Furman held a 3-2 lead over rival The Citadel through five innings Saturday at Latham Stadium. By the end of the game, those first five innings felt like they were played days earlier. The Paladins batted around in the sixth and eighth innings to roll to a 19-2 win.
After being denied what would've been its longest winning streak since 1926 with a loss Wednesday, Furman's output Saturday provided a nod back to that season. It was the most lopsided victory against Citadel since a 30-7 win that gave the Paladins a 12-0 start to the 1926 season.
More important to the present day, it's the eighth consecutive Southern Conference win for Furman (21-21, 9-8) and 10th win in its last 11 games.
After an adventurous first inning featuring errors by both teams, Furman held a 2-1 lead. All three runs were unearned. Both starters settled in as each allowed one run apiece over the next four innings.
In the bottom of sixth, Furman began turning a tight game into a rout. Landon Kay kicked off things by hitting the first pitch over the fence in center for a home run. After a Sims Griffith single and Cameron Whitehead double, Bret Huebner hit a two-run single chasing Citadel starter Will Abbott. Three more runs scored in the inning as the Paladins sent 12 batters to the plate to take a 9-2 lead.
Furman added two runs in the seventh before capping things off with an eight-run eighth in which 13 Paladins batted. The inning included a two-run homer by Kay, a three-run triple by Jake Crawford and RBI-singles for pinch-hitters Trent Alley and Logan Taplett.
Kay finished with a career-high four hits, including his fifth and sixth homers, and four RBIs. Whitehead also had four hits, including his fifth homer, and finished a triple away from hitting for the cycle.
Not to be overshadowed in the offensive onslaught was another strong pitching outing by Furman ace Will Gaddis. Gaddis (5-3) allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits over seven innings. He had one walk and six strikeouts.
Bryce Leasure went 2-for-4 with a double to lead the Bulldogs (12-28, 3-11).
Furman goes for its third consecutive SoCon sweep beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday.
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