Coastal Carolina defeated Winthrop 4-1 in the series opener at Charles Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field Friday night. The Chants are now 34-15, 15-4 while the Eagles fall to 14-33, 7-12.
Alex Buccilli went 4-for-4 and accounted for three of the Chanticleer’s four runs. He laced an RBI single into right field to give Coastal a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Rinse and repeat in the third inning. He then stole second and scored on a Tucker Frawley single to left field to put Coastal up 3-0.
Tyler Herb (8-2) picked up the win for the Chants. He gave up one run on two hits over 5.0 innings pitched. He walked two while striking out four. He did not allow a hit during the first four innings.
The Eagles got on the board in the fifth inning. Chad Smith led it off with a single to third. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a Drew Hardee RBI single to center field. Hardee moved to second and then third on two wild pitches but Herb induced a ground out to first to end the inning and the Winthrop threat.
Freshman LHP Ben Smith came on in relief to start the sixth inning and was lights out. He went the remaining four innings – striking out six while allowing no hits, no runs and no walks.
Senior Rich Witten went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in the seventh inning to finish out the scoring.
Matt Pierpont took the loss for the Eagles giving up four runs on 11 hits while walking four. He had five strikeouts over 6 and two-thirds innings pitched.
Around the Big South Conference
The race for the regular season champion is still not over and the top eight seeds for the BSC Tournament are still unresolved, but here is a brief look at Friday’s action.
Radford at Campbell
In the show down for second place in Buies Creek, Campbell outlasted Radford 6-3 to move into a tie for second place with the Highlanders.
The Fighting Camels put the game out of reach in the fifth inning, scoring five runs on a wild pitch, four consecutive RBI singles and an RBI groundout.
Matt Sergey picked up the win going seven innings while giving up three runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out five.
Michael Felton went 4-for-5 with one RBI and a run scored to lead the offense.
High Point at Liberty
The Flames collected their tenth shutout of the season by knocking off the Panthers 5-0 at Worthington Stadium Friday night. Liberty is now 35-15, 11-8 and High Point drops to 23-26, 8-11.
Liberty is now in a three-way tie for second place with Radford and Campbell.
John Niggli (8-2) picked up the win going seven innings. He allowed six hits while striking out three and walking one.
Ryan Retz took the loss – his first Big South Conference loss on the year – giving up four runs on eight hits over 5 and two-thirds innings pitched.
Charleston Southern at VMI
VMI defeated Charleston Southern 6-5 Friday night at Gray-Minor Stadium. The Keydets move to 15-32, 7-15 while the Buccaneers drop to 18-30, 9-10.
The loss puts CSU in a tie for sixth place with Gardner-Webb.
Gardner-Webb at Presbyterian
The Blue Hose rallied in the ninth inning to defeat the Runnin’ Bulldogs 4-3 in Clinton, South Carolina Friday night.
Presbyterian moves up to 21-28, 8-12 and Gardner-Webb drops to 27-23, 9-10.
UNC Asheville at College of Charleston
The Bulldogs defeated the Cougars 4-2 in a non-conference game Friday night at Patriots Point and improve to 23-24 overall. They are 11-10 in the BSC.
Those 11 wins put Asheville in a four-way tie for second place but the Bulldogs have only three conference games remaining – at home next weekend against Gardner-Webb.
That’s it in a nutshell. Like a friend of mine likes to say: Clear as mud.
