‘Dogs Use Early Offense, Strong Pitching to Take Series Opener

Friday, February 21

Charleston, S.C.

3 p.m.

The Citadel

4-0

Yale

0-1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Yale	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	3	5	1
The Citadel	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	X	4	6	0

‘Dogs Use Early Offense, Strong Pitching to Take Series Opener

2/21/2020 6:36:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (.pdf)

CHARLESTON, SC. – The Citadel scored three runs in the first inning and got strong pitching throughout to defeat Yale, 4-3, in the series opener Friday afternoon at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

Game Information
Score: The Citadel 4, Yale 3
Records: The Citadel (4-0), Yale (0-1)
Series: The Citadel leads 1-0
Location: Charleston, South Carolina (Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park)

Key Plays

A fielding error in the bottom of the seventh inning turned a routine single into a two-base error and a runner on third with one out.
Noah Mitchell followed with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to center field for what turned out to be the game-winning RBI.

How it Happened

Jeffery Brown got things going for The Citadel in the first inning as he drew a four-pitch walk to start the frame.
Tyler Corbitt ripped the next pitch up the middle for a base hit and Ryan McCarthy followed with a RBI double to right center.
Two batters later, Cole Simpson dumped a ball just inside the left-field line to drive in two runs to make it a 3-0 game in the first.
Yale got on the board in the fourth inning after a pair of hits put runners on second and third with no outs. A groundout by Teddy Hague scored the runner from third.
Shane Connolly would limit the damage to just one run as he would get two strikeouts in the inning to strand the runner at third.
The game would remain 3-1 until the seventh inning when Ches Goodman lined an 0-2 pitch into right field for a base hit. When the ball was misplayed, Goodman hustled his way into third.
Noah Mitchell followed by delivering a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to center field.
Things would get interesting in the ninth as Yale put two runners with two outs. A fly ball into shallow left center got caught up in the wind and turned into a two-run double.
Gant Starling would make sure the game ended with The Citadel on top as he struck out the next hitter to earn his first career save.

Inside the Box Score

The victory improved The Citadel to 4-0 on the season. It is the best start since the 1978 team opened the season with 17-straight wins.
Shane Connolly (2-0) earned his second win in as many starts as he allowed just one run on four hits over 6.0 innings. He struck out eight, matching his career-high set last week against Coppin State.
Devin Beckley did not allow a hit in his two innings of work. He struck out five and now has 11 strikeouts in 4.0 innings this season.
Gant Starling (1) struck out two in the ninth to earn his first career save.
The pitching staff struck out 15 hitters, including at least one in eight of the nine innings.
The Bulldogs had six different players collect a hit. Each of the top four hitters in the lineup scored a run.
Jeffery Brown drew a pair of walks and scored a run.