CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Tony Skole era began perfectly for The Citadel Bulldogs on Friday night.
 
Senior Will Kinney's two-run single broke a scoreless tie in the eighth inning and lifted The Citadel to a 3-0 shutout of George Mason on Friday evening at Joe Riley Park. The Bulldogs' Dylan Spence and Jordan Buster (W, 1-0) combined for nine strikeouts in a four-hit shutout.

The Bulldogs played with energy, were almost flawless defensively, and got a career-best outing from Spence in the win, characteristics the Bulldogs' new head coach has tried to instill since practice began last fall.

"This is what Friday night in college baseball is supposed to be like," Skole said afterward. "Two good pitchers going at it. Dylan Spence was great. I could not be more pleased with what he gave us, and then Buster came in and pitched well. I'm proud of the way we competed and battled throughout tonight."

Kinney's hit highlighted a three-run eighth inning for The Citadel. A one-out walk from Bryce Leasure and a key double to the warning track in left from J.D. Davis set the table for Kinney. Ben Peden added an insurance run with an RBI single to plate the game's final run.

Spence worked 7.0 innings, striking out four and scattering four hits in his most complete outing as a Bulldog. Buster pitched around a walk, recording five of his six outs by strikeout.

The defense stepped up in the fifth, with Spence chipping in on a 3-6-1 double play to end one George Mason threat. Third baseman Jonathan Sabo snatched a potential RBI single off the third base line in the early innings, to end another scoring threat for the Patriots.

The loss spoiled a strong start from George Mason's Zach Mort, who pitched seven scoreless innings.

Kinney and Peden both finished with two hits, while Davis was 1-for-2 with a walk.

The Citadel faces No. 13 Louisville on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Joe Riley Park.

-CitadelSports-