
• Three Bulldogs are hitting over .300 in conference play with Jason Smith leading the way with a .308 batting average. Sophomore Clay Martin is close behind with a .304 average, tallying 17 hits and 10 RBI, and Steven Hansen is sitting right at the .300 mark with 12 hits and 18 total bases. Ben Peden leads the team with a .530 slugging percentage in SoCon action.
• Stephen Windham has reached base safely in 13 straight games and is now tied with Mike Deese for most multiple-hit games with 12. After tallying two singles on May 11 against Winthrop, Windham broke the 100-hit plateau for his career. The senior now has 106 hits during his time at The Citadel.
• 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 at Mercer May 5-8 matches a series high The Citadel previously set April 15-17 at Wofford.
• Every starter tallied a hit on May 8 at Mercer for the first time since February 26 against Siena.
• The Citadel pitching staff has allowed the second fewest home runs in the Southern Conference this season with 37 and ranks fifth with 387 batters struck out.
• Kyle Smith pitched at least one inning in every game this past weekend against Samford, marking the second time this season that the sophomore has thrown in every game of a series with the first time coming against Furman April 30-May 1.
• Jacob Watcher has given up exactly six hits in each of his last three starts on the mound.
• Zach Lavery and Kyle Smith have a combined 28 appearances in the 21 SoCon games this season.
• On May 5 at Mercer, The Citadel pitching staff held the nation's home run leaders to just seven hits, allowing the Bulldogs to outhit the Bears 35-28 over the course of the series.
• Zach Lavery started his first career game on the mound for the Bulldogs May 11 against Winthrop. Lavery is now tied for 11th in all-time appearances in school history with 93.
 
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