Elon, N.C. - Every Bulldog starter reached base on Friday night and Asher Wojciechowski pitched eight strong innings to down Elon, 9-4, at Latham Park.
Wojciechowski (Sturgis, Mich.) improved to 5-0 as he went 8.0 innings, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out 11 and walking no one. It is the second straight start that the right hander has not allowed a base on balls and he now has 25 punch-outs in his last two starts, both against SoCon foes.
The Bulldogs capitalized on an Elon error in the first as Phoenix starter Jimmy Reyes retired the first two batters, but an error by second baseman Seth Canipe allowed Matt Simonelli (Orlando, Fla.) to reach base. A walk by Bryan Altman (Summerville, S.C.) moved Simonelli to second and he scored when David Greene (Columbia, S.C.) laced an RBI single over the head of Canipe to put The Citadel up, 1-0.
In the third, Simonelli was hit by a pitch to start things off for the Bulldogs. Altman and Kyle Jordan (Goose Creek, S.C.) then followed with base hits to load the bases. A sac fly by Justin Mackert (Cleveland, Ohio) and a base hit by Matt Reifsnider (Ormand Beach, Fla.), the first of the season for the senior, scored a pair and put the Bulldogs ahead, 3-0.
Elon (10-7, 2-2) would respond in the bottom of the third as they broke through against Wojciechowski on a pair of infield singles that would come around to score on an RBI double to center by catcher Mike Melillo.
The Citadel (12-5, 4-0) would put up a pair of runs in the top of the fifth when Altman reached base for the third time on a base hit, followed by the second single of the day for Greene. A sac bunt by Jordan moved the runners over to second and third and Mackert would drive both runners in on a single to left field, making the score 5-2 in favor of The Citadel.
The Phoenix and Bulldogs exchanged solo homers late in the game when Seth Canipe hammered the first pitcher from Wojciechowski over the fence in the bottom of the seventh to close the game to 5-3. In the top of the eighth, Altman cranked a homer of his own, this time to left field, to put the Bulldogs back up three runs.
"Asher pitched great for us tonight, he really sent the tempo and we fed off that offensively," said Altman. "Our speed always puts pressure on other team defensively and we were able to capitalize on that early on in today's game. They are a rival team and we always get motivated to play them."
In the top of the ninth, the Bulldogs added three insurance runs as Jordan, Legare Jones (Columbia, S.C.) and Nick Orvin (Moncks Corner, S.C.) all came around to score after Elon pitchers hit a batter and walked four Bulldogs to make it a 9-3 advantage. Drew Mahaffey (Summerville, S.C.) relieved Wojciechowski in the ninth and allowed a homer to Melillo and then retired the side to close out the Bulldogs win.
Reyes (2-3), the preseason SoCon Pitcher of the Year took the loss, going 5.0 innings, allowing nine hits, five runs, four earned runs and one walk to go with five strikeouts. Altman led the Bulldog offense, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two RBI, two walks and a homer. Mackert went 2-for-4 with a career-high three RBI. Elon was led by Melillo who went 2-for-4 with three RBI, a run scored and a home run.
The Citadel returns to action on Saturday in game two of the series against Elon at Latham Park. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. Live stats are available at ElonSports.com. Radio coverage with play-by-play announcer Darren Goldwater of The Citadel Sports Network is available on ESPN 1450 AM and at CitadelSports.com.
