ATLANTA, Ga. -- Third-seeded The Citadel (36-26) faltered in the rematch against No. 2 Oklahoma (34-22) in the second elimination clash of the NCAA Baseball Championship's Atlanta Regional, falling to the Sooners by a final 15-5 margin Sunday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.
With the loss, the Bulldogs conclude the 2026 campaign as Southern Conference Champions, a first for the program since 2010, along with a 1-2 mark in the NCAA tournament.
"It's always tough when a season comes to an end," head coach
Russell Triplett said. "We didn't attack the zone early and you have to give Oklahoma credit, they made us pay. We gave them too many free bases and you can't do that against a good offensive team. They jumped on us early. I am proud of our guys. I thought we finished the last three innings in the way that says what this group is about. We take pride in what they do and they keep going and play to the last out."
Offensively,
Christian Stratis compiled a two-hit, four-RBI performance at the plate, generating the first runs of the game for the Bulldogs off a two-run home run in the fourth.
Michael Gibson tallied another two hits while
Lane Tobin,
Aryan Patel and
Phillips Daniels each notched one knock apiece as well, the latter for the squad's final RBI of the day.
On the mound,
Bryce Coulter handled the opening 3.0 innings en route to the loss, giving up six runs on four hits with three walks and a trio of strikeouts. The Citadel utilized five additional pitchers out of the bullpen, including
Liam Foley,
Andrew Bowers,
Mason Yokum,
Jacob Deacon and
Ben Brash, who allowed a combined nine runs off 10 hits and five walks with four punchouts.
For Oklahoma, Brendan Brock drove in three runs off a team-best three hits while four Sooners -- Jason Walk, Camden Johnson, Deiten Lachance and Kyle Branch -- each logged a pair of knocks for a joint three RBIs. Nick Wesloski picked up the victory after tossing 7.0 frames in the start, surrendering five runs -- three earned -- on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
"We pushed the program forward the last couple of years," Triplett continued. "Each step is a learning opportunity for us. We ran out of gas today, but we did exactly what we wanted to this year. Our main goal was to finish better than we started and there's no doubt that we're better as a team, as a program and as individual baseball players than the start of the year. We didn't win the game today, but we've got a bunch of winners on this team. This is the best team I've ever been a part of. The team concept is the best I've seen. This group is special."
"It's a long four years at The Citadel, but I've enjoyed every part of it," added Patel, the Bulldogs' team captain. "We didn't win a whole lot my first two years here, but then coach Triplett came in then we started winning. I'm proud of the fact that we were a part of getting this program back to its championship tradition. It's sucks to lose the game, but I will have nothing but joy looking back at this season and the four years I spent here."
-- #jOURney --
