ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Coastal Carolina University baseball team (39-10, 13-3 Big South) left 10 men on base and gave up four runs in the fifth inning as the Chanticleers fell to UNC Asheville (19-33, 9-10 Big South) 5-3 May 11 in Asheville, N.C.

Coastal picked up a run in the first as sophomore David Sappelt (Saxapahaw, N.C./Graham) singled to right, moved to second on senior Dom Duggan’s (Cranberry Twp., Pa./John Carroll) 23rd sacrifice bunt of the season and scored as junior Tommy Baldridge (Fort Mill, S.C./Fort Mill) singled up the middle for his 45 run-batted-in of the year. Asheville was close to tying the game in the bottom of the first, but Duggan’s made a great catch off Elliott Arrington’s shot in center field to get Coastal out of the inning.

UNC Asheville was shut out until the fifth, when the Bulldogs scored four runs off senior Andy DeLaGarza (Ossian, Ind./Norwell). With one out, DeLaGarza walked J.K. Whited. He went to second on a Matt Henson single and scored on a double from Kevin Mattison. UNCA took the lead on a squeeze bunt single from Steve Burnich. Rob Vernon doubled to left to make it 3-1 and a sacrifice fly from Elliott Arrington gave the Bulldogs the fourth run of the frame.

The Bulldogs scored a run without a hit in the sixth. Sophomore David Anderson (Lexington, S.C./White Knoll) hit Edmund Locklear. Pinch runner Graham Baughn went to second on Kyle Smith’s sacrifice bunt and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Henson then hit a slow roller that the Coastal infield just missed turning a double play, scoring Baughn.

Coastal cut the UNCA lead to 5-3 in the eighth. Senior Chris Raber (Coplay, Pa./Whitehall) and junior Tommy Baldridge (Fort Mill, S.C./Fort Mill) led off the inning with singles, putting runners on the corners. Senior Matt Rademacher (Bay City, Mich./Michigan) doubled down the left field line to score Raber, while a groundout by junior Derek Martin (Barnwell, S.C./Barnwell) brought in Baldridge, but UNCA got out of further trouble by getting Sappelt to pop up with the bases loaded and two outs. Coastal went 1-2-3 in the ninth to fall for the 10th time tihs season.

Alan DeRatt earned the win for the Bulldogs, pitching seven-plus innings and allowing nine hits, three runs and striking out six. Ben Buchanan earned his sixth save of the season and became UNCA’s all-time career saves leader. He struck out one in two innings.

DeLaGarza fell to 9-2 on the year, giving up four runs and six hits in 4.2 innings. Sophomore Pete Andrelczyk (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Twp.) pitching two innings of scoreless relief, striking out two.

Baldridge and Rademacher had two hits apiece for CCU, while Vernon and Smith had two hits for the Bulldogs.

The series will continue Saturday, May 12 at 3 p.m., on UNCA’s campus at Greenwood Field. Sophomore Bobby Gagg (Hamburg, N.J./Wallkill) will oppose the Bulldogs’ Graham Baughn on the mound.