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CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel baseball team hosts Southern Conference leaders Mercer in a three-game series at Joe Riley Park.

The Bulldogs (12-22, 3-6 SoCon) defeated Charleston Southern for the second time this year 8-5 on Tuesday. The Citadel got a big performance from first baseman Ben Peden who went 2-for-4 at the plate with a home run and four RBIs.

Mercer enters the week leading Division I baseball in wins (32-7, 11-1 SoCon) and in first place in the conference. The Bears had an 11-game winning streak ended on Tuesday in an 8-5 loss at Georgia Tech. Mercer still owns a nine-game winning streak in SoCon play.

Live statistics and video will be available for the full series at CitadelSports.com. First pitch for Friday's opener is scheduled for 4 p.m.

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

Quick Hits

• The Citadel narrowly trails Mercer with an 11-12 overall record against the Bears. The Bulldogs are 5-6 when hosting Mercer.
• In 2016, Mercer finished with a 3-1 record against The Citadel, which included a victory in the SoCon tournament. The Bulldogs defeated the Bears 9-8 on May 8.
• The Bears lead all of Division I in wins with 32 and own a nine-game SoCon winning streak.
• Ben Peden led the offense on Tuesday night in an 8-5 victory over Charleston Southern with a 2-for-4 game, hitting his fifth home run and a career-high tying four RBIs. Peden extended his hitting streak to six games, going 11-for-22 at the plate over that span.
• The top of The Citadel lineup finished a combined 10-for-18 in the 8-5 victory over Charleston Southern on Tuesday. The 1-5 hitters scored and drove in all eight runs for the Bulldogs.
• The Citadel used eight different pitchers in the win over CSU, with seven relievers accounting for the final 8.1 innings of the game.
• The Bulldogs advanced to 9-0 when scoring in the first inning when they scored three runs in the bottom of the first against Charleston Southern on Tuesday.
• On April 12, 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 leading Division I in total strikeouts with 87 after punching out 15 batters on Thursday at Samford.
• He also ranks fourth in Division I in strikeouts per nine innings (13.74) and 18th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.25). Sears 1.74 earned run average leads the SoCon.
• As a pitching staff, The Citadel ranks sixth in Division I and first in the SoCon with 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
• William Kinney crushed his first home run of 2017 at Samford on Friday in the second inning and followed up with his second homer of the year on Saturday. He leads the team with nine doubles and is second with 21 RBI.
• Outfielder Clay Martin is tied for 21st in Division I and second in the SoCon with 30 walks on the season.
• 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 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 selected the SoCon Pitcher of the Week for the first time this year 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 105 games, dating back to 2015. He has started the last 92 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.