Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Baseball Sweeps Radford in Doubleheader

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     The Coastal Carolina University baseball team (25-25, 12-9 Big South) took all three games in a weekend series against Radford University (7-38, 4-17 Big South), including a doubleheader sweep May 13 over the Highlanders.  Coastal won the first game 14-1 behind a pitching gem from junior Andy DeLaGarza (Ossian, Ind./Norwell) and the Chants took the second game 7-4.  Coastal earns its first series sweep of the season and now has a .500 record for the first time since Feb. 12.   DeLaGarza went eight innings in game one, giving up only three hits and a run.  He faced the minimum for the first 4.1 innings and after an infield single to open the game, did not give up a hit until the eighth frame.  DeLaGarza struck out nine Highlanders, a season high and one off a career high.   Coastal went 1-2-3 in the first, but scored five in the second, sending 10 men to the plate.  Junior Matt Sutton (La Grange, N.C./UNC Wilmington) opened the inning with a double to right.  He went to third on a single from junior John Mariotti (Toronto, Ontario/Gulf Coast C.C.) and scored on a single by freshman David Sappelt (Saxapahaw, N.C./Graham).  Junior Matt Rademacher (Bay City, Mich./Michigan) moved the runners to second and third and freshman Tyler Bortnick (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) brought them home with a single over the third baseman’s head.  Junior Chris Raber (Coplay, Pa./Whitehall) then tripled down the right field line, scoring Bortnick.  Junior Adam Vrable (Bay City, Mich./Grand Rapids C.C.) chopped a single to left, scoring Raber and giving the Chants the 5-0 lead.   In the third, Bortnick singled home Mariotti and Rademacher, making it 7-0 Coastal.  The Chants went in order in the fourth thru sixth innings, but scored five more runs in the seventh.  Sophomore Tommy Baldridge (Fort Mill, S.C./Fort Mill) doubled, went to second on a Sutton single and scored as Mariotti walked and Radford threw to second base.  Sappelt reached on a fielder’s choice and everybody was safe on a dropped throw by Rocky Weiss.  Sutton scored on a fielder’s choice by Rademacher.  Senior Aaron Verrett (Jupiter, Fla./Polk C.C.) doubled to bring in Sappelt and make it 10-0 Coastal.  Pinch hitter David Anderson (Lexington, S.C./White Knoll) singled home Rademacher and Verrett, giving the Chants a 12-0 lead.    Coastal scored in the eighth on a run scoring double from Rademacher.  Radford scored for the first time in the series in the eighth as Aaron Ranft singled home Alex Gregory.  Coastal plated a run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly from junior Justin Huff (Albany, Ga./Darton College).   Bortnick was 3-for-5 with four RBI, while five Chants had two hits apiece.   The loss went to Josh Deaver, who gave up 12 hits and nine earned runs in six-plus innings.   Coastal scored twice in the third inning of game two.  Verrett doubled to open the inning and moved to third on a passed ball.  A walk to Bortnick and a hit by pitch to Vrable loaded the bases.  With one out, junior Brant Peacher (Milton, Fla./Florida State) brought in two with a single to left field.   The Chants used some two-out magic in the fifth.  Vrable was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game.  Sappelt then hit the first pitch in the right field gap for a triple, scoring Vrable.   Freshman Bobby Gagg (Hamburg, N.J./Wallkill) ran into some trouble in the sixth.  He hit Aaron Ranft to open the frame.  Ranft went to second on a groundout and moved to third on a single from Jonathan Spears.  Two runs would score on a single from John Vellines, but Gagg got Will Naylor to fly out and Rocky Weiss to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the frame.   Coastal added two runs in the seventh.  Bortnick was hit by a pitch to start the inning.  He moved to second on a sacrifice by Vrable.  With two outs, pinch hitter Baldridge singled home Bortnick, making it 4-2 Coastal.  Anderson walked and Radford loaded the bases by intentionally walking Sutton.  That strategy backfired as Baldridge scored on a wild pitch by Ben Smith.   In the bottom of the seventh, Radford scored a pair on an RBI double from Ranft and a passed ball.  Mariotti got out of further trouble by striking out Gregory and getting Spears to ground out.   Coastal added insurance in the ninth as junior Dom Duggan (Cranberry Twp. Pa./John Carroll) plated Baldridge and Sutton with a single to center.   Gagg earned his third win of the season, going six innings and giving up four hits, two runs and striking out a batter.  Mariotti had three strikeouts in his 1.1 innings, while Risser did not allow a hit in the last 1.2 innings to earn his second save of the season.   The loss went to Evans, who gave up six hits and three runs in six innings.   Duggan and Baldridge had two hits apiece, while Duggan and Peacher drove in a pair.  For Radford, Spears had two hits and Vellines drove in two runs.   Coastal will end its regular season with four straight games at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field, starting with a 6 p.m., contest against East Carolina Tuesday, May 16.