CHARLESTON, S.C. — Fueled by a pair of early home runs, The Citadel (6-8) overpowered in-state adversary South Carolina (12-6) via an 8-3 margin in midweek action on Tuesday night at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
TJ Anderson drove in three runs, notably hitting a two-run shot straight away over the center-field fence.
Phillips Daniels chipped in two RBIs, notched a hit, and reached base with a walk.
Rhyder Poppell added a homer of his own to the tally as well, along with two walks and scored a run.
On the mound,
Jacob Deacon tossed 2.0 innings in his first career start, allowing one run on one hit, striking out three, and issuing one walk.
Andrew Buffkin relieved for 3.0 innings, permitting two earned runs on one hit with one strikeout en route to his first career win.
Trip Brown threw a scoreless inning, allowing one hit, issuing one walk, and striking out one.
Ben Brash took over for 1.0 inning, facing three batters without allowing a hit or walk and recording one strikeout.
Michael Gibson closed out the game with 2.0 innings on the mound, giving up just one hit and striking out three to earn his second save on the year.
For the Gamecocks, Will Craddock paced the visitors with two solo home runs. Alex Philpott received the loss after pitching 0.2 innings, giving up two earned runs on two hits.
"I thought we played our style. I thought we stayed true to ourselves. I thought we had good at-bats. We got some big hits along the way, even when we didn't execute, but I believed we were able to put some pressure on them on the bases", said head coach
Russell Triplett. "We're good at getting the leadoff guy on base, and that's one of the keys to our offense. When you get the leadoff guy on base, you're able to do some things offensively. We can bunt, run, and do some hit-and-run plays, and the guys executed. We weren't at our best with runners in scoring position, but we'll keep working on that. I think guys were trying a little too hard, but overall, I was proud of how they executed in the box."
Looking ahead, the Bulldogs are set to take on UT-Martin at Skyhawk Baseball Field in Martin, Tenn. The series opener is scheduled for Friday, March 13 at 6 p.m. ET.
