Box Score Baseball Opens Season with 16-3 Win over Southern Illinois

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CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University baseball team (1-0) opened the 2009 season with a 16-3 win over Southern Illinois University (1-1) Feb. 20 on the opening day of the Caravelle Resort Tournament in Conway, S.C. Coastal Carolina improves to 21-12 in season openers as the Chants pounded out 21 hits on the day.   The Chants struck first in the first. With one out in the inning, sophomore Rico Noel (Lawton, Okla./Lawton) singled up the middle. He went to second on a single from senior David Anderson (Lexington, S.C./White Knoll), stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly from junior Jose Iglesias (Miami, Fla./St. John’s).    The Salukis came back in the second to tie the game at one on a sacrifice fly from Chris Murphy that scored Mark Kelly, but Coastal Carolina would answer in a big way in the bottom of the second, scoring six unearned runs.  Junior Adam Rice (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Elgin C.C.) singled to open the frame. He was erased on a double play ball, but the inning was kept alive as freshman Dan Bowman reached on a throwing error by Michael Stalter. The Chants made SIU pay for the error. Senior Tyler Bortnick (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) singled Bowman to third and sophomore Scott Woodward (Markle, Ind./Norwell) scored him with a single. Noel brought home two runs on a double to left and Anderson reached on a throwing error.  Iglesias then sent a towering shot to left field for his first home run of the season, making it 7-1 Chants.    Woodward would make it 8-1 in the third as his double scored Rice. Coastal Carolina added another run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Rice that scored Anderson. Coastal Carolina brought home four runs in the fifth. Bowman doubled to open the inning. He would be thrown out at third on a single to left from Bortnick, but Bortnick would reach second. Bortnick went to third on a Woodward single and scored on a Noel single. Anderson brought home Noel with a groundout and Iglesias ripped his second home run of the game, making it 13-1.   Anderson and redshirt junior Chance Gilmore (Surfside Beach, S.C./Virginia) both homered in the seventh to put the Chants up 16-1. The Salukis scored single runs in the eighth and ninth innings as Chase Sanford drove in Stalter with a bases-loaded walk in the eighth and Tony Lepore brought in John Brennan on a groundout in the ninth.   The story on the mound was Coastal Carolina freshman Anthony Meo (Cranston, R.I./Cranston West). Meo went six innings in his collegiate debut, striking out six and allowing just two hits and one earned run to pick up the win. Redshirt sophomore Jim Birmingham (Pine Hill, N.J./Penn) and freshman T.J. Swank (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) pitched the final three innings and had a strike out apiece. The loss went to Andrew Dunn, who gave up just three earned runs in four innings pitched. He gave up 12 hits and struck out three.   Every Chanticleer starter had a hit, with Woodward, Noel and Anderson having three apiece in the top of the lineup. Iglesias drove in five runs while he joined Gilmore, Rice, Bortnick and Bowman with two hits apiece.   Murphy had two hits to lead the Salukis. Earlier in the day, Southern Illinois defeated James Madison 19-4, while Kentucky defeated Troy 8-3 at BB&T Coastal Field.   Coastal Carolina continues the Caravelle Resort Invitational Saturday, Feb. 21, hosting Kentucky at 3:30 p.m.