BOX SCORE (PDF)

CHARLESTON, S.C. – In a nail-biting finish, The Citadel baseball team closed out a 5-4 victory over Dartmouth on Friday evening at Joe Riley Park.

With the tying run on second base, Jonathan Sabo induced a fly out before striking out the final batter to close out his second save of the season. The Charleston, South Carolina, native struck out three batters over the final four outs of the game.

Sabo's save came on the heels of another standout performance from starting pitcher JP Sears (3-1). The junior recorded his fourth straight start with seven or more innings pitched and less than two runs allowed. Sears threw a season-high 127 pitches, striking out four batters in the victory.

The Bulldogs (5-11) opened the ball game with a big first inning which included four hits in the first four batters. Clay Martin sparked the offense with a lead-off triple and was brought home quickly on Taylor Cothran's RBI double down the left-field line. Sabo followed with an RBI single to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead with no outs. After Ben Peden's first hit of the game, William Kinney drove home Sabo with an RBI groundout to extend The Citadel's lead to 3-0.

The Citadel added a run in the fourth after Peden's second single of the game scored Cothran. The sophomore first baseman led the offense with a 3-for-4 day at the plate. In the seventh inning, Joe Sabatini crushed his second home run of the year despite the wind blowing in from center field. The graduate transfer's solo home run gave the Bulldogs a 5-2 lead, but proved to be the eventual winning run in the 5-4 victory.

J.D. Davis and Cothran each finished with two hits as the Bulldogs recorded 10 base knocks as a team.

Jordan Buster will make his first start of the season on Saturday against Dartmouth's Jackson Bubala. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Joe Riley Park with live stats and video available at CitadelSports.com.

Scoring Summary
Bottom 1st – The Citadel 1, Dartmouth 0: Clay Martin scored on a double down the left field line by Taylor Cothran with no outs.
Bottom 1st – The Citadel 2, Dartmouth 0: Taylor Cothran scored on single to center field by Jonathan Sabo with no outs.
Bottom 1st – The Citadel 3, Dartmouth 0: Jonathan Sabo scored on a ground out to shortstop by William Kinney with no outs.
Top 2nd – The Citadel 3, Dartmouth 1: Hayden Rappoport scored on a double to right-center field by Nate Ostmo with two outs.
Top 4th – The Citadel 3, Dartmouth 2: Michael Ketchmark scored on a sacrifice fly by Hayden Rappoport with one out.
Bottom 4th – The Citadel 4, Dartmouth 2: Taylor Cothran scored on a single through the right side by Ben Peden with two outs.
Bottom 7th – The Citadel 5, Dartmouth 2: Joe Sabatini scored on a solo home run to left field with two outs.
Top 8th – The Citadel 5, Dartmouth 4: Matt Feinstein and Michael Ketchmark scored on a single to center field by Michael Calamari with two outs.

For more information on The Citadel baseball follow @CitadelBaseball or visit CitadelSports.com.