The Citadel takes series opener over Holy Cross

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel scored seven runs in the first three innings on the way to an 11-8 victory over Holy Cross in the series opener Friday inside Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

Game Information

Score: The Citadel 11, Holy Cross 8

Records: Holy Cross (4-10), The Citadel (8-5)

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

Series: The Citadel leads 1-0

How it Happened

The Bulldogs wasted no time in getting on the board as Thomas Rollauer hit the 2-1 pitch over the fence in left for a leadoff home run.
The Citadel added a run in the second as Travis Elliott drew a walk and went to third on a Garrett Dill double to left. A wild pitch allowed Elliott to score.
The Bulldogs pushed across five more runs in the third to extend the advantage to 7-0. Travis Lott and Luke Montenery started the inning with base hits before a fielding error allowed both runners to score.
After a Wells Sykes bunt base hit, Noah Mitchell delivered a RBI single through the left side. The second error of the inning allowed another run to score, and Dill drove in the fifth run with a sacrifice fly to left.
Holy Cross got on the board in the fifth with a three-run home run from Chris Benton.
The Crusaders added two more runs in the sixth inning on a RBI groundout from Jake Jaszcz and a RBI double from Sean Scanlon.
The Bulldogs got the runs back in the bottom of the inning on a two-run single up the middle off the bat of Sawyer Reeves.
Holy Cross took advantage of a fielding error to push across an unearned run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly from Jake McElroy.
The Citadel again answered back in the home-half of the inning as Mitchell singled to center to start the inning and scored on a two-out pinch-hit single up the middle from Dylan Costa.
The Bulldogs added an insurance in the eighth inning after Lott drew a walk to start the inning and came in to score on a Sykes single through the left side.
The Crusaders pushed across two more runs in the ninth on a two-run single from McElroy.

Inside the Box Score

The Bulldogs improved to 4-0 in series openers this season.
The Citadel has scored at least 10 runs in three of the four Friday series openers this season.
The Bulldogs collected 15 hits with five players collecting multi-hit games.
Sawyer Reeves led the way by going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and a run scored.
Wells Sykes also collected three hits and drove in a run.
Thomas Rollauer finished 2-for-5 with a leadoff homer and two runs scored.
Noah Mitchell added two hits and drove in a run, while Luke Montenery had two base hits and scored a run.
Travis Lott scored a team-high three runs after getting a base hit and drawing a pair of walks.
Cameron Reeves (4-0) picked up the win after allowing three runs on two hits and seven strikeouts over 5.0 innings.
He worked himself in-and-out of trouble in the third inning by loading the bases with no outs. He got out of the inning without any damage after striking out the next three hitters.
George Derrick Floyd (1) closed out the final three innings to pick up the save.
The Bulldog pitching staff struck out 10 Crusader hitters.
It is the fifth-straight game with at least 10 strikeouts, and 10th game overall this season.
Luke Fox (1-1) took the loss for HC after allowing five runs, four earned, on five hits over 2.0 innings.

On Deck

Due to rain in the forecast for Sunday, the teams will close out the series Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.

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