March 8, 2012

CCU Baseball Sweeps DH

Coastal Carolina took two yesterday, defeating Toledo 10-4 and UNC Wilmington 8-6 at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field.

Yesterday I wrote that it should be a great opportunity for the Chanticleer bats to get hot and they did.

Coastal Carolina 10, Toledo 4

In the third inning, Rockets cleanup batter Mark Lapikas did exactly that – cleaned up. He hit a grand slam to give Toledo a 4-2 lead.

Coastal countered by batting around, +1. Five of the ten Chants hit successfully and produced 6 runs, highlighted by Tripp Martin’s three-run double.

Lucky 13 – The Chanticleers had a season high thirteen hits and equaled their season total for doubles – four.  Ten runs is also a season best.

Freshmen pitching – LHP Javier Reynosa picked up the win on a predetermined split. He went three innings, giving up the grand slam (unearned) on two hits and one walk.  RHP Patrick Corbett came on in relief for three innings, striking out three while giving up no runs, hits or walks. RHP Chris Harrison closed out the final three for the save, giving up one hit and one walk.

Toledo  004  000  000   4  3  2

CCU       206  000  20x  10 13 2

Coastal 8, UNC Wilmington 6

The Chanticleers scored eight runs over two innings and held on to top the Diamond Hawks 8-6 in game two at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field.

Big Innings – Nine Chants batted in the first and the fourth to score four runs in each.

Ted Blackman led off the first with a single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt. Rich Witten walked followed by Dan Bowman’s RBI single.  Tucker Frawley, RBI double, Alex Buccilli and Sloan Gilliam, each with RBI singles, closed out the scoring.

The Chanticleers scored four more in the fourth inning, highlighted by Rich Witten’s three-run double down the left field line.

Junior RHP Aaron Burke (3-0) came on in relief and picked up the win. He went three and two-thirds innings striking out four while not allowing any runs, hits or walks. That’s impressive.

The wheel wobbles but it doesn’t fall off – The Seahawks battled back in the ninth. They made it 8-6 on a two-run home run. A hit-by-pitch and a bunt single would bring the go ahead run to the plate, but Chanticleer closer Ryan Connolly would get two ground outs to end the game.

UNC-W 102  000  012  6  12  0

CCU       400  400  00x   8  8    1

Tuning up and building confidence. Coastal Carolina has the talent to be a successful ball club this year.  Here are a few numbers that show that the bats are turning around: Bowman (.303) four for eight for the day; Martin (.429) four for six; and Justin Creel (.450) three of six for the day.

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Coastal Carolina Baseball

March 7, 2012

CCU Baseball – Today’s Schedule Changes

The Chanticleers have added a game this afternoon against Toledo. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. The game originally scheduled against UNC-Wilmington has been moved to 5:00 p.m. Both games will be played at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field.

Coastal added the game against Toledo to make up for two games that were cancelled last week because of rain. Expect the Chanticleers to add another game soon.

The Rockets (3-7) were able to play today because they are spending their spring break in SC. They were swept at Furman in a three game series last weekend and lost a close one at College of Charleston last night 0-2. They are already scheduled to play in the upcoming Chanticleer Classic this weekend.

The Chants face off against UNC Wilmington in game two of today’s DH. The Seahawks were picked to finish second in the Colonial Athletic Association pre-season conference poll and come to Conway with an overall record of 3-8.

Coastal won both contests last year against the Diamond Hawks, 11-4 in Wilmington and 12-3 in Conway.

UNC-W is coming off back-to-back losses at home last Sunday to UNC Asheville (2-7) and NC State (3-8).

Today should be a great opportunity for the Chanticleer bats to get hot.

1 Comment

Filed under Coastal Carolina Baseball

Tagged as ,

March 5, 2012

Coastal Carolina Baseball – Looking Back at Week Three

Day two of the Coastal Carolina Invitational was cancelled due to rain. The Chanticleers lost to Pittsburgh (1-3) on Friday and defeated Illinois (5-4) on Sunday.

Coastal Carolina is now 4-4 on the season.

Pittsburgh 3, Coastal Carolina 1

Pittsburgh defeated the Chanticleers 3-1 Friday at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field to open up the Coastal Carolina Invitational in Conway, SC. As advertised, the game featured two quality pitchers who turned in first-rate performances.

RHP Tyler Herb (2-1) went five innings for the Chants, striking out five while giving up three runs (2 unearned) on three hits and three walks. Herb was in control throughout most of the game and other than a solo HR in the sixth inning, the Panthers never really hit him hard.

LHP Matt Iannazzo (2-0) went five and two-thirds innings giving up one run on five hits. He struck out five and walked three. Throughout the game he was able to hit his spots and very effective in getting his breaking ball over consistently.

The difference in the game was timely hitting and errors. Pitt was able to capitalize on some timely hits and two Coastal errors. Although Coastal outhit the visitors, they just couldn’t string them together for any runs.

The Chants led off the seventh inning with back-to-back singles but failed to produce a run.

In the eighth, Dan Bowman singled with runners on first and second for a two out RBI.

Pitt      100 011 000    3 4 0

CCU    000 000 010    1 8 2

Coastal Carolina 5, Illinois 4

The Chanticleers scored three unearned runs in the first inning and held on to beat Illinois 5-4 yesterday at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field.

Reversal of Roles – Coastal was able to take advantage of the other team’s errors in the first inning to go ahead 3-0.

Highlight of the Game – One manufactured run. Alex Buccilli led of the fourth with a walk and stole second. He went to third on a Justin Creel sacrifice bunt and scored on a Keith Picconi sacrifice to left field.

Freshman LHP Ben Smith went four innings for the Chants, striking out five while giving up two hits and one run. Winning pitcher Aaron Burke (2-0) went 1 and one-third innings while yielding two hits and a run.

Illinois             010  021  000   4 8 3

CCU                300  101  00x   5 5 2

The Chanticleers return to action Wednesday against UNC-Wilmington at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.

 

 

 

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Coastal Carolina Baseball

March 3, 2012

Coastal Baseball Cancelled – Rain

The Coastal Carolina Invitational games for Saturday are cancelled due to rain. Sunday’s scheduled will be announced later tonight. However, based on the weather forecast, I doubt we get any more games in this weekend.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Coastal Carolina Baseball

March 2, 2012

Coastal Carolina Invitational Preview – Part One

I’m calling this preview part one not because it’s too voluminous for a single post, but because this has been a tremendously busy week at the office. Therefore, here’s a brief preview of Friday’s game against Pittsburgh. I hope to put up another preview – St. John’s and Illinois – sometime before Saturday’s first pitch.

The Chanticleers host Pittsburgh, St. John’s and Illinois in the Coastal Carolina Invitational at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field on March 2-5.

Here is the schedule:

Friday March 2, 2012

St. John’s v. Illinois – 12:00 p.m. at BB&T Coastal Field

Coastal v. Pittsburgh – 4:00 p.m. at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field

Saturday March 3, 2012

Illinois v. Pittsburgh – 1:00 p.m. at BB&T Coastal Field

Coastal Carolina v. St. John’s – 1:30 p.m.  at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field

Coastal Carolina v. Illinois – 6:00 p.m. at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field

Sunday March 4, 2012

Pittsburgh v. St. John’s – 12:00 p.m. at BB&T Coastal Field

Coastal Carolina v. Illinois – 12:00 p.m. at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field

The Chanticleers enter the weekend with a 3-3 record. Here is a brief look at:

Pittsburgh (3-4)

The Panthers are in the Palmetto State for the second weekend in a row. They make the trip to Conway from Wofford where they went 2-1 against the Terriers.

Although the Panthers were 33-23 last year and finished the season in third place in the Big East conference, they were selected to finish eighth in this year’s preseason conference coaches’ poll. Coach Joe Jordano who is in his 15th season at Pitt, may have something to say about that.

Jordano has an excellent pitcher returning as well as other key starters. Despite this year’s single game losses to Iowa, Northwestern and Indiana, the team seems to be playing well and could make some noise in Conway this weekend.  It also can’t hurt to be coming off of a series win on the road.

For the third consecutive weekend, the Chants will face outstanding pitching. They can expect to see senior ace Matt Iannazzo get the start today. Last year he was 8-3 with a 2.73 ERA and 62 strikeouts. He is also on the Preseason All-Big East First Team and named by College Baseball Insider as one of the top starters in the Conference.

Key to the Game: The Coastal bats.  The Chanticleers have got to get the sticks going if they are to be competitive – especially at the top level.

So far this season the Chants have produced 18 runs and enter today’s game with a team batting average hovering at the Mendoza line (.201).

I thought the Chants showed great progress last weekend. Justin Creel (.444), Tucker Frawley (.333) and Sloan Gilliam (.250) lead the team. Hitting is contagious and it’s just a matter of time before the others catch their stride.

Tyler Herb (2-0, .64 ERA) is expected to start for the Chanticleers. He has been absolutely brilliant this year. He will get a chance to face some solid hitting today. The Panthers have a team batting average of .321 and have scored 69 runs on 86 hits.

Panthers at the plate: Rick Devereaux (.455) has three home runs, 17 RBI and a .848 slugging percentage.  Anthony Defabio (.565) has six RBI, and a .697 on-base percentage. Casey Roche (.462) has 11 RBI. Stephen Vranka (.407) has four RBI and a .500 on-base percentage.

The Pitt freshmen are also contributing. Boo Vazques is batting at .292 while Elvin Soto is at .300 with nine RBI and two HRs.

I have always heard that good pitching beats good hitting. This could be the game to put that old adage to the test.

1 Comment

Filed under Coastal Carolina Baseball

Tagged as ,

February 27, 2012

CCU’s Ryan Connolly Named Big South Pitcher of the Week

Big South Conference officials named junior RHP Ryan Connolly (Bishop England High School – Charleston, SC) the Pitcher of the Week today.

The Chanticleer reliever made three appearances this weekend and picked up two saves while posting a .0 ERA.

In the Coastal win over Iowa Connolly pitched the final 1.1 innings while giving up no hits, runs or walks. He did give up a hit in the N.C. State win, but ended the game with a ground out and two fly outs.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Coastal Carolina Baseball

Tagged as

February 26, 2012

Coastal Carolina Baseball – Looking Back at Week Two

The Chanticleers went 2-1 in the Baseball at the Beach Tournament. They defeated Iowa 1-0 in game one. Virginia Tech outlasted the Chants on Saturday 3-1 and they held on against N.C. State on Sunday to win 3-2. Coastal Carolina is now 3-3 for the year.

This is the link to click on for a story about the win over Iowa and here are a few notes about the Virginia Tech and N.C. State games.

Game 2: Virginia Tech 3, Coastal Carolina 1

Virginia Tech defeated Coastal Carolina 3-1 Saturday at BB&T Coastal Field in Myrtle Beach. As promised, both starting pitchers delivered outstanding performances.

Chanticleer RHP Josh Conway went seven innings striking out 10 while giving up two runs on six hits. He did not have a walk.

Hokie LHP Joe Mantiply went five and two-thirds innings giving up one run on five hits. He struck out five and walked three.

The difference in the game was that Virginia Tech was able to capitalize on some timely hits and Coastal wasn’t.

Conway and Mantiply, who both entered the game without an earned run, kept the bats fairly quiet for the first four innings but back-to-back doubles in the top of the fifth put the Hokies on top 1-0. Virginia Tech added another in the sixth with a triple and sacrifice.

The Chanticleers loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth but could only plate one run.

The Hokies added a run in the ninth on a Coastal error.

Virginia Tech         000 011 001 -   3  7  0

Coastal Carolina   000 001 000 -  1  7  1

 Game Three: Coastal Carolina 3, N.C. State 2

Coach Gary Gilmore made a few changes in the starting lineup for Sunday’s game. First, he flipped Luke Willis and Ted Blackman in the one and two holes in the batting order. Second he moved the hot hitting Tucker Frawley up to bat cleanup.

Defensively, Gilmore started Rich Witten at his old position, first base and put Tripp Martin in at third.

Freshman Ben Smith got the start on the mound for the Chants and went three innings. The freshman LHP allowed two unearned runs on three hits. He struck out two and walked one.

N.C. State scored two in the third inning. An error and a walk put Pack runners on first and second. After a double steal, a sacrifice fly to right field scored one. An RBI hit to left center plated the second run but that would be all.

Devon Bradley came in to start the fourth and did a fantastic job. He pitched three perfect innings while striking out one.

Aaron Burke, Javier Reynosa and Ryan Connolly also had great outings from the bullpen with Burke picking up the win and Conolly getting his second save.

The Chanticleers loaded the bases in the fourth inning but just like yesterday though, they could only plate one run. Witten started it off with a single to left field. Frawley was hit by a pitch and Dan Bowman singled to shortstop to fill the bags.

Wolfpack starter Carlos Rodon struck out the next two Chants and looked like he would get out of the jam but he walked Justin Creel for the RBI. Rodon struck the next batter out to end the inning.

Coastal loaded the bases again in the seventh inning. Creel led it off with a single through the left side. Keith Picconi came on to pitch hit and walked. Luke Willis advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt. Ted Blackman walked. Witten hit into what appeared to be an easy 6-4-2 double play but an errant throw to first allowed two runs to score.

This was a good win over a quality opponent. Rodon is one of the best freshman pitchers in the country and the Wolfpack is one of the highest scoring teams this year. To not only get the win but to hold them to two runs is a great accomplishment.

This win should be the confidence booster that the Chants have been looking for. I would also like to remind everyone that although the Chanticleers are only .500, that is exactly where they were at this time last year.

North Carolina State   002 000 000 – 2 6 2

Coastal Carolina           000 100  20X – 3 6 1

The Chanticleers return to action March 2-4 in the Coastal Carolina Invitational against Pittsburgh, Illinois and St. John’s. I will have a preview on Friday.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Coastal Carolina Baseball

Tagged as , , ,