CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University baseball team (13-17, 5-4 Big South) and Winthrop University (26-9, 6-3 Big South) ended a wild three-game series by splitting a doubleheader April 9 in Conway, S.C. The Chanticleers scored three in the ninth, capped by a two-run walk-off home run by junior Matt Sutton (La Grange, N.C./UNC Wilmington), to defeat the Eagles 14-13 in game one, while Winthrop scored five runs in the first to defeat the Chanticleers 8-2 in game two.

Winthrop came back from an 8-0 deficit to lead 13-11 heading into the bottom of the ninth. Junior Chris Raber (Coplay, Pa./Whitehall) singled off reliever Alex Wilson to start the inning. He moved to second on a single by freshman David Sappelt (Saxapahaw, N.C./Graham). Junior Dom Duggan (Cranberry Twp., Pa./John Carroll) moved both runners over on a sacrifice bunt. Junior John Mariotti (Toronto, Ontario/Gulf Coast C.C.) grounded out, but scored Raber to cut the WU lead to one. That set up the battle between Wilson and Sutton. Sutton hit the first pitch a mile, but foul. He then took a 1-2 pitch to right field for his second home run of the day and his ninth of the season.

Sutton hit the first home run in the first, part of a five-run inning. Sophomore Derek Martin (Barnwell, S.C./Barnwell) and junior Adam Vrable (Bay City, Mich./Grand Rapids C.C.) also had run-scoring singles as the Chants brought 10 men to the plate. Coastal made it 6-0 in the second on an RBI single by Sutton and put up its eighth run in the fourth on senior Aaron Verrett’s (Jupiter, Fla./Polk C.C.) second home run of the season, a two-run shot.

Winthrop started its comeback in the fifth by scoring four runs. Heath Rollins brought home Mike Konstanty with the first run on a sacrifice fly. Jacob Dempsey then had the big hit, a bases clearing double down the right field line that cut the Coastal lead in half at 8-4.

Coastal came back with two in the sixth as Mariotti doubled and scored on a Fuentes single. Sutton, who was intentionally walked, scored on a wild pitch from Ryan Schwartz. Winthrop then scored six runs in the seventh to tie the game at 10. Coastal used four pitchers in that inning and the Eagles sent 11 men to the plate. An error by junior Brant Peacher (Milton, Fla./Florida State) and a ground ball by Dempsey that took a bad hop on Vrable kept the inning alive for the big hit, a two-run single by Chris Carrara that tied the game.

Coastal took an 11-10 lead on an RBI single by Marioitti in the seventh, but Winthrop scored three runs in the top of the eighth, highlighted by a bases-clearing double from Phil Carey.

Sutton drove in six runs and was 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Sappelt, Mariotti and Fuentes had three hits apiece, while Mariotti scored four runs. For Winthrop, Tommy Lentz had three hits.

Mariotti went to 3-1 on the season, pitching the final 2.1 innings with three hits, three runs and one strikeout. Junior Andy DeLaGarza (Ossian, Ind./Norwell) went the first six-plus innings, striking out three and allowing eight hits and six runs. Wilson took the loss, giving up the three runs in the ninth.

Winthrop started game two by scoring five runs on five hits. Carrara singled and quickly scored on a triple from Heath Rollins. Dempsey brought in Rollins on a single and went to third on a single from Lentz. He scored on an RBI single from Carey. A dropped fly from Verrett scored the final two runs and Winthrop had a lead it would never relinquish.

Coastal scored once in the bottom of the first on an RBI double from Sutton that scored Peacher. The Eagles came right back in the third as a single by Ben Ehrlich plated Lentz. A sacrifice fly from junior Josh Eachues (Newberry, S.C./Newberry) in the bottom of the third made it 6-2, but a solo home run by Ehrlich in the sixth and a safety squeeze in the ninth that scored Rollins gave the Eagles the 8-2 lead.

Wilson went 1-1 on the day, earning the win by going five innings, allowing eight hits, but only two runs and he struck out six. Jason Franzblau earned the save, pitching the final four innings, allowing only two hits.

The loss went to Marrie, who only retired one Eagle. He gave up three earned runs and five hits. Freshman Bobby Gagg (Hamburg, N.J./Wallkill) went the next 6.2 innings, giving up only four hits and two runs.

Peacher, Sutton and Vrable had two hits apiece for the Chants, while Rollins was 3-for-5 in game two.

Coastal travels to Buies Creek, N.C., to face Campbell University Tuesday, April 11 at 6 p.m.

NOTES: Coastal lost a Big South series for the first time since Winthrop took 2-of-3 April 2-4, 2004. The streak spanned 16 BSC series... Sutton’s walk-off was Coastal’s first since Verrett did the trick against the Eagles in the 2005 Big South Tournament... Coastal hit .320 in the series despite collecting only two hits in Friday’s game. Coastal had 31 hits in the doubleheader... Coastal now has six comeback wins this season.