The Citadel splits doubleheader with Ball State

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel right hander Cameron Reeves tossed a complete-game three-hit shutout to give the Bulldogs a 4-0 victory in the second game of the doubleheader Friday afternoon inside Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. The Citadel fell, 9-8, in eight innings in the first game.

Game Information

Score: Ball State 9-0, The Citadel 8-4

Records: Ball State (23-8), The Citadel (15-16)

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

Series: Ball State leads 2-1

Game 1

How it Happened

The Cardinals struck first in the second inning on a solo home run from Blake Bevis.
The Bulldogs answered back in the home-half of the frame as Crosby Jones double to right. With two outs, Travis Elliott delivered a RBI single to center and Wells Sykes followed with a chopper over the bag at third for a RBI double.
BSU regained the lead in the third after RBI doubles from Logan Flood, Casey Turturici and Bevis.
The Citadel got the offense going again to start the third inning as Sawyer Reeves and Travis Lott singled to start the frame. After a sacrifice bunt from Noah Mitchell, Thomas Rollauer came through with a two-run single through the left side.
The offense continued in the fourth inning after an error with one out started a rally. Anthony Badala put two runners in scoring position with a double to left before Sawyer Reeves drove in a run with a base hit through the left side. Travis Lott followed with a sacrifice fly to left field.
The Citadel added its seventh run of the game in fifth when a leadoff walk to Jones came in to score on an Elliott sacrifice fly to right.
BSU came back to tie the game in the sixth on a solo homer from Bevis, RBI double from Adam Tellier and RBI single from Decker Scheffler.
The Cardinals took advantage of a throwing error to push across two unearned runs in the eighth.
The Bulldogs got one run back in the eighth on a two-run single through the left side from Anthony Badala.

Inside the Box Score

The Citadel offense collected 11 hits with four players having multi-hit games.
Thomas Rollauer led the way by going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
Sawyer Reeves added two hits, drove in a run and scored another.
Wells Sykes finished 2-for-4 with a RBI and a pair of runs scored.
Anthony Badala singled in a run as part of a two-hit day.
Will Holmes (2-1) suffered the loss after allowing two unearned runs on one hit and four strikeouts over 2.2 innings.
Logan Schulfer (2-0) picked up the win after allowing one run on two hits over the final 1.2 innings.

Game 2

How it Happened

The Bulldogs struck first as Travis Lott singled to center and went to third on a failed pickoff attempt. Noah Mitchell followed by hitting an 0-2 pitch through the left side for the RBI.
The Citadel doubled the lead in the fourth inning after Thomas Rollauer started things with a ground-rule double to left. After a bunt single from Crosby Jones, Wells Sykes drove in Rollauer with a bunt single of his own.
Lott helped to extend the lead in the fifth as he drew a leadoff walk and took second on a wild pitch. Rollauer followed two batters later with a RBI double to left field.
The Bulldogs played small ball again in the sixth to push across the fourth run of the game. Travis Elliott got things going with a double inside the bag at third. A sacrifice bunt from Luke Montenery moved him to third before Dylan Costa got down the suicide squeeze to score the run.

Inside the Box Score

Cameron Reeves (6-1) controlled the Ball State lineup the entire game, allowing just three hits and striking out eight over the 7.0 innings.
The complete-game shutout was the first for a Bulldog pitcher since Devin Beckley tossed a 9.0 complete-game, three-hit shutout against Saint Peters on March 18, 2022.
After allowing a two-out base hit in the first inning, Reeves did not allow a base hit until the sixth inning. The Cardinals started that inning with back-to-back hits, but Reeves was able to retire the next three hitters.
Thomas Rollauer led the offense with a pair of doubles, RBI and run scored.
Travis Lott reached safely in all three of his plate appearances, collecting a base hit, being hit by a pitch and drawing a walk. He also scored twice.
Ty Johnson (3-2) took the loss after giving up one unearned run on two hits and five strikeouts over 3.0 innings.

On Deck

The teams are scheduled to play the final game of the series Saturday at 1 p.m.