Coastal Carolina University
Baseball News

CONWAY, SC — Sophomore Brett Grandstrand went 5-for-5 with a home run and 5 RBI, along with 4 runs scored, as the Coastal Carolina baseball team pounded out 14 hits in the 14-8 victory over Brown, Wednesday evening at Watson Stadium. Coastal, winners of three straight, improve to 21-5, while Brown falls to 2-11-1.

Steve Soja (2-0) picked up the win for Coastal, while Brown's James Cramphin (0-2) suffered the loss. Cramphin, who lasted four innings, gave up 10 hits, nine earned runs and walked five.

Coastal opened the scoring with five runs in the bottom of the first inning. Grandstrand drove in the first run of the ball game with an RBI single, scoring Ryan McGraw. Freshman Mike Costanzo drove in Coastal's next two runs on a bases loaded single to right, scoring Jeff Baker and Grandstrand. Senior Steve Pinocchio would drive in the final two runs of the inning on a two-run single to center, plating Costanzo and Tyler Hasbrouck.

Brown would get on the board with three runs in the fourth inning. Jeff Nichols and Danny Hughes highlighted the inning with RBI-singles. Costanzo would then drive in two more runs for the Chants in the fourth inning on a single to right, to give CCU a 7-3 lead.

Cameron Mitchell would help Brown narrow the Chanticleer lead to 7-5, on his two-run double to left field. Coastal would then put the game away with four runs in the bottom half of the fifth. Freshman Patrick Nichols led off the inning with a solo home run to left field, then after a single by Kyle Beall and a walk to McGraw, Grandstarnd would hit a three-run blast to left center, giving CCU a 11-5 lead.

Coastal Carolina will begin Big South Conference play this weekend at home against Radford. The three-game series with the Highlanders opens on Friday, Mar. 28 at 6 p.m., followed by game two on Sat., Mar.29 at 6 p.m. The series wraps up Sun., Mar. 30 at 1 p.m. Brown travels to Greensboro, N.C. to face North Carolina A&T on Thursday at 3 p.m.