CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charlie McCready and Jesse Cadenhead combined to hold The Citadel to just five runs, but the Charleston Southern offense came up empty on Wednesday night, falling to the 25th-ranked Bulldogs, 5-0, at Riley Park. CSU has lost three games in a row.

The victory was the 642nd in the career of Citadel head coach Fred Jordan, making him the all-time winningest coach in school history.

McCready (0-5) absorbed the loss for the Buccaneers after allowing five runs (three earned) in 5.1 innings. He struck out a pair and allowed seven hits. Austin Pritcher (2-1) picked up the Bulldog win after pitching five scoreless innings. The freshman scattered just three hits and faced only 16 hitters, one above the minimum.

The Citadel (19-7, 9-0 Southern Conference) got on the board first in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Nick Orvin led off the inning with a single to right field; two batters later he scored on a single from Matt Simonelli to make the score 1-0. The next batter, Bryan Atlman, nearly broke the game open with a two-run homer, but Tom Burkett was able to reel in a catch on the left field warning track to limit the damage.

CSU (10-17, 1-4 Big South Conference) had little trouble getting runners on base against Pritcher, but they could not bring them around thanks to an outbreak of double plays. The Buccaneers grounded into four twin killings in the first five innings.

Brantley Meier came within a few feet of giving CSU the lead in the top of the 6th. After a two-out single by Tom Burkett turned the line-up over, Meier drilled a first pitch fastball to the left field wall, where William Ladd was able to make the catch and keep the road side at bay.

Things unraveled for McCready in the bottom of the 6th. After allowing a pair of singles to open the frame, the CSU hurler failed to field a sacrifice bunt off the bat of Kyle Jordan and threw the ball away, which allowed Altman to score from 2nd base. Two batters later, Grant Richards sent McCready to the showers with a two-run triple down the right field line, making the score 4-0.

The fifth and final Bulldog run came later in the frame, when Richards scored on a sacrifice fly from Ladd. But new Buccaneer pitcher Cadenhead was able to retire Orvin on strikes to end the inning.

Charleston Southern's best chance to score came in the 8th. Brandon McKinney was hit by a two-out pitch, and Burkett took a walk, but Meier popped out on the infield to squash the threat.

Orvin was the only player from either squad to notch multiple hits, as he posted a 2-for-5 day. Richards' triple was the first of his career, as were his two RBI.

Perhaps the finest Buccaneer effort of the evening came from Cadenhead, who pitched 2.2 innings without conceding a run. He struck out a pair and allowed just one hit.

Charleston Southern begins a three-game Big South series on Friday at Radford, with first pitch scheduled for 3:00 p.m. The Bulldogs face off with SoCon foe Wofford on Friday at 7:00 p.m.