The Citadel drops series opener to Western Carolina

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel dropped a hard fought 4-2 decision to Western Carolina in the Southern Conference series opener Friday night inside Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

Game Information

Score: Western Carolina 4, The Citadel 2

Records: Western Carolina (17-20, 2-5), The Citadel (20-17, 1-6)

Location: Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park (Charleston, South Carolina)

Series: WCU leads 1-0

How it Happened

The Catamounts got on the board in the first inning as a walk and an error put a pair of runners in scoring position. Will Prater drove in a run with a groundout, and Immanuel Wilder drove in the second runner with a double to right center.
WCU added a run in the second on a Seth Graves RBI single to right.
The Bulldogs got a run back in the home-half of the second after Wells Sykes singled up the middle and scored on a Cole Simpson triple into the right-field corner.
The Citadel scored again in the third inning after Dylan Costa drew a leadoff walk and came in to score on Ryan McCarthy’s single to right center.
WCU got on the board again in the fifth on a solo homer from Zach Ketterman.

Inside the Box Score

Devin Beckley (4-3) suffered the loss despite a strong effort. The senior allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits and six strikeouts over 8.0 innings.
George Derrick Floyd pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out two.
Zach Franklin (3-1) picked up the win as he allowed two runs on six hits and seven strikeouts over 8.0 innings.
Zebby Matthews (2) allowed one hit and struck out two in the ninth inning to pick up the save.
Ryan McCarthy collected a pair of base hits and drove in a run.
McCarthy also threw out another base runner attempting to stretch a single into a double. It is his 10th outfield assist of the season.
Cole Simpson went 2-for-3 with a RBI triple. He was also hit by a pitch.
Wells Sykes went 1-for-3 with a walk. He has now hit safely in all four games he played this season.

On Deck

The teams play the middle game of the series Saturday at 2 p.m.