April 18, 2006

Charleston, S.C. -

The Citadel baseball (18-18, 4-8 SoCon) will face its fifth ranked opponent this season as the Bulldogs travel to Columbia, S.C. to play No. 13 South Carolina (29-8, 11-4 SEC) on Wednesday, April 19 at Sarge Frye Field at 7 p.m. Wednesday is the first of a home and home series as The Citadel will host the Gamecocks on Tuesday, May 9 at Riley Park.

BATTER UP: The Bulldogs take a break from Southern Conference play as they face their fifth nationally ranked opponent of the season. The Dogs are 1-3 against ranked teams as they upset No. 3 Nebraska, 8-5, on Feb. 18 at Riley Park, while falling twice to N.C. State, 6-4 and 3-2. No. 26 Winthrop was the last ranked opponent The Citadel faced as they dropped a 7-1 decision to the Eagles.

LAST TIME OUT: The Citadel dropped a three-game set to SoCon foe Elon over the weekend at Latham Park. The last time the Bulldogs were swept by a SoCon opponent was in 2005 when the Cadets opened the conference season against UNC Greensboro and lost three straight to the Spartans in Greensboro. The Dogs erased a four-run deficit on Friday and overcame a six run hole on Sunday to go into the ninth tied with the Phoenix. A walk-off RBI-single won both games for Elon as they took Friday's contest, 5-4, and won Sunday, 11-10. The Dogs have now had 15 games decided by one run and are 6-9 in those contests.

Ninth inning heroics by The Citadel fell short on Saturday as Elon defeated the Dogs, 7-4. The Bulldogs loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, but Phoenix closer Chad Tilley forced the final two outs to get Elon out of trouble and get away with the victory.

THE CITADEL VERSUS SOUTH CAROLINA: Wednesday will mark the 156th meeting between the Bulldogs and Gamecocks with South Carolina holding a 112-43 advantage. The Gamecocks took both contests in 2005 as they defeated the Dogs 4-2 at Riley Park and 9-4 at Sarge Frye Field. The last time the Cadets earned a win over the SEC member was in 2003 when The Citadel downed No. 19 South Carolina, 7-4, in Columbia. Head baseball coach Fred Jordan owns a 7-23 record when facing the Gamecocks.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Citadel junior left-hander Zach Brown (1-3, 5.60 ERA) will make the start on the mound for the Bulldogs on Wednesday. Brown has started five mid-week games for the Bulldogs, including two against ranked opponents. The Greenville, S.C., native got the call against No. 22 N.C. State on March 8, but suffered a 3-2 loss. He also took to the hill against No. 26 Winthrop on March 29 as the Dogs fell, 7-1. Brown is 0-2 against ranked schools and 1-1 versus unranked teams. The southpaw's last start was over Charleston Southern on April 4 as he tossed 1.1 innings, allowing six runs (three earned) on five hits, while striking out one as The Citadel took the 13-12 victory over the Buccaneers.

South Carolina will counter with freshman lefty Will Atwood (2-0, 3.92 ERA). Wednesday will mark his third start of the season with his last coming against No. 7 Clemson on April 5 as the Gamecocks fell 3-2. Atwood's two wins came over Yale on March 15 and Charleston Southern on March 21. In his last outing, Atwood tossed 2.0 frames in relief against No. 5 Clemson on April 12, allowing five runs on six hits and fanning one as the Tigers took an 11-5 victory.

ARNOLD, MEADE TIE CAREER-HIGH: Sophomore third baseman Matt Arnold and freshman designated hitter Sonny Meade each matched their career-best three hits over the weekend. Arnold paced The Citadel offense on Saturday as he was 3-for-4, while scoring once. Meade tied his career-high three hits the following day as he was 3-for-5, including two doubles, one RBI and scoring once. Arnold enjoyed a very productive series against Elon as he went 6-9, including a double, triple, home run and two runs batted in, while scoring four.

SWAUGER BACK IN THE SWING OF THINGS: Despite suffering a three-game slump against Furman, sophomore left fielder Chris Swauger got back to his hitting ways during the three-game set with Elon. Swauger tallied his first hit since April 4 in his last at bat against Coastal Carolina on April 12 as he blasted an RBI-triple. The Tampa, Fla., native registered a hit in each of the three games played over the weekend as he batted 6-11, including three RBI and scoring three runs. Swauger was also one of three Bulldogs that enjoyed a three-hit game on Sunday. Of his 52 hits this year, 24 have been for extra bases. The sophomore has hit safely in 30 out of The Citadel's 36 games and leads the Bulldogs in most every offensive category.

BULLDOGS 4-8 IN SOCON PLAY: The Bulldogs are off to a 4-8 start in SoCon play after four conference series. The Dogs dropped two of three to Georgia Southern before earning the series win over UNC Greensboro, taking two of three from the Spartans. The Citadel then faced Furman and Elon, who are both tied for second in the conference. The Bulldogs ended Furman's undefeated SoCon streak as they won the Saturday contest. Elon then earned a three-game sweep over the Dogs last weekend. The Cadets have yet to play the No. 8-10 schools in the conference and will host the fifth ranked team, Western Carolina, this weekend, April 21-23 at Riley Park.

The Dogs were also 4-8 in the SoCon this time last year, but The Citadel swept Furman and took two of three from Georgia Southern at the end of the season to secure the No. 6 seed in the SoCon Tournament.