SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford baseball team powered past The Citadel 10-0 in eight innings Sunday afternoon at Russell C. King Field to secure a conference-opening sweep. The Terriers are now 16-5 (3-0 SoCon) with the Bulldogs falling to 14-8 (0-3 SoCon).
 
The sweep is Wofford's first to open SoCon play since claiming all three against UNCG to open the 2022 SoCon slate. This is the first Terrier shutout since blanking UNC Asheville in seven innings last season on April 25.
 
"It feels great, but we've got to keep it going. It's just the first step," said David Wiley of the SoCon-opening sweep.
 
Wofford starter Braden Hofmeyer (4-1) picked up the win after tossing 5.0 shutout innings with five hits and a walk allowed alongside two strikeouts. Kenny Michaels pitched 2.0 innings out of the bullpen, allowing no runs or walks with only two hits surrendered. He recorded a pair of punchouts. Alec Bouchard tossed the final inning, a 1-2-3 frame.
 
"I think the key was just getting good innings out of the bullpen, starters going five or six – just a great combined effort from everybody," said Michaels of the pitching staff's success this weekend with Wofford outscoring The Citadel 35-6.
 
Ben Hutchins (3-2) suffered the loss as The Citadel's starter, pitching 4.2 innings with four runs (three earned) allowed on six hits and a walk.
 
The Terrier offense was again rolling, tallying double-digit runs for the 13^th time this season. With 14 hits, Wofford reached double-digit base knocks for the 15^th time on the campaign.
 
Those hits were spread evenly between seven players, five of which owned multiple. A pair – David Wiley and Tyler Bak – posted three. Wiley drove home three runs with his triple being the lone extra-base hit for Wofford. Bak tallied two RBI. Bak's three hits are a new career high. Dixon Black and Brice Martinez both recorded two hits and two RBI, and Black reached three times with a walk added in. Daniel Jackson also picked up two hits and drove home one run.
 
"I was just trying to stick to my approach," said Bak of his career day. "I'm not a big home run guy, so I just stick to my approach and hit stingers the other way. And everyone did their job today, so that's good, too."
 
The scoring opened in the bottom of the second with Tyler Bak's infield single plating Tyler Hare for the early 1-0 lead.
 
After the pitchers settled in for two scoreless innings, Wofford got back to work with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Dixon Black began the scoring with an RBI single to left, and Brice Martinez added a two-RBI single a batter later. Daniel Jackson's RBI single made the score 5-0.
 
Four more runs crossed the plate in the seventh, beginning with David Wiley clearing the bases with his bases-loaded triple. Wiley then scored when Bak singled back up the middle, capping the four-run frame for a 9-0 advantage.
 
In the eighth, Marshall Toole led off with a bunt hit, and he advanced all the way to third when the throw sailed over the first baseman into right field. Black then lifted a fly ball to center, scoring Toole with the sacrifice fly to cap the run-rule triumph 10-0 for the Terriers.
 
"With the week that we had, going down to Charleston and how that series finished up, and the midweek we had at Georgia, I think it was great to see our guys come out confident and get our blueprint on the field, our brand of baseball," said associate head coach Josh Schulman. "With our offense, our pitchers doing a phenomenal job and obviously the plus defense that was played throughout this weekend – you're always going to take three wins. You always want to get conference sweeps, but I think the bounce back is what we are most impressed with out of our players for the last three games."
 
After starting conference play on the right foot, Wofford will begin a six-game road stint with a non-conference midweek tilt at Winthrop on Tuesday, March 26. First pitch in Rock Hill is set for 6:00 p.m. The Terriers will then head up to Lexington, Virginia, to play VMI in a weekend SoCon series that begins on Thursday, March 28.