VIDEO | AUDIO | STATS | TICKETS

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel baseball team opens its 2017 Southern Conference schedule hosting VMI for a three-game series beginning Friday at Joe Riley Park.

Last season, the Bulldogs (7-14, 0-0 SoCon) defeated VMI in two out of three games in the regular season before eliminating the Keydets in the opening round of the SoCon Tournament with a 3-2, 10 inning victory.

The Citadel enters the week after dropping two games to Georgia Southern on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Bulldogs fell on Wednesday 1-0 despite striking out a season-best 18 batters.

The Keydets (9-11, 0-0 SoCon) defeated Richmond 6-3 on Tuesday before falling 7-0 to William & Mary on Wednesday.

First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday and a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.

Live statistics and video will be available for the full series at CitadelSports.com. All games will also be broadcast on ESPN Radio 94.7-FM and 910-AM in the Charleston market with Voice of the Bulldogs Mike Legg on the call.

To purchase tickets, call The Citadel Athletic Ticket Office at 843-953-DOGS (3647) or visit CitadelSports.com/tickets.

Quick Hits

• The Bulldogs own an overall record of 79-29 against VMI dating back to 1955. The Citadel owns a 38-13 record at home and 9-7 at Joe Riley Park against the Keydets.
• In the three-game series vs VMI in 2016, the Bulldogs won two of the games with JP Sears earning the Friday victory. The Bulldogs own a two-game winning streak after defeating the Keydets 3-2 in the first game of the Southern Conference Tournament.
• The Citadel pitching staff struck out a combined season-high of 18 batters on Wednesday at Georgia Southern. Zach Taglieri pitched well in his first career start, striking out eight Eagle hitters over 3.2 innings. Jordan Buster, Thomas Byelick and Marlin Morris combined to strike out 10 more batters in relief in the 1-0 loss.
• Outfielder Clay Martin enters the VMI series on an 11-game on-base streak, while Barrett Charpia is at nine games. Martin leads the team with a .426 on-base percentage and 22 walks out of the leadoff spot.
• William Kinney drew a walk-off walk in the bottom of the 10th inning on Saturday, March 18 against Dartmouth in an 8-7 victory. Kinney led the offense with a 3-for-5 day, two RBI, a run scored and a triple.
• The Citadel offense exploded for a record 34 runs on Tuesday, Feb. 14 against Winthrop. The Bulldogs also set records for hits (34), RBIs (31), margin of victory (26) and at-bats (56).
• The 34 runs are the highest single-game total in NCAA Division I this season, topping 32 runs scored by both McNeese and South Alabama.
• The offense had multiple players with career days against Winthrop as five Bulldogs recorded at least four hits, five finished with four or more RBIs and four more scored at least four runs.
• Barrett Charpia drove in nine RBI on a 5-for-8 day at the plate against Winthrop. The senior smacked two home runs, driving in the second most runs by a Bulldog in program history. Charpia's nine RBI are tied for the most in a single game in Division I this season.
• Charpia was selected the D1baseball.com Player of the Day and was one of four players nominated for the Golden Spikes Gold Standard Performance of the Week.
• Jonathan Sabo also finished 5-for-9 with two home runs against Winthrop. The junior transfer scored six runs and drove in five more.
• Sabo and Taylor Cothran each tied the program record with six runs scored apiece. The last time the feat was accomplished by a Bulldog was in 1998 by Jerry Simmons.
• William Kinney tied The Citadel record with four doubles in a six-hit ball game for the junior. The shortstop became the first Bulldog to hit four doubles in a game since Mark Mitchum did so in 1979. Kinney also posted career highs of six RBI and five runs scored and increased his average from .231 to .305 with the career game.
• Cothran and J.D. Davis each posted their first career four-hit games against Winthrop. Ben Peden finished 3-for-6 with four runs scored and four RBI.
• The offense increased its overall batting average from .216 to .259 after defeating Winthrop and up to .264 after the series with Dartmouth.
• The Bulldogs have hit 14 home runs in their last 10 games after hitting just one through 11 games to start 2017.
• LHP JP Sears (3-1) enters the week with the 20th most strikeouts in Division I with 44, ranking second in the Southern Conference. He is also second in the SoCon with a 2.16 ERA.
• Sears pitched at least seven innings for the fourth straight game on Friday vs Dartmouth, allowing one runs in seven innings with four strikeouts.
• The junior recorded 15 strikeouts on March 3 at the College of Charleston, the second highest single-game total of his career.
• Sears walked his first batter of the season against C of C on March 3 after beginning 2017 with 21 strikeouts in 13.2 innings before allowing his first free pass.
• Sears was selected the SoCon Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 27 after striking out 12 batters in a 4-0 victory over Delaware State. The award is the third of the career for Sears who won it twice in 2016.
• The Citadel ranks 13th in the nation and are first in the SoCon with 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
• William Kinney extended his streak of consecutive starts to 93 games, dating back to 2015. He has started the last 80 straight games at shortstop for The Citadel.
• The Bulldogs walked a season-high 13 times on Tuesday, March 1 in a 9-8 victory over Presbyterian College. It is the most walks in a single game for The Citadel since 2007.
• Barrett Charpia walked four times in the game, the most for a single Bulldog player since 2007 as well.
• Charpia hit a walk-off single on Feb. 25 against Delaware State in The Citadel's 6-5 victory.
• Relief pitcher Aaron Lesiak earned the win in relief against his former team on Feb. 27 vs Presbyterian. He is now 3-0 on the season after earning a victory against Dartmouth on Saturday.

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