Box Score Baseball Falls to Liberty 9-6

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LYNCHBURG, Va. – The 18^th-ranked Coastal Carolina University baseball team (20-6, 1-1 Big South) left 15 men on base and Liberty (12-11, 1-1 Big South) put up five runs in the third inning in a 9-6 Flames victory over the Chanticleers March 29 at Worthington Stadium.     Coastal scored a run in the third, but it could have been more. Freshman Scott Woodward (Markle, Ind./Norwell) led off the inning with a bunt single. He went to third on a failed pickoff and scored on a single from junior David Sappelt (Graham, N.C./Southern Alamance). Sophomore Adam Rice (Murphy, Texas/Elgin C.C.) singled to the shortstop and junior Dock Doyle (Conway, S.C/Conway) moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt. Junior David Anderson (Lexington, S.C./Whitek Knoll) grounded to short and Aaron Phillips started a rundown to get Sappelt out. Errol Hollinger then caught Rice trying to go back to second, ending the inning with one run for the Chanticleers.   Liberty answered with five runs in the bottom of the third. The inning started harmlessly as sophomore Austin Fleet (Edmond, Okla./Santa Fe) got Phillips and Kenneth Negron to fly out, but he would talk to next three Flame batters. Jeff Jefferson singled through the left side, scoring a pair of runs. Liberty would make it 4-1 as Cody Brown doubled down the left field line. He moved to third on the throw and scored on a single from Garrett Young.   Coastal got two runs back in the fourth. Senior Tommy Baldridge (Fort Mill, S.C./Fort Mill) walked to open the inning. Junior Tyler Bortnick (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) singled with one out and Woodward walked to load the bases. Liberty’s Clarence Nicely walked Sappelt to force in a run. With two outs, Rice singled to short to score Bortnick, but Woodward was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.   Keller singled home Hollinger with two outs to extend the Flames lead to 6-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning. Liberty extended its lead to 8-3 in the sixth as Hollinger singled up the middle to score Tim Rotola and Phillips.    Doyle hit his eighth home run of the season, an opposite field shot, to cut Liberty’s lead to 8-4. Coastal had the bases loaded with one out in the inning, but freshman Rico Noel (Lawton, Okla./Lawton) popped out and Woodward grounded out to end the frame. Baldridge scored Rice with a single to right in the eighth, making it 8-5 Liberty. Liberty added insurance in the bottom of the eighth. Phillips struck out to begin the inning, but reached on a wild pitch. Phillips moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on an error by Woodward.   Coastal made things interesting in the ninth. Bortnick and Noel walked to open the inning and the Chants loaded the bases on a Woodward infield single. Sappelt brought in Bortnick with a sacrifice fly, but Dane Beakler struck out Rice and got Doyle to foul out to end the game.   Rice and Doyle had three hits apiece for Coastal, while Sappelt drove in three runs. For Liberty, Hollinger, Keller and Jefferson had two hits apiece.    Fleet suffered his first loss of the year, going 3.2 innings and giving up five hits, six runs and walked five Flames. Junior Pete Andrelczyk (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Twp.) struck out five in three innings of relief, while Rein had three punchouts. Clarence Nicely earned the win, giving up nine hits and three earned runs in six innings.     Coastal and Liberty wrap up the three-game series Sunday, March 30 at 1 p.m.