Box Score Baseball Wins Slugfest over Georgia Southern 17-13 More Information:
The Coastal Carolina University baseball team (5-12) and Georgia Southern University (9-9) combined for 30 runs and 41 hits and the Chanticleers put up five in their final two innings as Coastal defeated the Eagles 17-13 March 12 in Mobile, Ala. Coastal put up 10 runs in the first three innings and held off a Georgia Southern hit attack that included a five-run seventh frame. Freshman
Austin Fleet (Edmond, Okla./Santa Fe) pitched himself out of a jam in the first. Fleet gave up hits to Matt Miller and Greg Dowling, which put runners on first and third with one out. Coastal got out with no damage as Griffin Benedict grounded to senior
Aaron Verrett (Jupiter, Fla./Polk C.C.) to start a double play. Coastal exploded in the bottom of the frame, smashing seven hits and putting up five runs on the board. Junior
Dom Duggan (Cranberry Twp., Pa./John Carroll) doubled to open the inning. Verrett moved him to third on a sacrifice and Duggan scored on a double down the line by junior
Brant Peacher (Milton, Fla./Florida State). Peacher trotted home on another double, this time by junior
John Mariotti (Toronto, Ontario/Gulf Coast C.C.). Coastal put runners on the corners after a single from freshman
David Anderson (Lexington, S.C./White Knoll) and quickly cleared them on a three-run home run from senior
Mike Fuentes (Miami, Fla./North Florida C.C.), his first as a Chanticleer. Coastal sent 10 men to the plate in the first. Coastal scored two runs in the second to take a 7-0 lead. Verrett singled up the middle and scored on Peacher’s second home run of the season, a shot to left field off reliever Blake Nation. In the third, Georgia Southern scored three runs off of three hits. Chris Hollis was hit by a pitch to start the inning and moved to second on a sun-aided double from Miller. Dowling brought in Hollis with a single and Miller scored on a sacrifice fly from Benedict. Dowling would score on a single from Chris Shehan, but Fleet would strike out Brett Pelfrey to keep it at 7-3. Coastal answered with three in the bottom of the frame. After two quick outs, Verrett walked and went to second on an opposite field double from Peacher. Mariotti then brought them all home on a home run just above the fence in right. It was Mariotti’s first career home run as a Chant. Dowling singled home Brian Pierce in the fourth, cutting the Coastal lead to 10-4. The Eagles then scored two in the fifth off of four hits. Derrick Smith started the inning with a single, went to second on a single from Mike Economos and moved to third on a throwing error. Shehan singled in a run and with two outs, Hollis brought in Economos with a single up the middle. Georgia Southern then tallied two in the top of the sixth. Benedict and Smith singled to put runners on first and second. Shehan brought Benedict home with a single. Jeremy Beckham loaded the bases with a single and Smith came home on a hit by pitch to Pierce. Mariotti struck out Hollis to get out of the jam. In the bottom of the sixth, Anderson opened the inning with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice by freshman
David Sappelt (Saxapahaw, N.C./Graham). GSU reliever A.J. Battisto walked Fuentes and Martin to load the bases and junior
Adam Vrable (Bay City, Mich./Grand Rapids C.C.) brought in a pair with a single to right. The Eagles took the lead in the top of the seventh, scoring five runs on four hits. Miller doubled to open the inning and moved to third on a groundout. Benedict brought Miller in on a single. A Coastal error and a walk loaded the bases and a Shehan cleared them with a single and an error. Beckham untied the game with a single that scored Shehan. The Chants retook the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Peacher started the frame with a single and scored on a double from Mariotti. After a sacrifice moved Mariotti to third, he scored on a double from pinch hitter
Chris Raber (Coplay, Pa./Whitehall). Coastal put up a three-spot in the eighth inning. Duggan doubled and moved to third on a Verrett sacrifice. Peacher and Mariotti were walked and a run scored on a sacrifice by senior
DJ Burns (Lynn, Mass./Chandler Gilbert J.C.). Junior
Josh Eachues (Newberry, S.C/Newberry) then doubled to the opposite field to bring in Peacher. Coastal scored its last run on a single by Raber that scored Mariotti. Mariotti went 3-for-4 with five runs-batted-in. Peacher was 4-for-5 with five runs scored and three RBI. Duggan and Anderson had three hits apiece, while Raber was 2-for-2 with the game-winning hit. For Georgia Southern, Shehan was 5-for-6 with five RBI. Miller and Dowling had three hits apiece. Mariotti also earned the win on the mound, striking out two in 1.1 innings. Junior
Andy DeLaGarza (Ossian, Ind./Norwell) earned his first save of the season, pitching two scoreless innings. David Cogswell took the loss, giving up two earned runs in two-thirds of an innings. Coastal will start Big South play Friday, March 17 at home against High Point. Game time is at 3 p.m. NOTES: Georgia Southern now leads the overall series 12-10… The 30 runs scored were the most by two teams in a Coastal game since Winthrop defeated the Chanticleers 21-13 April 4, 2004… Of Georgia Southern’s 21 hits, 18 were singles… The two teams meet again in Georgia Southern on March 29… Coastal improved its season batting average by 20 points in the win… DeLaGarza’s save was the first of his career in 13 relief appearances… Eight of the nine players in the Coastal starting lineup had a hit.
