The Citadel drops series opener to Western Carolina
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Published: Apr. 22, 2022 at 10:52 PM EDT
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.
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