CHARLESTON, S.C. – Senior
Chase Arnold set the tone with a grand slam in the opening inning, but for the second day in a row, the La Salle University baseball team couldn't hold on to an early lead, dropping an 8-7 decision at The Citadel on Saturday.
The Explorers did their damage early with two outs in the first inning, as juniors
Ben Faso and
Kevin McGowan hit back-to-back singles followed by a walk by sophomore
Ryan Guckin. With the bases juiced, Arnold crushed his second homer of the year down the left field line to open up a 4-0 lead.
The Citadel quickly answered in the bottom of the first, however, bringing in a pair of runs with two outs.
Already leading, 4-2, La Salle added to its advantage in the second inning, as junior
Connor Hinchliffe drove home freshmen
Jack Cucinotta and
Tommy Toal on a single through the left side.
With La Salle holding a firm four-run lead, The Citadel wasted no time in cutting the deficit in the second. The Bulldogs scored on a wild pitch, and then Johnathan Sabo hit a two-run single to cut the Explorers' lead to just one, 6-5.
In the third inning, the Explorers threatened again with no outs and the bases loaded. La Salle pushed the lead to 7-5, as Toal brought in Arnold on a sacrifice fly hit to left.
The Explorers held on to the two-run advantage until the sixth inning, when the Bulldogs scored two runs to tie the game. Again with two outs, a pair of RBI singles evened the score at 7-7. Sophomore
Niko Jenkins then entered in relief and got the Explorers out of the inning without further damage.
In the eighth, Hinchliffe struck a double down the right field line to set the Explorers up with a scoring opportunity with one out. But La Salle hit into a double play to end the chance. Taylor Cothran then smacked an RBI single to right center to give The Citadel its first lead of the day in the bottom of the inning.
Eight different Explorers posted a hit in the game. Arnold finished 2-for-5 with four RBI and two runs to lead the way. Toal went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI, while Hinchliffe and senior
Brian Dudeck each had two hits apiece.
Jenkins (0-1) took the loss, while Kyle Smith (1-0) claimed the win and Sabo earned the save.
La Salle (2-4) will conclude its three-game series at The Citadel (3-2) on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.