FROM THE CITADEL PRESS RELEASE
Charleston, S.C. – Seventh-seeded The Citadel jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the second and never looked back as they downed No. 10 Davidson, 7-0, in the single-elimination round of the 2007 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament Tuesday afternoon at Riley Park. The Bulldogs will now enter double-elimination play as the seven seed and will face No. 2 Western Carolina on Wednesday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m.
The last time the Bulldogs earned a shutout at Riley Park was in 2006 as they defeated Richmond, 6-0, on Feb. 17. The last time the Dogs earned a shutout in the SoCon Tournament was in 2002 with a 6-0 win over Furman. Davidson has not won a contest at Riley Park in their last 17 games and is 2-26 all-time in Charleston.
Sophomore hurler Wes Wrenn (5-6) turned in a solid performance for the Bulldogs to pick up his fifth win of the year. The right-hander tossed six innings of shutout ball and allowed seven hits while striking out seven and walking four. Davidson managed to get six runners in scoring position, but left 11 stranded in the first six frames.
The Citadel put up six in the second as the Bulldogs ripped seven hits in the frame. Senior first baseman Zach Brown started things off with a single through the right side before freshman catcher Richard Jones crushed his second home run in as many games to put two on the board. Senior right fielder Joe Hoerter smacked an RBI-single to the gap in right center and junior left fielder Chris Swauger blasted a two-run double. Sophomore designated hitter Sonny Meade capped off the scoring as he punched a single through the left side that pushed Swauger across the dish.
The Dogs tacked on the final run in the seventh courtesy of a sac fly off the bat of Brown to end it, 7-0. Davidson left the bases loaded in the sixth and seventh innings as the Wildcats stranded a season-high 16 runners.
Justin Smith, Jamie Maxwell and Raymond Copenhaver combined to hold the Wildcats to only one hit over the last four innings as Copenhaver made his 32nd appearance of 2007, putting him in ninth place in single-season appearances at The Citadel as a freshman.
Four Bulldog batters registered two hits while Jones paced the club with two RBI. Jones’ round-tripper was his 13th of the year, the most ever by a true freshman in a single-season at The Citadel. He is now tied with Brown on the single-season list. Swauger also continues to move up the career doubles chart as he is now tied with Aaron Haigler in sixth place with 51.
Rob Wilson and Chase FitzPatrick led the Davidson offense with two hits each. The Citadel enjoyed 12 hits to Davidson’s eight. The Dogs have hammered out 10 or more hits in 32 of their 56 games this year.
The Citadel (31-25) will return tomorrow, May 23, to face No. 2 Western Carolina (40-16). The Bulldogs are 8-8 versus the Catamounts in tournament play with the Dogs winning the last meeting, 4-2, to eliminate Western from the 2006 SoCon Tournament. The Bulldogs hold a 0-3 record against the Catamounts this season after suffering a sweep in Cullowhee, N.C.
The Bulldogs and Catamounts will face-off for game six of the 2007 Southern Conference Tournament on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Riley Park. Bulldog fans can access all the live action through Bulldog Insider at CitadelSports.com.
