CHARLESTON, S.C. – With a three-run lead and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, the end was in sight for the La Salle University baseball team, but The Citadel scored three runs to tie the game and force extra innings. In the 15th inning, The Citadel scored on a pair of errors to take a 7-6 win.
 
Junior Connor Hinchliffe had a huge day for the Explorers. At the plate, he went 4-for-7 with two runs and an RBI double. Hinchliffe also made his collegiate debut on the hill, needing just eight pitches to get La Salle through the eighth inning with no issues.
 
Senior Austin Constantini went 2-for-3 with three RBI and four walks. Sophomore Matt Holt got the start on the bump and went five innings, allowing just two earned runs on three hits with three strikeouts.
 
Leading, 6-3, heading to the bottom of the ninth, Constantini took the mound attempting to earn his second save of the season. He struck out the first batter looking, but the Bulldogs rallied from there.
 
With runners on first and second, William Kinney made it a two-run game with an RBI single to right field. Then Johnathan Sabo hit an RBI single to left to make it 6-5. The Citadel then tied it up, 6-6, on an RBI groundout by Ben Peden.
 
The Explorers had opportunities in extra innings but left four runners on base. The Citadel had the bases loaded with no outs in the 14th inning, but junior C.J. Pruitt worked his way out of the jam unscathed, as La Salle was still alive heading to the 15th.
 
In the 15th inning, Hinchliffe hit a one-out single but was left stranded. Andrew Judkins reached on a single to left to give the Bulldogs an opportunity in the bottom half of the frame. With two outs, Judkins advanced to third on a throwing error and then came all the way around to score the winning run on a second error by the Explorers.
 
The Citadel took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but La Salle answered with a big second inning, scoring four runs highlighted by an RBI double by Hinchliffe and a two-run double by Constantini. The Bulldogs added another run in the bottom half of the inning, and the Explorers led, 4-2, after two.
 
La Salle made it 5-2 in the fourth when Hinchliffe scored on an RBI fielder's choice hit by junior Peyton Sorrels. The Citadel pulled back within two, 5-3, in the sixth, but sophomore left-hander Jackson Ray entered and retired the final batter, as the Bulldogs left runners on second and third.
 
The Explorers took a 6-3 lead in the top of the eighth as Constantini drove in senior Brian Dudeck on a single through the right side.
 
Pruitt (1-1) took the tough-luck loss after giving up just one earned run and four hits over 3.2 innings while striking out three. Alex Bialakis earned his first win of the season after tossing three shutout innings for the Bulldogs.
 
Junior Kevin McGowan went 2-for-6 with a run, while sophomore Ryan Guckin was 2-for-4 with a run. Dudeck made it five Explorers with multi-hit games, as he went 2-for-6 with two runs.
 
La Salle (2-3) and The Citadel (2-2) will hit the field for game two on Saturday, with first pitch set for 2 p.m.