BOX SCORE (PDF)

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Led by another stellar performance from starting pitcher JP Sears and two home runs from the offense, The Citadel baseball team defeated Stetson 5-1 on Friday at Joe Riley Park.

Sears pitched at least seven innings for the third straight start, completing eight innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. The junior southpaw allowed one run in the fifth inning on a solo home run, but was otherwise dominant. Sears has allowed just the one run in his last three starts, amassing 34 strikeouts in 22 innings over that span.

The Bulldogs (4-8) fell behind in the fifth and had just two hits through five innings on opposing starter Brooks Wilson. The bats awoke in the bottom of the sixth, however, as The Citadel scored three runs on an RBI single by Jonathan Sabo and two-run home run by Ben Peden.

In the eighth inning, the Bulldogs added two more runs on a solo home run to straight away center field by Sabo, his first as a Bulldog, and an RBI single by Joe Sabatini.

Peden leads the team with two home runs and nine RBI, while Sabo has amassed a team-best .340 batting average, 17 hits and nine runs scored. Sabo also extended his hitting streak to nine games with two hits in the ball game.

After hitting just one home run through 10 games, the Bulldogs have now hit four in their last two games with Peden hitting one in back-to-back contests. The victory on Friday snapped a four-game losing streak for The Citadel.

Marlin Morris closed out Sears' strong performance with a perfect ninth inning, striking out two batters. The graduate transfer has recorded a bullpen-best 10 strikeouts in 8.1 innings on the season.

Stetson's (5-10) Wilson pitched a complete game, allowing five runs on nine hits. The junior was dealing most of the night, striking out a career-high 14 batters for the Hatters.

The Citadel wraps up its series with Stetson on Saturday, playing a doubleheader against the Hatters. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. with game two to begin approximately 40 minutes after the completion of game one.

Scoring Summary
Top 5th – Stetson 1, The Citadel 0: Austin Bogart scored on a solo home run to left field with no outs.
Bottom 6th – The Citadel 1, Stetson 1: Clay Martin scored on a single to left field by Jonathan Sabo with one out.
Bottom 6th – The Citadel 3, Stetson 1: Jonathan Sabo scored on a two-run home run to left center field by Ben Peden with out.
Bottom 8th – The Citadel 4, Stetson 1: Jonathan Sabo scored on a solo home run to center field with one out.
Bottom 8th – The Citadel 5, Stetson 1: Ben Peden scored on a single through the left side by Joe Sabatini with two outs.
 
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