CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel baseball team will continue the current stretch of games against in-state opponents this weekend as the Bulldogs host the Furman Paladins for a three-game, Southern Conference series. The Bulldogs and Paladins will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, April 28 before wrapping up the series and the month of April on Sunday, April 29 at 1 p.m.

WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
The weekend series will feature the Bulldogs' regular weekend promotions, including Service Saturday and Sunday Funday as well as in-game promotions that include Kickin' Chicken Baseball Bingo, the TD Bank Baseball Toss, the Ashley Furniture Best Seats in the Park and more!

Probable Weekend Pitching Matchups
Game 1: Saturday, April 28 – 1 p.m. – Live Stats – Live Video – Live Audio – Tickets
RHP Dylan Spence (3-4, 3.60 ERA, 65 IP) vs. RHP Nik Verbeke (4-3, 5.22 ERA, 50 IP)

Game 2: Saturday, April 28 – 4 p.m. – Live Stats – Live Video – Live Audio – Tickets
RHP Thomas Byelick (0-6, 5.26 ERA, 39.1 IP) vs. LHP John Michael Bertrand (4-1, 5.12 ERA, 31.2 IP)

Game 3: Sunday, April 29 – 1 p.m. – Live Stats – Live Video – Tickets
RHP Jonathan Sabo (1-1, 5.14 ERA, 21 IP) vs. RHP Jordan Beatson (1-2, 5.56 ERA, 34 IP)


Since 1965, The Citadel and Furman have played each other 171 times with the Bulldogs owning an all-time record of 114-56-1 over the Paladins. In Charleston, the Bulldogs are 60-24 all-time against the Paladins, including an 18-14 mark at Joe Riley Park. Furman swept the last two series over the Bulldogs with the last series win for The Citadel coming back during the 2015 season when the 'Dogs went 2-1 against the Paladins in Greenville. In 2014, the Bulldogs won the home series 2-1 over Furman.

Furman enters the weekend with a 19-22 overall record, including a 4-8 record in Southern Conference play and 6-10 mark on the road. The Paladins boast series wins over Marist, Central Connecticut State, Penn and Harvard as well as single wins over South Carolina on the road and Michigan State. The Paladins enter the weekend having dropped three of their last five and seven of their last 10. As a team, the Paladins are batting .277 heading into the weekend with 108 extra-base hits and 239 runs scored. Furman boasts 63 doubles, 12 triples, 33 home runs and 216 runs batted in. On the base paths, the Paladins have stolen 22 bases, but their opponents have swiped 70 bases on 83 attempts. The Furman pitching corps brings a collective 6.48 earned run average into the weekend with 265 strikeouts, but their foes have batted .315 against the Paladin hurlers.

Furman has been led this season by Ben Anderson's .381 batting average. Anderson, who is one of just two players to have played in every game, is slugging .563 on the year and is getting on base at a .474 clip. He leads the team with 43 runs scored, 27 walks drawn and five triples, and is second with 10 doubles and 29 RBIs. Jason Costa is the only other Paladin to bat over .300 for the season with a .315 in 35 games played, but Bret Huebner is close with a .297 average. Huebner joins Anderson as the other Furman player to have seen action in all 41 games. Costa leads the team with 30 RBIs and is slugging .520 for the season. Brandon Elmy leads the team with 11 doubles and seven home runs while Jabari Richards boasts a team-best nine stolen bases on 10 attempts. Richards is currently batting at a .380 clip while Elmy brings a .276 average into the weekend.

Furman will start the weekend off by sending right-handed pitcher Nik Verbeke to the mound in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader with southpaw John Michael Bertrand following in game two. Righty Jordan Beatson will get the start in the series finale. Verbeke comes into the weekend with a 4-3 record in 11 appearances, including making eight starts. Bertrand boasts a 4-1 record in 13 appearances and Beatson brings a 1-2 mark into the weekend in 16 starts, but will be making just his second start on the year. Verbeke has pitched 50 innings, second only to Grant Schuermann's 54 and is tied for third on the team with 33 strikeouts. Bertrand has pitched 31.2 frames and has 17 strikeouts to his credit while Beatson has fanned 23 batters in 34 innings of work.

SEARS SHINES IN HOME DEBUT FOR RIVERDOGS
In Thursday's minor-league game at Joe Riley Park between the Charleston RiverDogs and the Columbia Fireflies, Citadel alum JP Sears pitched 3.0+ innings and struck out six batters compared to giving up just one hit and one walk. In his four home debuts at The Joe (3 with The Citadel, 1 with the RiverDogs), he has struck out 26 batters, including 20 in Citadel blue and the six last night. The Joe has been a friendly place for Sears, who boasts 189 strikeouts in the park to date. Sears pitched eight scoreless innings over three games with the 'Dogs this season, from April 5 to the fourth inning of last night. This season, he has given up just four hits in his three appearances and has struck out 14 batters.

UP NEXT
The Citadel will open the month of May with four games on the road, beginning next weekend with a three-game, Southern Conference series at ETSU. The Bulldogs and Buccaneers will kick things off with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch on Thursday, May 3 and will continue the series on Friday, May 4 with another 6:30 p.m. first pitch. The two will have off on Saturday, May 5 due to ETSU's graduation being that day and the two programs will conclude the series with a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday, May 6.

For more information on The Citadel baseball team, please visit CitadelSports.com or follow @CitadelBaseball and @CitadelSports on Twitter.