When the ball hit Garrett Dill’s glove and The Citadel had executed the double play to end the game, the Bulldogs erupted off the bench and stormed the field at Riley Park.
That’s the kind of reaction one would expect when you have only beaten your crosstown rival once in the last decade.
The Citadel used nine different pitchers and got timely hitting in the fourth inning as the Bulldogs held on to beat College of Charleston 4-2 on March 25.
Coming into the game, the Bulldogs had lost 22 of the last 23 meetings between the two rivals dating back to 2014.
The Citadel’s last win in the series came was an 8-6 victory in 2022.
“This was a big time win for The Citadel,” said Bulldogs coach Russell Triplett. “These guys deserved to win tonight. They prepared the right way and they’ve been working to get better. I don’t think it was so much about College of Charleston as it was about doing things the right way and going out and competing.”
Things got heated in the fifth inning when Cougars catcher Dylan Johnson came to the plate with CofC trailing 3-2 with a runner on first.
Johnson smacked a 1-0 offering down the left field line. The ball appeared to be curving foul but struck a metal post just as it left the park.
Plate umpire Clint Lawson originally ruled it as a home run, which would have given the Cougars a 4-3 advantage. After consulting with the rest of the officiating crew, Lawson ruled it a foul ball.
CofC coach Chad Holbrook stormed onto the field to confront Lawson. The discussion got heated as Holbrook had to restrained by his assistant coaches.
The Cougars grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first off of a couple defensive miscues from the Bulldogs. Avery Neaves was hit by a pitch and scored on Ethan Plyler’s double to left. Landon Penfield reached on an error and scored on a Johnson’s fielder’s choice.
The Citadel cut the Cougars lead in half Dill walked with one out and scored on Thomas Rollauer’s single to left.
The Bulldogs took a 4-3 lead with two runs in the fourth. Rollauer walked to start the inning, stole second and scored on Tyler Christmas’ double to right.
One pitch later, Robbie Lane drilled the ball down the left field line to score Christmas and give the Bulldogs the one-run lead.
The Citadel added a run in the eighth when Travis Elliott singled with one out and scored on Garrett Fulmer’s single to right on a hit-and-run play.
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