GREENVILLE, S.C. — An aggressive offensive attack combined with a consistent defensive approach lifted fifth-seeded The Citadel (32-24) to a 13–7 victory over No. 4 Wofford (34-21) at Fluor Field on Wednesday evening in the Southern Conference Baseball Championship, setting up the Bulldogs with a shot at No. 1 overall Mercer in the second round.
Michael Gibson, who registered a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate in the single-elimination opener against VMI, collected another three hits for a trio of RBIs, raising his team-leading batting average to .387. Gibson is batting .800 over the past two games with eight hits, one double, one home run, and seven RBIs.
Zach Hunt drove in two runs on a hit, and
TJ Anderson recorded two hits -- both doubles -- and scored three runs as well.
Aryan Patel,
Lane Tobin and
Jayden Williams each logged two hits apiece, combining for four runs scored.
Notably, the win serves as the second consecutive game in which every starter recorded a hit. Over the past two contests, the Bulldogs have scored 34 runs on 39 hits, including nine doubles and three home runs, and have driven in 32 RBIs.
On the mound,
Andrew Buffkin picked up the start for the Bulldogs, punching out a season-high eight batters over 5.0 innings en route to his sixth win.
Andrew Bowers entered in relief, handling the final 4.0 frames while allowing one earned run on three hits, locking down the save with three strikeouts and two walks.
For Wofford, Cade Collins, Niko Brinim and Lucas Manning each notched two hits. Ben Timblin hit a home run. Alec Bouchard took the loss after throwing 3.1 innings, allowing seven hits and six earned runs while striking out three.
"I think it took us a month to score 34 runs at the beginning of the season," head coach
Russell Triplett said. "It started from the beginning. We committed to a plan. Both of those pitchers shut us down during the regular season. It was awesome to see some adjustments from the guys. They are swinging the bats at a high level and playing with a lot of confidence. I can't remember ever being around a team that scored 34 runs in a day. It's nice to see everyone comfortable in the box because we've struggled offensively at times this season."
Up next, No. 5 The Citadel will face top-seeded Mercer on Thursday, May 21 at Fluor Field, with first pitch scheduled for 9 a.m.
