Appalachian State University baseball was shutout in its Southern Conference season opener 4-0 to The Citadel on Friday afternoon at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park.

The Citadel (4-5, 1-0 SoCon) starter Austin Pritcher pitched a career-high eight innings to hold Appalachian (6-3, 1-0 SoCon) to five hits while fanning a career-high 13 batters. Drew Mahaffey came into to close out the game for the Bulldogs and allowed one hit. ASU did not have a runner on base until the top of the fourth inning, and it helped the Cadets cause by stranding six base-runners, including four in scoring position.

The ‘Dogs tallied the only runs it would need in the second inning when Hughston Armstron hit a two out, two RBI double to right field. The Citadel would add insurance runs in both the sixth and seventh. The squad notched 10 hits on the night with 8-of-9 players recording hits.

Mountaineer starter Nathan Hyatt (Brevard, N.C./Brevard) scattered eight hits, issued three walks and struck out eight in 6.1 innings of work. Hyatt was charged with all four runs to fall to 1-2 on the young season. Zach Joyce (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) came in relief to finish the game for the Black and Gold and struck out four in 1.2 innings.

Junior Jeremy Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) collected two of Appalachian’s six hits in a 2-for-4 effort, but the rest of ASU’s hitters combined to go just 4-for-29 with 15 strikeouts.

The Mountaineers close out their three-game series at The Citadel on Saturday with a doubleheader. The first game is slated to start at 1 p.m.