Box Score Baseball Falls to Liberty 4-3 in 12 Innings More Information:
Liberty University (31-11, 10-5 Big South) scored two runs in the bottom of the 12
th inning to defeat the Coastal Carolina University baseball team (17-22, 7-8 Big South) 4-3 April 24 in Lynchburg, Va. It was Coastal’s longest game in terms of innings of the season as the Flames take 2-of-3 from the Chanticleers in the series. Coastal scored a run in the top of the 12
th. Junior
Matt Rademacher (Bay City, Mich./Michigan) walked to open the inning. He went to second on a bunt single from freshman
Tyler Bortnick (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor). Junior
Chris Raber (Coplay, Pa./Whitehall) moved pinch runner
Justin Huff (Albany, Ga./Darton College) and Bortnick up a base with a sacrifice bunt. The Flames intentionally walked junior
Adam Vrable (Bay City, Mich./Grand Rapids C.C.) to load the bases. Junior
Matt Sutton (La Grange, N.C./UNC Wilmington) then hit a fly to left field. Huff just beat out the throw to give the Chants a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the 12
th, Abe Yeakel singled and Chad Miller walked to open the frame. The bases were loaded as Michael Just’s sacrifice attempt was mishandled by Bortnick. A wild pitch by senior
Kevin Salmon (Brentwood, N.Y./Briarcliffe C.C.) scored a run. Salmon then intentionally walked Aaron Grijalva to get to Phillip Laurent. Sophomore
Donnie Presley (Leesburg, Va./Notre Dame Academy) then came on the mound and Phillip Laurent took his second pitch up the middle to give the Flames the win. Coastal used some two-out magic to break through in the top of the fourth. After Liberty starter Dustin Umberger retired the first two Chanticleers, junior
Brant Peacher (Milton, Fla./Florida State) and freshman
David Sappelt (Saxapahaw, N.C./Graham) hit back-to-back singles. The bases were full after a walk to sophomore
Derek Martin (Barnwell, S.C./Barnwell) and Rademacher brought in a pair with a double to left field. DeLaGarza breezed through the first five innings, but ran into a little trouble in the sixth. He walked Miller with one out and gave up a double to Just. Grijalva flew out to right, scoring Miller with the Flames first run. DeLaGarza then struck out Laurent to keep a 2-1 lead. Liberty tied the game in the seventh. Patrick Galliard singled to open the inning and went to second on a DeLaGarza balk. A P.K. Keller flyout moved Galliard to third and he scored on a groundout from Derrick Bennion. The Chants got out of a huge jam in the eighth. Errol Hollinger singled to open the inning and moved to second on a walk to Miller. Pinch runner Yeakel moved to third on a flyout. Grijalva flew out to Sutton who made a perfect throw to Rademacher to tag out Yeakel and keep the game tied at two. In the bottom of the 10
th, Liberty threatened as Miller singled and moved to third on a Grijalva single. Coastal loaded the bases, intentionally walking Laurent. Gaillard hit a Texas Leaguer that looked like it might drop, but Sappelt made a diving grab to send the game to the 11
th. Liberty made a great defensive play in the top of the 11
th as Phil John robbed a would-be home run by senior
DJ Burns (Lynn, Mass./Chandler Gilbert J.C.). Salmon took the loss, dropping to 2-4 on the year. He gave up four hits and two runs in 3.2 innings. DeLaGarza struck out six in 7.1 innings, giving up two runs and six hits. The win in relief went to Tyler Light, who struck out two and gave up two hits in three innings. Umberger went the first nine, allowing eight hits and two earned runs while striking out three. Sappelt and Raber had two hits apiece for the Chants. Sappelt had nine hits on the weekend. For Liberty, Grijalva had two hits, while Miller scored two runs. Coastal will host Campbell Tuesday, April 25 at 7 p.m.
