CHARLESTON, S.C. – Friday night belonged to The Citadel's starting pitcher JP Sears who tied the program record with 20 strikeouts in a 3-0 shutout of VMI at Joe Riley Park.

364 days after setting a career-high with 19 strikeouts at VMI, Sears one-upped himself with 20 strikeouts against the visiting Keydets in front of his home crowd.

Sears (4-1) tied the program record of 20 strikeouts originally set in 1999 by Rodney Hancock against Furman. The strikeout total is also tied for the second most in a single game in Southern Conference history and the fourth time it has been accomplished.

Additionally, the 20 strikeouts are the most in a single game in NCAA Division I this year, bettering the previous mark of 17 which has been posted three times in 2017.

The outing was the first complete game of Sears' career, who had previously pitched eight innings twice. The junior southpaw threw nine shutout innings, allowing just two hits and two walks.

Sears now owns a 1.70 ERA with 63 strikeouts to just seven walks in 42.1 innings pitched. The junior has recorded five straight starts with at least seven innings and has double-digit strikeouts in three games.

The Bulldogs (8-14, 1-0 SoCon) needed little offense to back Sears in their SoCon opening victory, but received it in a big way with two solo home runs by Jonathan Sabo. Sabo finished 2-for-3 at the plate and now leads the team with six home runs and 18 RBI.

Clay Martin put the Bulldogs ahead in the first inning after drawing a leadoff hit-by-pitch. The junior outfielder later scored on an error by the VMI defense. Taylor Cothran and Barrett Charpia each added hits in the win.

Keydet starting pitcher Josh Winder was tagged with the loss, but was dominant on the mound for VMI. The sophomore also pitched a complete game, throwing eight innings with 14 strikeouts and no walks.

The Citadel continues its series with rival VMI (9-12, 0-1 SoCon) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Joe Riley Park. Live statistics and video will be available at CitadelSports.com.

Scoring Summary
Bottom 1st – The Citadel 1, VMI 0: Clay Martin scored on a fielding error by the pitcher with two outs.
Bottom 3rd – The Citadel 2, VMI 0: Jonathan Sabo scored on a solo home run to left with no outs.
Bottom 8th – The Citadel 3, VMI 0: Jonathan Sabo scored on a solo home run to center with no outs.

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