BOX SCORE (PDF)

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel baseball team fell 7-5 to Kansas in the 2017 season opener Friday at the Charleston Crab House Challenge at Joe Riley Park.

After falling behind 6-0 through five innings, the Bulldogs (0-1) rallied in the sixth and seventh innings to cut the deficit to one. Kansas (1-0) tacked on a run in the top of the eighth before closing out the ball game 7-5.

JP Sears (0-1) cruised for The Citadel through four innings, allowing just two base runners while striking out five batters. In the fifth, however, the Jayhawks struck with a three-run and two-run home run to jump out to a 5-0 lead. The Bulldogs' bullpen allowed just two runs over 4.2 innings. Marlin Morris struck out the side in the seventh inning as The Citadel pitching staff racked up 10 strikeouts.

Sears' counterpart Sean Rackoski (1-0) picked up the victory for Kansas, allowing two runs over five innings. Stephen Villines picked up the save for the Jayhawks, throwing 2.1 innings with three strikeouts.

The Bulldog bats were stymied through five innings, but awoke in the sixth inning after showing patience at the dish. Following four walks, including a bases-loaded walk by Ben Peden, designated hitter Bryce Leasure lined a two-out, two-RBI ground-rule double down the left field line for his first career hit and RBIs, narrowing the score to 6-3.

In the seventh, Peden drove in his second and third RBI of the night on a two-out single up the middle, bringing home Clay Martin and Jonathan Sabo to cut the deficit down to just one run.

Martin and Sabo each scored two runs for The Citadel with Martin reaching base three times. J.D. Davis scored the first run of the season for the Bulldogs, marking his first-career run. William Kinney and Joe Sabatini each added their first hits of the season.

The Bulldogs continue action at the Charleston Crab House Challenge on Saturday at 3 p.m. against No. 16 Virginia. Live stats and video will be available for the contest.

Scoring Summary
Top 5th – Kansas 3, The Citadel 0: John Remick and Jaxx Groshans scored on a three-run home run to right field by James Cosentino with no outs.
Top 5th – Kansas 5, The Citadel 0: Peyton Grassanovits scored on a two-run home run to right field by David Kyriacou with one out.
Top 5th – Kansas 6, The Citadel 0: Rudy Karre scored on a double down the right field line by Devin Foyle with two outs.
Bottom 6th – Kansas 6, The Citadel 1: J.D. Davis scored on a bases load walk by Ben Peden with one out.
Bottom 6th – Kansas 6, The Citadel 3: Clay Martin and Jonathan Sabo score on a ground-rule double down the left field line by Bryce Leasure with two outs.
Bottom 7th – Kansas 6, The Citadel 5: Clay Martin and Jonathan Sabo score on a two-out single up the middle by Ben Peden with two outs.
Top 8th – Kansas 7, The Citadel 5: Devin Foyle scores on a ground ball double play by Jaxx Groshans.

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