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CHARLESTON, S.C. – With the bye-week behind them, The Citadel baseball team returns to Southern Conference play with a three-game series at Samford April 13-15 in Birmingham, Alabama.

The Bulldogs (10-20, 2-4 SoCon) dropped a non-conference game 6-4 on Tuesday night at Winthrop. The Citadel led by as many as three runs early on, but could not hold off the Eagles' offense late.

Samford (19-14, 2-4 SoCon) nearly defeated No. 10 Auburn on Tuesday night in a high-scoring battle 16-15. The Samford Bulldogs were swept by first-place Mercer in their last SoCon series.

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.

First pitch for Thursday at Joe Lee Griffin Field is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern time. Friday's game will also have a 7 p.m. Eastern time start while Saturday is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

Quick Hits

• In 24 previously played games, Samford owns a 15-9 overall record against The Citadel. Samford owns just a 5-4 advantage while at home and is on a two-game winning streak entering the weekend against The Citadel.
• On Wednesday, left-handed pitcher JP Sears was named to the prestigious Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List by USA Baseball. He is one of just 40 players across the country on the list and the only player from the Southern Conference.
• Sears enters the week tied for ninth in Division I in total strikeouts (72) despite not pitching last week. He also ranks 10th in Division I in strikeouts per nine innings (13.22) and tied for 14th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (8.00). He leads the SoCon in batters struck out looking (28) and is second in total strikeouts and ERA (2.02).
• On April 6, Sears was awarded the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Month award for March after finishing 3-0 with a 1.43 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 37.2 innings pitched.
• The Bulldog southpaw was also selected the SoCon Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season and fourth time of his career on March 27. Sears struck out a career-high 20 batters at home against VMI in a two-hitter on March 24 to earn the award.
• Sears' performance against VMI ties him for the program record for strikeouts in a game and is tied for second all-time in the SoCon. 20 strikeouts is also the highest in a single game this season in Division I.
• Along with his 19 strikeout performance last year at VMI, Sears now has two of the top-six strikeout totals in SoCon history.
• Sears was also selected as one of Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week, March 24th's Pitcher of the Week by D1Baseball.com, College Sports Madness SoCon Player of the Week and was featured in USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award Gold Standard Performance of the Week poll.
• The Citadel ranks 10th in Division I and first in the SoCon with 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
• Outfielder Clay Martin is tied for 19th in Division I and second in the SoCon with 28 walks.
• The Bulldogs fell 6-4 on the road at Winthrop on Tuesday. Ben Peden led the offense with two doubles and two runs scored while Jonathan Sabo crushed his team-leading seventh home run.
• The Citadel ended a four-game losing streak last week with an 8-6 win at Charleston Southern on April 4.
• Ben Peden led the offense at CSU with a 2-for-4 game, smashing his third home run of the season in the first inning.
• Aaron Lesiak earned his second save of the year, throwing two shutout innings to end the game.
• 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 remain 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. 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.
• 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.
• Taylor Cothran and Cole Buffington each smacked their first career home runs at Western Carolina. Both home runs were of the solo variety. Buffington hit his on Friday, March 31 while Cothran crushed his first home run on Sunday, April 2.
• Jeffery Brown picked up his first career hit in the ninth inning against South Carolina on March 28, legging out an infield single.
• Will Pillsbury earned his first career win on March 26 vs VMI in a 4-2 victory. The freshman struck out five batters in 5.1 innings of work, allowing just two runs.
• 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 also selected the SoCon Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 27 after striking out 12 batters in a 4-0 victory over Delaware State.
• William Kinney extended his streak of consecutive starts to 101 games, dating back to 2015. He has started the last 88 straight games at shortstop for The Citadel.
• 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 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.

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