Sunday, February 26
Charleston, S.C.
11 a.m.
Lehigh University
3-3
9
at
6
The Citadel
4-3
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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Lehigh
2
1
0
0
1
1
0
3
1
9
10
2
The Citadel
0
0
0
0
2
0
2
0
2
6
8
2
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Lehigh Captures Series Win Over Citadel With 9-6 Victory
2/26/2023 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Lehigh baseball team (3-3) evened their regular season record after closing out game three for a 9-6 victory over The Citadel at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park on Sunday afternoon.
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Lehigh took the lead in the first inning after sophomore Rafe Perich doubled to left-center field to score classmate Jake Whitlinger. Perich scored from third base after fifth-year Gerard Sweeney doubled to right-center to put the Mountain Hawks up 2-0. The Brown and White added another run in the top half of the second frame on a dropped fly ball to go ahead 3-0 after two innings.
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After two scoreless innings, Lehigh extended its advantage to 4-0 in the fifth when fifth-year Joe Gorla crushed his third home run of the season with a solo homer to center field. The Citadel cut the lead in half, 4-2, when the Bulldogs plated two runners in the bottom of the fourth but the Mountain Hawks tacked on another run in the sixth with first-year Ryan Cochran leading off the frame with a triple in the gap in right-center field and scored on an error to give Lehigh a 5-2 lead.
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The Citadel kept the game close by bringing home two runs in its half of the seventh inning, coming within one run, 5-4. Lehigh added three runs in the top of the eighth inning to extend its advantage back to four runs, 8-4 and added an insurance run in the top of the ninth to lead the Bulldogs 9-4, heading into the final at-bats for The Citadel.
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Getting two runs across the plate in the bottom of the ninth put the Bulldogs within striking distance, trailing 9-6 with two outs and the bases loaded. A long, fly ball down the right field line traveled just foul for The Citadel, which would have ended the game, but the Mountain Hawks struck out the final batter and sealed the series win with a 9-6 victory over the Bulldogs.
Six Mountain Hawks combined for 10 hits, with four student-athletes producing two hits in the game. Gorla went 2-for-4 on the day with a home run and a double for three RBIs while earning a walk and scoring two runs. Perich, Sweeney and sophomore Andrew Kohl also recorded two hits, one double and an RBI each, with Perich and Sweeney also scoring one run.
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Junior Tyler Young and Cochran each had one base hit, with Young earning a walk, one double and a run scored while Cochran raced around the bases for his first-career triple and scored a run for Lehigh as Whitlinger recorded a pair of RBIs while drawing three walks and scored three times.
The junior right-hander, Teddy Tolliver (1-0), got the nod to start game three and delivered 2.1 innings of work with no runs allowed on three hits, three strikeouts and three walks. Senior Will Grisack relieved Tolliver and threw 2.2 innings with two earned runs on three hits, a walk and a strikeout. The next Mountain Hawk out of the bullpen was first-year Shane O'Neill, who tossed 1.2 innings, allowing two unearned runs on two hits and two strikeouts.
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Fifth-year Casey Rother threw two-plus innings and did not allow a hit, but walked three batters while two unearned runs crossed the plate. He was relieved by sophomore Marcus Danchision, who walked a bulldog and threw one pitch which would be the game's final batter. Perich stepped on the mound with an 0-1 count on the Bulldogs' hitter, where he got a swinging strikeout to earn the save, his first of the season and second of his career.
Lehigh will travel to Princess Anne, Md. for four games next weekend, March 3-5, with a pair of games against Manhattan College and two games against the host, Maryland Eastern Shore. The first game is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 5 at the Parker Athletic Complex.
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Lehigh took the lead in the first inning after sophomore Rafe Perich doubled to left-center field to score classmate Jake Whitlinger. Perich scored from third base after fifth-year Gerard Sweeney doubled to right-center to put the Mountain Hawks up 2-0. The Brown and White added another run in the top half of the second frame on a dropped fly ball to go ahead 3-0 after two innings.
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After two scoreless innings, Lehigh extended its advantage to 4-0 in the fifth when fifth-year Joe Gorla crushed his third home run of the season with a solo homer to center field. The Citadel cut the lead in half, 4-2, when the Bulldogs plated two runners in the bottom of the fourth but the Mountain Hawks tacked on another run in the sixth with first-year Ryan Cochran leading off the frame with a triple in the gap in right-center field and scored on an error to give Lehigh a 5-2 lead.
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The Citadel kept the game close by bringing home two runs in its half of the seventh inning, coming within one run, 5-4. Lehigh added three runs in the top of the eighth inning to extend its advantage back to four runs, 8-4 and added an insurance run in the top of the ninth to lead the Bulldogs 9-4, heading into the final at-bats for The Citadel.
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Getting two runs across the plate in the bottom of the ninth put the Bulldogs within striking distance, trailing 9-6 with two outs and the bases loaded. A long, fly ball down the right field line traveled just foul for The Citadel, which would have ended the game, but the Mountain Hawks struck out the final batter and sealed the series win with a 9-6 victory over the Bulldogs.
Six Mountain Hawks combined for 10 hits, with four student-athletes producing two hits in the game. Gorla went 2-for-4 on the day with a home run and a double for three RBIs while earning a walk and scoring two runs. Perich, Sweeney and sophomore Andrew Kohl also recorded two hits, one double and an RBI each, with Perich and Sweeney also scoring one run.
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Junior Tyler Young and Cochran each had one base hit, with Young earning a walk, one double and a run scored while Cochran raced around the bases for his first-career triple and scored a run for Lehigh as Whitlinger recorded a pair of RBIs while drawing three walks and scored three times.
The junior right-hander, Teddy Tolliver (1-0), got the nod to start game three and delivered 2.1 innings of work with no runs allowed on three hits, three strikeouts and three walks. Senior Will Grisack relieved Tolliver and threw 2.2 innings with two earned runs on three hits, a walk and a strikeout. The next Mountain Hawk out of the bullpen was first-year Shane O'Neill, who tossed 1.2 innings, allowing two unearned runs on two hits and two strikeouts.
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Fifth-year Casey Rother threw two-plus innings and did not allow a hit, but walked three batters while two unearned runs crossed the plate. He was relieved by sophomore Marcus Danchision, who walked a bulldog and threw one pitch which would be the game's final batter. Perich stepped on the mound with an 0-1 count on the Bulldogs' hitter, where he got a swinging strikeout to earn the save, his first of the season and second of his career.
Lehigh will travel to Princess Anne, Md. for four games next weekend, March 3-5, with a pair of games against Manhattan College and two games against the host, Maryland Eastern Shore. The first game is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 5 at the Parker Athletic Complex.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Tolliver, Teddy (1-0)
L: Fisher Paulsen (0-1)
S: Perich, Rafe (1)
Batting:
2B: Perich, Rafe 1 ; Sweeney, Gerard 1 ; Gorla, Joe 1 ; Kohl, Andrew 1 ; Young, Tyler 1
3B: Cochran, Ryan 1
HR: Gorla, Joe 1
RBI: Whitlinger, Jake 2 ; Perich, Rafe 1 ; Sweeney, Gerard 1 ; Gorla, Joe 3 ; Kohl, Andrew 1
SF: Whitlinger, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Whitlinger, Jake 3 ; Perich, Rafe 1 ; Sweeney, Gerard 1 ; Gorla, Joe 2 ; Young, Tyler 1 ; Cochran, Ryan 1
SB: Perich, Rafe 1
Batting:
2B: Travis Lott 1 ; Luke Montenery 1 ; Noah Mitchell 1
HR: Noah Mitchell 1
RBI: Luke Montenery 1 ; Noah Mitchell 3 ; Wells Sykes 1 ; Anthony Badala 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sawyer Reeves 1 ; Travis Lott 2 ; Luke Montenery 1 ; Noah Mitchell 2
SB: Garrett Dill 1
HBP: Travis Lott 1
Game Leaders
3b/p
AB
6
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
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