Box Score Baseball Uses Strong Pitching to Defeat The Citadel 3-1
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CONWAY, S.C. – The 14th-ranked Coastal Carolina University baseball team (7-1) used stellar pitching from senior Bobby Gagg (Hamburg, N.J./Wallkill) and two runs in the late innings for a 3-1 win over The Citadel (2-5) March 4 in Conway, S.C.
Gagg did not give up a hit until the first batter in the sixth inning. He allowed just three hits and one run and five strikeouts in seven innings in picking up his 23rd career victory. He also threw just 83 pitches in the seven innings.
Coastal Carolina used some two-out magic to score the game’s first run in the fourth. The Citadel’s Matt Talley retired junior Jose Iglesias (Miami, Fla./St. John’s) and classmate Adam Rice (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Elgin C.C.), but redshirt junior Chance Gilmore (Surfside Beach, S.C./Virginia) reached on a bunt single. He moved to second on a single from freshman Dan Bowman (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby). Freshman Taylor Motter (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Palm Beach Gardens) walked to load the bases. Gilmore then scored on an error by Richard Jones on a pickoff, giving the Chants the 1-0 advantage.
The Citadel would tie the game at one in the sixth. Johnny Dangerfield broke up Gagg’s no-hit bid with a single to open the frame. Kyle Jordan sacrificed Dangerfield to second. William Ladd then grounded a ball to short that Motter went to second to try and get Dangerfield out, but he beat the throw, putting runners on first and second. Another fielder’s choice put runners at the corners, setting up an infield single by Bryan Altman to score Dangerfield.
Coastal Carolina broke the tie in the seventh. Senior Tyler Bortnick (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) reached on an infield single, and then took second on a throwing error by Dangerfield. Sophomore Scott Woodward (Markle, Ind./Norwell) was hit by a pitch and classmate Rico Noel (Lawton, Okla./Lawton) walked to load the bases. Senior David Anderson (Lexington, S.C./White Knoll) grounded into a double play, but that scored Bortnick to give Coastal Carolina a 2-1 lead.
The Chants added insurance in the eighth when Rice singled and Gilmore tripled off Bulldog reliever Chris Boyce. Freshman T.J. Swank (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) and junior Nick McCully (Lakeland, Fla./Santa Fe Catholic) did not allow a hit in two innings of relief, as McCully picked up his second save of the season.
Gilmore went 2-for-3 for the Chants with an RBI, while Bortnick and Bowman had two hits for Coastal Carolina. Dangerfield had two hits to lead The Citadel.
The loss went to Raymond Copenhaver in relief, giving up a run in the seventh. Talley allowed an unearned run in four innings of work with three strikeouts.
Coastal Carolina is right back in action Thursday, March 5 at 6 p.m., when the Chants host IPFW at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field. This game is a makeup from a rainout during last week’s Baseball at the Beach Tournament.
