CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Citadel Bulldogs (1-2) suffered a narrow 5-4 defeat to Liberty (2-1) in the series' rubber match on Sunday at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
 
Liberty's Jordan Jaffe scored the first run of the game with an RBI triple down the right field line, bringing home Kyle Hvidsten. Easton Swofford then followed with an RBI groundout, scoring Hvidsten to give the Flames a 2-0 lead in the top of the second.
 
Zach Hunt started the second inning with a single, followed by a walk to Miles Barbrey. Christian Stratis' sacrifice bunt created a scoring opportunity, and Garrett Fulmer's groundout brought Hunt home. An error allowed Barbrey to score as well, tying the game at two.
 
In the fifth, The Citadel claimed the lead with a Hunt RBI triple and a Barbrey sacrifice fly, establishing a two-run advantage.
 
Liberty tallied solo runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth, pulling ahead in the penultimate frame thanks to a leadoff double by Jaffe and a sacrifice fly from Tanner Marsh.
 
Hunt led the Bulldogs with two hits and an RBI, including a triple. Barbrey contributed with a hit, an RBI, a walk and a stolen base. Phillips Daniels added a run and a hit.
 
On the mound, The Citadel utilized six pitchers during the contest, starting off with Ben Brash for 1.2 innings, who took a seat after surrendering two runs on two hits. Jacob Deacon and Stephen Platte stepped in for a combined 3.2 frames, giving up just two hits for one run while notching four strikeouts.
 
After Steven Trone handled 0.2 innings, Trip Brown logged 1.0 frames en route to garnering the loss, allowing one hit as well as the tying and go-ahead run in the seventh and eighth. CJ Van Slooten closed out the final 2.0 innings, surrendering zero runs with no hits.
 
For the Flames, Bradley Zayac secured the win with 4.0 scoreless innings, striking out seven, and allowing just 3 hits.
 
"The weekend was a bit disappointing. Our goal is to win every series, and it was a tough start. Liberty is an NCAA tournament-level team with strong pitchers," said head coach Russell Triplett. "Many young players gained valuable experience. I thought we competed on the mound, but didn't attack the strike zone enough when we struggled at the plate. Still, we made key pitches with runners in scoring position. We just need to play better to beat a good team in a weekend series."
 
Up next, the Bulldogs will host Marshall for two games on Feb. 20-21 followed by Army on Feb. 22 at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.