Box Score
ROCK HILL, SC – The Eagles' bats went cold as the Winthrop baseball team fell for the second time this season to The Citadel, 3-1, on a chilly Wednesday night at The Winthrop Ballpark.
Winthrop fell behind 3-0 after four innings and was unable to battle back against the Bulldog bullpen that held the Eagles to only one hit over the final 4.1 innings. The Eagles threatened in the fifth with two outs, but they were only able to score an unearned run.
The loss drops Winthrop to 3-9 on the season, while The Citadel improves to 8-5 (2-0 vs. Winthrop).
The Bulldogs struck first in the third when designated hitter Jason Smith drove a 0-2 pitch to right field off Eagles' starter Sam Kmiec (0-2) scoring Bret Hines and Mason Davis to give The Citadel a 2-0 lead.
The visitors tacked on an unearned run in the fourth on a two-out double by Calvin Orth scoring Tyler Griffin from first base extending the lead to 3-0.
Despite the loss, Winthrop got a strong showing from its bullpen. In relief,
Mitchell Knox,
Steven Howell,
Josh Strong, and Jared Keels combined to shut out the Bulldogs over five innings of work while striking out six.
“Our bullpen did its job,” head coach
Tom Riginos mentioned after the game. “However, we have to get better from an offensive standpoint.”
The Eagles were able to get on the board against Bulldogs' freshman starter Austin Livingston (1-0) in the fifth when
Jace Whitley ripped a two-out single to center field followed by walk to
Leighton Daniels. The right fielder misplayed a fly ball off the bat of Cody Dolan, allowing Whitley to score the only run of the game for the Eagles.
The Citadel bullpen did the job and turned to closer Skylar Hunter to nail down the win with his third save of the season.
The Eagles look to rebound Friday as they welcome Pennsylvania to The Winthrop Ballpark for a three-game weekend series. The teams are set to play Friday at 6:00 p.m., Saturday at 3:00 p.m., and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The ticket window at The Winthrop Ballpark opens one hour before game time.
