Former Sumter High standout Coulter helps Citadel collect SoCon title

Carried by a 7.0-inning performance from starter Will Holmes and solidified courtesy of closer Michael Gibson over the final 1.1 frames, fifth-seeded The Citadel (35-24) edged No. 3 overall Samford (31-25) in the Southern Conference Championship final, topping the opposing Bulldogs via a 3-1 decision Saturday evening at Fluor Field. With the victory, the Bulldogs cemented the program's 22nd SoCon title and first since the 2010 campaign, securing the league's automatic bid into the upcoming NCAA DI Baseball Championship.

"I don't think we got here by luck because we've been playing good baseball," head coach Russell Triplett said. "We played our best this week, and we've been getting better and better over the last 20 games. To see it all come together was so satisfying. I thought we pitched, we played good defense and probably having a little out-of-body experience offensively. We got contributions throughout our lineup, and I think you need that to win a tournament. We had guys step up when we really needed them to. I'm so happy for them."

After the game, the Southern Conference named Gibson the winner of the Walt Nadzak Award, annually given to the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Further, five additional Bulldogs garnered placement on the All-Tournament team, including the battery of Holmes and Phillips Daniels, first baseman Zach Hunt, shortstop Lane Tobin and outfielder Christian Stratis.

"Michael [Gibson] is a high-character individual, and that's part of his success on the field," Triplett continued. "He's elevated the people around him with his character and his play on the field."

Offensively, Jayden Williams paced the squad at the plate with three hits while both Hunt and Stratis wrapped up the day boasting a pair of knocks for an RBI apiece. TJ Anderson managed three appearances on the base paths, collecting one hit with two walks and crossing home on one occasion, while Gibson tallied a hit and a run scored as well.

On the mound, Holmes battled through 7.0 innings en route to his seventh victory on the year, setting down 10 batters on strikes while surrendering just two hits, one walk and one run. Andrew Buffkin handled a pair of outs during the eighth while giving up two hits before Gibson shut the door across 1.1 frames of action, allowing zero hits with two strikeouts as the senior logged his conference-best 10th save of the campaign.

"Will [Holmes] was special tonight," Triplett added. "He wanted the ball. It's hard for me to tell him no. I feel confident when he's out there. He pitched really well and got some big outs in big moments."

For Samford, four Bulldogs posted one hit apiece on the night with Pierce Dutton notching the lone RBI. Noah Berry suffered the loss after pitching the initial 1.2 innings, giving up five hits and two walks for a pair of runs with one strikeout.

The full bracket for the NCAA DI Baseball Championship released on Monday, May 25, at noon courtesy of the annual selection show via ESPN2.

"As long as they let us in, and I think they have to now, we'll go wherever they send us," Triplett concluded.

The win came after former Sumter High and Florence-Darlington standout Bryce Coulter pitched a gem against top-seeded Mercer in the semifinals with a 14-4 run-rule victory late Friday morning at Fluor Field.

Stratis delivered at the plate, finishing with season-highs in both hits (4) - including a home run - and RBIs (4) while scoring twice. Gibson contributed by driving in four runs and crossing home twice on his two hits, marking his fourth straight game with two or more hits and at least two runs scored. Hunt added two hits as well, good for his second consecutive contest with at least two hits, for a pair of RBIs for the fourth straight game.

Across four games in the SoCon Baseball Championship thus far, The Citadel has scored 57 runs on 66 hits, including 14 doubles and five home runs, and has driven in 53 RBIs. As a unit, the Bulldogs have recorded double-digit hits in all four wins as well, outscoring opponents by a combined 27 runs. Individually, Gibson needs just two more scored runs to match current assistant coach David Beckley for the most runs in the league tournament (13), a mark set in 1996.Coulter registered a complete game, pitching all 7.0 innings for the Bulldogs against Mercer. He allowed 10 hits and four earned runs and struck out a career-high five batters. The outing marked Coulter's second win of the season, improving his record to 2-2.

For Mercer, Chris Katz and Michael Graziano each hit a home run. Brant Baughcum went 3-for-3 at the plate. Jeb Johnson took the loss after throwing 2.2 innings, allowing six hits and seven earned runs while striking out two.

"When people describe themselves as Bulldogs, it takes that kind of performance to win a championship, especially in a tournament," Triplett said. "We dug ourselves a hole earlier in the year by having to play in a play-in game, so our pitching was a little lighter, and we needed a guy to step up. Bryce [Coulter] was tremendous. He had to make some big pitches because there were a couple of innings when it could have gotten away from him, but he made the pitches to get outs.

"Defensively, I thought we stepped up and made big plays. I wanted to get Bryce out of the game earlier, but he wanted the ball. We were kind of going back and forth about taking him out, but having him throw a complete game really helped us as a team, and that's going to help us toward our main goal, which is to win the tournament."