CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Coastal Carolina softball team moved to 8-13 overall on the season with a two-game split at Charleston Southern on Wednesday afternoon at the CSU Softball Complex.
CSU 8, CCU 7 (Game 1)
In game one, the Buccaneers scored in the first five innings as they defeated the Chanticleers by the score of 8-7.
After both teams traded a run in the first inning, Charleston Southern picked up three runs in the bottom of the second to extend their lead to 4-1.
The Buccaneers added to their lead in the second with three runs on base hits from Seanna Satcher and Katelyn Norris.
Charleston Southern added two more in the top of the third to extend their lead 6-1.
Brooklyn Brewington and Sarah Brown led off with back-to-back singles to start the third. Both Bucs batters came around to score with two outs in the inning on Ashlyn Cribb's double to right field.
CCU cut into the CSU lead by two runs in the top of the fourth with back-to-back homers from Courtney Dean, and Mackenzie Beyer made the score 6-3.
The Buccaneers answered with another run to extend their advantage back to four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning off CCU reliever Raelee Brabham but, graduate student Kayla Rosado tied the score in the top half of the fifth, 7-7, with a three-run home run along with her second, third, and fourth RBI of the day.
Just as the Coastal defense stepped back into the field of play, Erika Cooper sealed the Charleston Southern victory, 8-7, with a solo home run off the Chanticleer righty Brabham.
The Bucs' 12 hits in the game one victory were the fifth time Chanticleer pitching has allowed 10 or more hits in a game this season.
Along with Rosado's four RBI, Dean and senior Makiya Thomas added two RBI apiece in the loss.
Dean and Thomas led the Chants at the plate in game one with two hits apiece.
Each of the nine Buccaneer batters had at least one hit in the game. Brewington and Brown led the blue and gold with a pair of hits.
Alyssa Henrich came out of the CSU bullpen and improved to 2-3 on the season as she surrendered three hits and allowed three runs in three innings of work.
Brabham dropped to 2-3 on the season as she pitched the final three innings, surrendered five hits, and allowed two runs.
CCU 7 CSU 5 (Game 2)
The Chants earned a 7-6 victory in game two, highlighted by a pair of home runs from the senior Dean and strong pitching from Coastal starting pitcher Iyanla De Jesus.
The Buccaneers scored the first two runs of the game in the bottom of the first, but Coastal's Peyton Rivas and Mary Sobataka tied the score, 2-2, in the top of the second with consecutive groundballs to CSU's shortstop Ashley Meckley.
In the top of the fourth inning, Sobataka knocked in two more runs to give CCU a lead for the first time.
With the junior Beyer and senior Ally Clegg on third and second base, Sobataka lined her first double of the season down the left-field line to give Coastal the 4-2 lead off of CSU starter Bailey Eaton.
In the top of the fifth inning, with pinch-runner Michaela McAuley on second base, Dean blasted her first of two home runs in game two with a line-drive homer to straight-away center field off of Eaton to give CCU a seemingly insurmountable lead, 6-2.
Charleston Southern continued to scratch their way back in the fifth as they cut into the Chanticleer lead.
De Jesus allowed a single to Meckley and a double to Brooklyn Brewington. Sarah Brown cut the Coastal lead to 6-5 with a first-pitch three-run home run off the CCU righty.
Dean once again answered the CSU bats with a leadoff home run, her second of game two, and her sixth home run of the season in the seventh inning to give Coastal Carolina an insurance run for a 7-5 lead.
De Jesus allowed an unearned run in the seventh but closed out the game for her second win and complete game of the season to improve to 2-4 on the year.
Dean's batting average jumped 46 points in Wednesday's doubleheader. The CCU left fielder batted 4-for-7, three home runs, and five RBI in the two-game split.
Sobataka added her first multi-hit game of her career as she went 2-fo-4 with a double, career-high three RBI in the win.
The Chanticleers will return to the diamond on April 1 as they start a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Texas State. CCU and Texas State will begin the series on Thursday, April 1 with a doubleheader starting the series at 6 p.m. ET
For complete coverage of CCU softball, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalSoftball (Twitter), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), and facebook.com/CCUChanticleers(Facebook) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina.
