The Citadel drops series finale to Lehigh

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel scored a pair of runs and had the bases loaded in the ninth, but were not able to push across any runs in falling 9-6 to Lehigh in the series finale Sunday afternoon inside Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

Game Information

Score: Lehigh 9, The Citadel 6

Records: Lehigh (3-3), The Citadel (4-3)

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

Series: Lehigh wins series 2-1

How it Happened

The Mountain Hawks got on the board in the first inning with RBI doubles from Rafe Perich and Gerard Sweeney.
Lehigh added an unearned run in the second inning after a popup with two outs found the ground in shallow center.
The Mountain Hawks added a run in the fifth on a solo homer from Joe Gorla.
Travis Lott started a two-out rally in the fifth inning with a double into the right field corner. That was followed by back-to-back RBI doubles from Luke Montenery and Noah Mitchell.
Lehigh got a run back in the fifth after a leadoff triple came around to score on a grounder.
The Citadel pulled within a run in the seventh as Noah Mitchell delivered a two-run homer to left.
The Mountain Hawks answered back in the eighth with a two-run double from Gorla and a RBI single from Andrew Kohl.
Lehigh added an insurance run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly from Jake Whitlinger.
A two-out error in the bottom of the ninth helped spark a rally for the Bulldogs. The error helped to load the bases for Wells Sykes and Anthony Badala to draw bases-loaded walks to pull The Citadel within three.
On the next pitch, Crosby Jones turned on a ball that hooked just foul before clearing the fence. The game would end before the Bulldogs would score any more runs.

Inside the Box Score

Noah Mitchell led the way by going 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.
Luke Montenery went 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and a run scored.
Travis Lott collected two hits and scored twice. He also drew a walk and was hit by a pitch.
Crosby Jones had a pair of singles in his first start of the season in left field.
Fisher Paulsen (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits in 2.1 innings.
Will Holmes was effective out of the bullpen as he gave up just one run and struck out four over 2.0 innings.
Teddy Tolliver (1-0) went 2.1 shutout innings to pick up the victory.
Rafe Perich (1) retired the only hitter he faced to pick up the save.

On Deck

The Bulldogs hit the road for the first time this season as the travel to face Winthrop on March 1 at 4 p.m.

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