CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina baseball team will host the Carolinas Coastline Classic this weekend, Feb. 25-28, as the Chanticleers will take on Rutgers (Friday), Illinois (Saturday), and Ball State (Sunday and Monday) as part of the five-team event at Springs Brooks Stadium.
  • The four-day tournament will consist of two games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and a matinee on Monday afternoon between the Chanticleers and Ball State.
 
Friday
11 a.m. ET – Middle Tennessee vs. Illinois
4 p.m. ET – Rutgers vs. Coastal Carolina (ESPN+)
 
Saturday
11 a.m. ET – Middle Tennessee vs. Ball State
3 p.m. ET – Illinois vs. Coastal Carolina (ESPN+/WRNN Hot Talk 99.5 FM)
 
Sunday
11 a.m. ET – Middle Tennessee vs. Rutgers
3 p.m. ET – Ball State vs. Coastal Carolina (ESPN+/WRNN Hot Talk 99.5 FM)
 
Monday
Noon – Ball State vs. Coastal Carolina (ESPN+/Hank 105.5 FM)
  • In order to expedite entry and provide a safe and secure environment for our fans, student-athletes, staff, and officials, Coastal Carolina University Athletics has implemented a Clear Bag Policy for all ticketed events effectively. Along with numerous institutions around the country, the state of South Carolina, and professional sports around the world, this new policy limits the size and style of bags carried into ticketed venues. For more information and details CLICK HERE.
  • Fans can purchase both single-game and season tickets online at www.GoCCUsports.com/tickets or by calling the Chanticleer Athletics Ticket Office at 843-347-TIXX.
• Tickets are also available for purchase at the Baseball Ticket Window on gamedays.
• Gates will open 90 minutes prior to the first game of each day.
• Springs Brooks Stadium will be cleared between each game over the weekend.
  • Each season, the Chanticleers host two or three tournaments at Springs Brooks Stadium to start the season.
• This weekend will be the second of two weekend tournaments this year for the Chants, as Coastal hosted the Baseball at the Beach Tournament which included Kent State, Central Michigan, and West Virginia last weekend.
• This week's tournament will include Ball State, Middle Tennessee, Illinois, Rutgers, and co-host UNCW who will also host games at Brooks Field in Wilmington, N.C.
  • Coastal Carolina had a successful Opening Weekend, going 3-1 overall at the Baseball at the Beach.
• The Chants' opened the season with a 13-8 win over Kent State on Friday night, then upended No. 16 Central Michigan 8-4 on Saturday.
• After suffering a 2-1 loss to Kent State on Sunday, the Chants rebounded to defeat West Virginia 9-7 in a Monday matinee.
  • Coastal Carolina is off to a 3-1 start to begin the 2022 season.
• The 3-1 start is the best start to a season for the Chanticleers since beginning the 2019 season at 7-0.
  • Coastal will enjoy #ThePalace for the first eight games of the season and will not hit the road for the entire month of February.
• After playing four games on the road in the first week of March - at UNCW (March 2) and North Carolina (March 4-6) - the Chanticleers will return home for a five-game homestand versus Wake Forest (March 8) and a four-game weekend series against Xavier (March 11-13).
• The Chanticleers are scheduled to host 31 home games this season.
  • Coastal Carolina will host not one, but two teams out of the Big Ten this weekend in Rutgers and Illinois.
• The Friday night meeting between the Chants and Scarlet Knights will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams, while CCU and Illinois are tied at 8-8 in the all-time series having played 13 times since 2014.
• The Chants are 45-28 all-time versus the Big Ten Conference on the baseball diamond.
    CCU vs. Big Ten
    12-4...................... vs. Maryland
    8-4........................ vs. Michigan
    8-8............................. vs. Illinois
    7-3...................... vs. Ohio State
    3-1.............. vs. Michigan State
    2-0....................... vs. Nebraska
    2-1........................... vs. Purdue
    1-0................................ vs. Iowa
    1-3.......................... vs. Indiana
    1-3................ vs. Northwestern
    0-1...................... vs. Minnesota
  • Coastal will also host Ball State out of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) for two games after playing three games versus the MAC last weekend in Kent State (1-1) and Central Michigan.
  • Coastal Carolina baseball received three first-place votes and a total of 117 points to place in a tie for third overall with the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns in the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
• Coastal was chosen behind South Alabama (139) and Georgia Southern (118).
  • Coastal Carolina junior shortstop Eric Brown was named the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Player of the Year, as chosen by the league's head coaches.
• Brown was also named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt team, earning the Chanticleers lone selection.
• The third-year Chant was also named the 2022 Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year by both Perfect Game and D1Baseball, and ranked as the No. 1 prospect for the MLB Draft Class of 2022 by both outlets.
  • Coastal's Dale Thomas was superb over Opening Weekend, as he hit .444 (8-of-18) with five doubles and five RBIs while playing second base, third base, and starting one game as the designated hitter.
• Thomas' five doubles over the first four games of the season was more than he had for his entire career (4) until this season.
  • It is already apparent that the CCU offense starts at the top of the lineup with Austin White.
• While hitting lead-off, White went 7-for-17 (.412) with three walks, a double, seven RBIs, and three runs scored over Opening Weekend.
• White played a key part in each of the three wins for CCU on Opening Weekend.
• In the season-opening win over Kent State (Feb. 18), he reached base five times, drove in two runs, scored a run, and stole two bases.
• He followed that up by going 3-for-5 with two RBIs, two runs, and two stolen bases in the win over No. 16 Central Michigan (Feb. 19) the next day.
• After going 0-for-4 in the loss to Kent State (Feb. 20), he bounced back to drive in three RBIs, including what would prove to be the game-winning runs in the 9-7 win over West Virginia (Feb. 21).
  • The Chanticleer offense showed its depth from top to bottom at the Baseball at the Beach Tournament on Opening Weekend, as 13 of the 14 guys that recorded an at-bat over the four games had at least one base hit.
• As a team, CCU hit .360 over the four games, as 11 different Chants had two or more hits and seven different Chants hit over .300 on the weekend.
  • For the second consecutive weekend, Coastal will throw a very experienced starting rotation in senior Nick Parker (RHP), redshirt senior Reid VanScoter (LHP), senior Michael Knorr (RHP), and super senior Elliot Carney (RHP).
• Parker got the start on Opening Day versus Kent State (Feb. 18) and went 4.2 innings. He gave up eight hits, walked two batters, and struck out six but did not get any help in the field as he gave up five runs, one of which was earned in the no-decision.
• Parker threw a career-high 106 pitches and was just one strikeout shy of tying his career-high of seven.
• Setting a career-high in strikeouts in his start versus No. 16 Central Michigan (Feb. 19) last weekend was VanScoter. The left-handed hurler matched his career-high with 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks in his non-decision.
• Knorr also did not factor in the decision in his start but the transfer was superb, striking out 10 batters and allowing one unearned run on three hits over 6.1 innings in his first career start as a Chant versus Kent State (Feb. 20). His 10 strikeouts were the most by a Coastal pitcher since Zach McCambley fanned 10 hitters versus St. Joseph's in 2020.
• Carney settled down after giving up a three-run home run in the first inning versus West Virginia (Feb. 21) to give up just four runs, three of which were earned, on four hits, two walks, and four strikeouts over 4.1 innings in his first start as a Chant.
  • A handful of new guys made their Chanticleer debut on the mound on Opening Weekend, and do so in a very big way.
• Starters Michael Knorr (6.1 IP, 3 hits, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K) and Elliot Carney (4.1 IP, 4 hits, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) each had strong showings in their first career starts at CCU, while Jack Billings (0-1, 1 save, 3. 2 IP, 4 hits, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) picked up a save in the season-opening win over Kent State (Feb. 18).
• Freshman Matthew Potok (1-0, 2.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 K) picked up his first career win in his first career outing in the win over No. 16 Central Michigan (Feb. 19), while fellow freshman Darin Horn (1.1 IP, 1 R, 2 BB) did not allow an earned run in 1.1 innings of relief work in the win over West Virginia (Feb. 21).
• After sitting out last season due to an injury, redshirt freshman Riley Eikhoff (2 app., 1.2 IP, 1 hit, 1 BB, 4 K) struck out four hitters in two appearances out of the bullpen.
  • The Chanticleers pitching staff fanned double-digit hitters in three of the four games on Opening Weekend.
• With their 48 total strikeouts over 36.0 innings of work, the Chants' strikeouts per nine innings average this season is 12.0, which ranks first in the Sun Belt and 28th nationally.
• CCU fanned 13 hitters in the season opener versus Kent State (Feb. 18), 11 against No. 16 Central Michigan (Feb. 19), and a season-high 15 versus Kent State (Feb. 20) again on Sunday.
 
For complete coverage of CCU baseball, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalBaseball (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUsports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.