University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
The Citadel
Baseball Defeats The Citadel, 4-3
02/17/2002 | Baseball
Feb. 17, 2002
CHARLESTON, S.C. - University of Richmond junior Andy Givens pitched six scoreless innings of three-hit baseball to lead the Spiders in a 4-3 win against The Citadel in the final game of the 2002 Charleston Crab House Shootout in Charleston, S.C. where Richmond won all three of its contests.
Givens struck out nine and finished five of his six innings by fanning a Bulldog. It was a stellar return for the junior who threw just 2.0 innings last season before suffering an arm injury. Richmond (3-0) was led on offense by sophomore Matt Craig who went 2-4 with two RBI.
The Spiders held The Citadel (1-3) scoreless until the ninth inning when freshman John Cronin relieved classmate Derek Duclos who had worked 2.2 innings in relief. The Bulldogs scored three off Duclos before Cronin entered and forced catcher Jason Randall into a game-ending fly out that gave Cronin his second save in three games.
The Spiders used a two-out rally in the first to take a 1-0 lead. Junior Vito Chiaravalloti began the rally with his first extra-base hit of the season, a double down the left field line. Craig followed with a laser that ricocheted off the first baseman's glove into right field and scored Chiaravalloti from second base.
The three-four hitters combined for another two-out run in the third. After two outs, Chiaravalloti walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. Craig laced a line drive into center field that plated Chiravalloti and gave the Spiders a 2-0 lead.
Richmond's two-out lightning continued in the fourth when the Spiders scored two on a double to the right center gap by sophomore Bryan Pritz. Richmond was aided by an error on Bulldog second baseman Jon Aughey that continued the inning after two outs and a Brian Ruscello single.
In the fourth, the Bulldogs had runners on second and third with one out after a sacrifice moved Mainor, who had reached on a single, and Aughey, who had been hit by a pitch, into scoring position. Givens got a ground ball from Josh Stackley that sophomore third baseman David Reaver snagged and tagged out Mainor at the bag. The Citadel lead-off hitter Matt Dean was then caught looking to end the inning.
Sophomore lead-off hitter Bryan Pritz and freshman second baseman Brian Ruscello, making his first collegiate start, also collected two hits for the Spiders. Pritz knocked in two runs with his fourth-inning double.
The Citadel shortstop David Griffin went 2-5 with three RBI to lead the Bulldogs. Senior reliever Randy Corn struck out all six of the batters he faced in the final two innings.
The Spiders return to action in their home opener against VMI at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, February 19.
