CONWAY - The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (29-12, 9-7 Sun Belt) dropped the first game of a three-game set to the Texas State Bobcats (22-17, 10-5 Sun Belt) on Friday afternoon on a blustery spring day at St. John Stadium by the score of 5-3.
 
Texas State picked up two runs in the top of the first as the second batter Bailee Carter singled up the middle off the foot of Chanticleer starter Kaitlin Beasley-Polko. The next batter, Tara Oltmann unloaded a 1-0 pitch off Beasley-Polko, over the right field fence for her third home run of the season.
 
Oltmann led off the third with a walk and then came around to score on a single up the middle by ArieAnn Bell to give the Bobcats the 3-0 lead.
 
Bell came up with her second big hit of the game in the top of the fifth as the Texas State first baseman doubled in pinch runner Molly Damiani to extend the lead by four runs.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Chanticleer sophomore Samantha Sack got her second hit of the game off Bobcat starter Meagan King with her fourth home run of the season on a line drive, solo shot into the right-field bullpen to cut into the Bobcat lead.
 
Just as the Chants cut it to 4-1, Texas State added another run in the top of the fifth off Coastal reliever Ashley Guillette. Bobcat head coach Ricci Woodard elected to pinch hit Samara Lagway, and the freshman came through with a lead-off single. Pinch runner Brianna Sannem came in to score after a stolen base and back-to-back bunts, including a squeeze play, to pick up their fifth and final run of the game.
 
CCU would not go away as the Chants added two seventh-inning runs. After an Alexis Alvino single, freshman Mackenzie Beyer hit her third home run of the season with two outs. King would then go on to retire sophomore Taylor Sweigart to end the game on a fly ball out to deep left field.
 
Oltmann and Bell accounted for four of the five Texas State runs on the day as the pair had two RBI each.
In the complete-game victory, King improved to 14-8 and allowed five hits and three runs.
 
Sack was the only Chanticleer on the day with multiple hits. The sophomore added a double in the third.
 
Beasley-Polko dropped to 19-7 with the loss and pitched 4.1 innings, allowing four hits, four runs, and four walks.
 
The two teams will be back at St. John Stadium for game two of the series with first pitch set for 2:00 p.m.

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