A Dream Season to Remember

College World Series 30th Anniversary on Twitter
CWS Victory Over Cal State Fullerton

The Citadel put together the best season in program history in 1990 when the Bulldogs won the Southern Conference Tournament, the Atlantic Regional in Coral Gables, Florida and earned a trip to the College World Series.

To this day, The Citadel is the only military academy to make it to the College World Series.

Feb. 9
The Citadel opens the season with a 5-4 victory on the road over Armstrong State, the No. 1 ranked team in Division II. Anthony Jenkins hits the first of his school-record 16 home runs.

Feb. 17
Amid construction at a Hurricane Hugo damaged College Park, The Citadel drops its home opener to North Carolina State, 5-3. The sound of jackhammers working on dugouts and fencing outside the stadium would continue for most of the regular season, causing a great deal of distraction for the Bulldogs and their opponents. The Citadel would not lose again for 38 days.

Feb. 18
The Bulldogs school-record, 26-game winning streak gets underway on a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon at College Park with a 12-1 victory over NC State.

Feb. 25
Jenkins establishes a new school-record with his 19^th career home run, a solo shot in a 15-4 rout of Davidson.

March 10-11
The Citadel completes its first-ever, three-game sweep over Western Carolina, defeating the five-time defending Southern Conference champions (6-3, 7-3, 10-3). The Bulldogs would go on to lose only one conference game the entire season.

March 12
The Bulldogs enter the Collegiate Baseball poll at No. 30, the first such ranking for the Bulldogs since 1983.

March 13
The Bulldogs rally from an 8-4 deficit to edge George Mason, 9-8, running the win streak to 15 games. The Citadel collected only three singles, but took advantage of six Patriot errors and nine walks.

March 21
The Citadel ties the school record with its 22^nd-straight win, a 5-2 victory over LeMoyne. Jason Rychlick hit a monstrous home run to right field, the first of his career.

March 24
The Citadel breaks the school record for consecutive victories (23) with a 3-1 win over Furman in the first game of a doubleheader at College Park. A then-season high 762 fans saw the ‘Dogs finish a sweep of the Paladins with a masterful two-hit shutout by left-hander Richard Shirer in the nightcap.

March 26
With the city of Charleston already buzzing over the Bulldogs, the national press began taking notice. The New York Times ran a story about the winning streak and all of the obstacles the Bulldogs had to overcome, focusing on the destruction caused by Hugo.

March 27
After defeating Kent State the day before, the Golden Flashes defeated the Bulldogs, 2-1, to snap the nation’s longest winning streak at 26.

April 3
The Bulldogs hit a mild slump after seeing their winning streak end, dropping four of their next five games, including a 13-12 loss to South Carolina.

April 7
In an 8-1 victory over ETSU, Jenkins tied the school record for a home runs in a season with 11. He would break the record nine days later against USC Upstate.

April 8
The Citadel suffers its only Southern Conference loss of the season, falling 6-4 to ETSU.

April 13
Despite having two games rained out against VMI, The Citadel clinched the SoCon regular-season championship with one week left to play.

April 19
Freshman right hander Steve Basch allowed just five singles in a 4-0 shutout over Armstrong Central. The effort came just eight days after Basch was the starter in a lopsided loss to the Pirates.

April 22
After clinching the conference championship while sitting through the rain the weekend before, there were whispers around Huntington, West Virginia that The Citadel “backed into” the league crown. All that was quickly put to rest when the Bulldogs traveled to Marshall and swept a doubleheader from the Thundering Herd, including an 18-4 rout in the second game.

April 27
The Citadel and the City of Charleston served as the host for the 1990 Coca-Cola Southern Conference Baseball Tournament. The success of the tournament brought a three-year commitment from the league’s athletic directors to hold the four-day event through the 1993 season. After drawing a first-round bye, The Citadel opened play with a 7-2 victory over Appalachian State.

The all-conference awards were also announced, with three Bulldogs earning honors. Pitcher Ken Britt was named the league’s Pitcher of the Year, while outfielder Anthony Jenkins and designated hitter Billy Baker were honored. Chal Port was named the conference Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his 26 years at The Citadel.

April 28
Chal Port earns his 600^th career victory as the Bulldogs pick up two wins and advance to the championship game of the SoCon Tournament. Baker pitched a two-hitter en route to being named the tournament’s MVP in a 9-2 over Marshall, while Shirer hurled his second shoutout of the year over ETSU in a 6-0 win later that evening.

April 29
Gettys Glaze hits the first two home runs of his career as The Citadel runs up a 6-0 lead and holds on for a 9-5 victory over Western Carolina and the ‘Dogs first SoCon Tournament title. In one of the greatest sights of the 1990 season, Glaze warmed up in the bullpen wearing his shin guards. Glaze, in addition to his batting heroics, picked up the save against the Catamounts. The Citadel captured the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It was the sixth trip to the regionals and the fifth under Port. A SoCon Tournament record crowd of 3,186 cheered the Bulldogs to victory over their rivals.

April 30-May 9
The Citadel goes through final exams and then resumes practice May 14. Port schedules three games to stay in shape for the regionals.

May 21
In a telephone hookup, the Citadel’s first-round opponent in the Atlantic Regionals is announced to a press conference assembled at Johnson Hagood Stadium. The Bulldogs learn they will travel to Miami and play NC State, a team they split two games with earlier in the season. The ‘Dogs were seeded fifth and were grouped with the top seed and host Hurricanes, NC State, East Carolina, Stetson and USF in the six-team regional.

After receiving word of their regional assignment, The Citadel finished its pre-regional tune-up with an 11-2 victory over another NCAA playoff-bound team in Clemson at College Park.

May 22
With fans gathered on campus to wish the team luck and the media there to get last-minute notes and quotes, the Bulldogs depart Charleston via bus for the 10-hour ride to Miami. Assistant coach Ken Creehan shows up wearing a University of Miami baseball cap to inspire the ‘Dogs.

May 23-24
The two days before the Atlantic Regional was scheduled to start and was filled with information sessions and interviews for the media and coaches, and practices for the players.

May 25
Play finally begins and The Citadel jumps out quickly, scoring six runs in the first three innings and routing NC State, 11-3. Baker slams a two-run home run and a two-run double to key the outburst.
BOX SCORE

May 26
Since ESPN had planned to televise one of the Atlantic Regional games, The Citadel head coach Chal Port meets with Tim Brando and Larry Sorenson of ESPN to go over the Bulldog personnel. Port, ever the master of the one-liner, has the entire ESPN crew in stitches. Pictures are also taken for the broadcast.

May 27
The Citadel finally gets to play East Carolina, a team with the nation’s best winning percentage and with eight of the nine hitters in the lineup hitting over .300. Although the Pirates had the lead three times in the game, the Bulldogs were able to rally for an 8-5 win. Jenkins hits two home runs in the game, giving him 15 on the season. This game also signals an incredible streak for Jenkins which would carry the ‘Dogs to the Atlantic Regional championship.
BOX SCORE

May 28
NC State and East Carolina were good, but they weren’t the Miami Hurricanes, the team the Bulldogs had to face next. The host Hurricanes had won two national championships in the 1980s and regularly advanced to the College World Series. Nobody at Mark Light Stadium expected it to be close, and it really wasn’t. The only difference was that it was The Citadel which cruised to victory, building a 4-0 lead in the third and going on to a 6-2 win over the ‘Canes. The Citadel was the only undefeated team left in the tournament. Miami came back later that day to win to set up a rematch with what Miami Herald columnist Dan LeBatard called “the cutest little team in the NCAA baseball tournament.”
BOX SCORE

May 29
“The Crew Cut Kids,” another nickname for the Bulldogs penned by the talented LeBatard, needed only one win to advance to the College World Series. Yet there still seemed to be a feeling that the ‘Dogs were a decided underdog, especially with Miami ace reliever Oscar Munoz on the mound. With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Chris Coker and Tony Skole each homered and the Hurricanes were finished. The 4-1 final moved the ‘Dogs into their first College World Series. In describing his home run over the phone to his oldest brother, Skole said that he “Canseco’ed one” against the Mark Light scoreboard. Whatever the comparisons were to his clout, it helped keep the dream alive. In a move of utter class, Miami coach Ron Fraser gathered the Bulldogs together and congratulated them on a great win and great season, and also gave them advice on how to deal with the pressures of Omaha. Jenkins, who went 9-for-15 at the plate and caught the final out of the tournament against the left-field wall, was named the regional Most Valuable Player.
BOX SCORE

May 29-30
The few hours between arriving in Charleston and departing for Omaha are hectic ones for everyone involved. Laundry was done, travel arrangements made and a send-off party organized.

May 30
With an estimated crowd of 500 gathered in and around the outside of McAlister Field House, and a hastily organized band thrown in for good measure, the Bulldogs’ bus and police escort left campus for the airport and flight to Omaha. At the airport in Charleston, The Citadel traveling party almost took over the lobby with luggage and baseball equipment.

May 31
The day before the College World Series began was a day of practice for the players and interviews for the coaches. Early in the afternoon, a press conference with all eight head coaches was held at the CWS headquarters across the street from where the Bulldogs were staying. It was a little strange seeing Chal Port, well-known in Omaha for his connection with the Division I baseball committee, on the dais with coaches who are seen and known about all over the country. The ‘Dogs got their first look at Rosenblatt Stadium with a workout later that afternoon.

June 1
Just as the 1990 season was a special one for The Citadel, so it was for senior left fielder Anthony Jenkins. During the course of the season, Jenkins set career records for games played, at-bats, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, total bases, RBIs and runs scored. Jenkins became only the second player in Citadel baseball history to be named a First-Team Division I All-America by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

June 2
The reason the Bulldogs are in Omaha…baseball! The Citadel, after watching the first-round games played the day before, opens CWS play with an 8-2 loss to LSU. About the Bulldogs’ only highlight was Jenkins’ 16^th home run of the season. The loss was The Citadel’s first in postseason play. The ‘Dogs need a win over Cal State Fullerton two days later or their dream season is over.
BOX SCORE

June 4
At first look, a loser’s bracket game between The Citadel and the Titans did not figure to capture the imagination of a nationwide television audience on ESPN. By the time the 12-inning, three hour, 31-minute drama had ended, it wound up being the best game of the 1990 College World Series and one of the greatest all-time. The Citadel legend was not only established in the game, but etched in the minds of many for years to come.

The fireworks began after the Titans had rallied from a 1-0 deficit to take a 4-1 lead into the seventh.

The Citadel scored two runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth for a 6-4 lead, but Fullerton tied it in its half of the eighth. Clutch pitching by the ‘Dogs bullpen, including Glaze who once again moved from behind the plate to mound, snuffed the Titans’ bid to take the lead and the game would go into extra innings.

While all of this was going on, Chal Port was coaching what seemed to Brando, Sorenson and the nation, the game of his life. In actuality, it was business as usual with Port. A shoulder injury sustained by shortstop Phillip Tobin had forced Port to shuffle his lineup. All season, Port had said after his first nine, there wasn’t a whole lot of depth. In a series of seemingly helter-skelter moves borne out of desperation, Port moved first baseman Coker to short, right fielder Baker to first and inserted senior Mike Black in right. In one of the more ironic twists of the season, this was the Bulldogs’ original lineup that took the field on opening day.

Skole singled in a run in the top of the 10^th, but the Titans tied it again in the bottom of the frame. Skole came through again in the 12^th, singling in Jenkins, whose eye-popping slide and reach enabled him to just beat the throw home. The slide and sophomore reliever Hank Kraft’s final strikeout with the tying run on third to end the game were repeated on television sportscasts throughout the night. The 8-7 win allowed the Bulldogs another day to play.
BOX SCORE

June 5
The dream is over. For the second time in four days, The Citadel fell to a powerful LSU team, 6-1, to finish tied for fifth at the CWS. Later that night in the Bulldogs’ team meeting, Port, a notorious poor mouther who said before the season that he didn’t expect much of his 1990 squad, told them how proud he was of them and all that they had accomplished.
BOX SCORE

June 6
Early in the morning, the traveling party gathered for the last time in the lobby for the bus trip to airport and the flight back to Charleston. With no more baseball to concentrate on, the team was anxious to finally get home and be with their friends and families.

Since Then…
Shortly after the CWS, the honors continued pouring in for The Citadel baseball team. The Sports News named Chal Port its Coach of the Year, taking a team picked sixth in the Southern Conference to a school-best 46-14 season and final ranking of sixth in the nation, the highest finish ever for a men’s SoCon team in a final Division I poll.

Anthony Jenkins was named a First-Team All-American by The Sporting News and was later tabbed the Southern Conference Male Athlete of the Year.

The Citadel Athletics

A Dream Season to Remember

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