BOX SCORE (PDF)

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel baseball team was defeated 9-6 by reigning national champion Coastal Carolina on Tuesday night at Joe Riley Park.

The Bulldogs (12-26, 3-9 SoCon) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning thanks to four straight hits, capped off by Joe Sabatini's seventh home run of the year.

Jonathan Sabo, Bryce Leasure and William Kinney reached on three straight one-out hits before Sabatini crushed a three-run home run to shock Coastal Carolina right out of the gates.

Chanticleers' starter Anthony Veneziano settled down over the next four innings, however, not allowing a base runner over a 14-batter stretch. During the shutdown streak, the Coastal Carolina offense put four runs on the board to knot the score up at 4-4 through five innings.

Coastal cruised to the 9-6 victory after scoring five runs over the final three innings. The Citadel climbed closer in the bottom of the ninth on a two-run single by J.D. Davis with two outs.

Alex Bialakis pitched a strong four innings to start the ball game against a tough Coastal lineup. The sophomore stymied the Chanticleers to just one run through the first four innings, but ran into trouble in the fifth. Bialakis left the game with two outs in the fifth, two runners on and a 4-2 lead, but both runs eventually scored. Bialakis struck out a career-high seven batters in the no-decision.

Sabatini's three-run homer in the first led the offense, while Clay Martin finished with a double, triple and run scored. Kinney went 1-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and run scored.

Tuesday's game wrapped up the Bulldogs' non-conference schedule as they play their final 12 regular season games against Southern Conference foes. The Citadel next visits Furman for a three-game series April 28-30.

Scoring Summary
Bottom 1st – The Citadel 1, Coastal Carolina 0: Jonathan Sabo scored from second on a double to left center field by William Kinney with one out.
Bottom 1st – The Citadel 4, Coastal Carolina 0: Bryce Leasure scored from third and William Kinney scored from second on a home run over the left field wall by Joe Sabatini with one out.
Top 2nd – The Citadel 4, Coastal Carolina 1: Wood Myers scored from second on a single up the middle by Peyton Isaacson with one out.
Top 5th – The Citadel 4, Coastal Carolina 2: Seth Lancaster scored from third on a single to center field by Billy Cooke with two outs.
Top 5th – The Citadel 4, Coastal Carolina 4: Billy Cooke scored from second and Jordan Gore scored from first on a double by Kevin Woodall Jr. to the center field wall with two outs.
Top 7th – Coastal Carolina 5, The Citadel 4: Billy Cooke scored from third on a single to right field by Kieton Rivers with two outs.
Top 7th – Coastal Carolina 6, The Citadel 4: Jordan Gore scored on bases-loaded walk by Peyton Isaacson with two outs.
Top 8th – Coastal Carolina 7, The Citadel 4: Seth Lancaster scored from second on a single up the middle by Jordan Gore with two outs.
Top 8th – Coastal Carolina 8, The Citadel 4: Jordan Gore scored from first on a double down the left field line by Kevin Woodall Jr. with two outs.
Top 9th – Coastal Carolina 9, The Citadel 4: Peyton Isaacson scored from second on a single to the left center field wall by Seth Lancaster with one out.
Bottom 9th – Coastal Carolina 9, The Citadel 6: Clay Martin scored from third and John Thelan scored from second on a single up the middle by J.D. Davis with two outs.

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