The Citadel’s season ends with 2-1 loss to Mercer in SoCon Tournament

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Mercer scored two runs in the bottom of the first and held No. 8 seed The Citadel to only one run in the contest to secure a 2-1 victory over the Bulldogs on Friday, at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Flour Field.

Mercer (40-17) advances to face No. 4 seed UNCG on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., with the winner scheduled to face the loser between No. 1 seed Wofford and No. 3 seed Samford on Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Bears grabbed the early lead in the contest, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning as Treyson Hughes and Collin Price hit a single and drew a walk, respectively, before David Burke knocked a line-drive single to center field, scoring Hughes and Price to help Mercer jump out in front with a 2-0 lead.

The Citadel cut the deficit to 2-1 in the top of the second inning, with Wells Sykes hitting a single into left field and Garrett Dill and Dylan Costa both drawing consecutive walks, loading the bases with two outs in the inning. In the next at-bat, junior Luke Montenery was hit by a pitch, allowing Sykes to cross home plate for the Bulldogs’ only run of the contest.

Both teams remained scoreless in the next seven innings, with Mercer tallying two more hits and The Citadel recording three in the remainder of the game. The Bears left five runners on base, while the Bulldogs left four.

Burke and Hughes both finished 1-for-3 to lead the Bears, with Burke registering two RBIs and Hughes scoring one run and drawing one walk in the win. Price went 1-for-2 with one run scored, while William Mapes went 1-for-4 at the plate.

Travis Lott and Dill both went 1-for-3 to pace The Citadel, while Tilo Skole and Sykes both went 1-for-4.

Mercer’s Jackson Kelley improved to 7-0 with the win, as he allowed no runs on three hits and recorded seven strikeouts in 7.1 innings of action. Josh Harlow started for the Bears, allowing only one run on one hit and tallying three strikeouts in 1.2 innings pitched.

Ben Hutchins (4-4) took the loss for the Bulldogs. He was charged with two runs on four hits and tallied 10 strikeouts in seven innings pitched. Fisher Paulsen and Conner Cummiskey also made appearances on the mound for the Bulldogs, with Paulsen allowing one walk and Cummiskey recording one strikeout in their combined one inning pitched.