CONWAY, S.C. – After being held to just two runs on four hits in a Friday night loss, the Coastal Carolina offense broke out with nine runs on 10 hits, including a grand slam from junior Zack Beach, to defeat the ULM Warhawks 9-4 on Saturday afternoon at Springs Brooks Stadium.
 
The win pushed CCU to 11-7 overall on the season and 1-1 in Sun Belt play, while with the loss, ULM moved to 5-12 on the year and 1-1 in league action.
 
Coastal was led offensively by a pair of Chants with a career-high four RBIs in Tyler Johnson (3-for-4, HR, 2B, 4 RBIs, run), who hit his first home run of the season, and Beach (1-for-2, GS, BB, 4 RBIs, 3 runs), who hit a grand slam in the fifth inning to put the game out of reach.
 
CCU's Eric Brown (2-for-4, 3B, BB, RBI, run) had two base hits, including an RBI-triple, while Austin White (1-for-4, BB, run, SB), Nick Lucky (1-for-4, BB, run), Dale Thomas (0-for-4, BB, run), and Cooper Weiss (1-for-4, run) all scored one run in the win.
 
The ULM offense had three players register double-digit hits on the day led by shortstop Colby Deaville (3-for-3, HR, BB, RBI, run) with a team-high three hits, while Mason Holt (2-for-5, HR, 2 RBIs, run), and Chase DeJean (2-for-3, 2B, RBI) each added two base hits in the loss.
 
Reid VanScoter (3-1) had another strong outing on the mound, as the lefty gave up just two runs, one of which was earned, on five hits, one walk, and five strikeouts over 5.2 innings to earn his third win of the season.
 
The loss fell to ULM starter Cole Cressend (1-2), as the righty was hit up for six runs on six hits, two walks, and one strikeout over 4.2 innings of work.
 
Both teams got on the scoreboard first in the second inning, as the Warhawks' Deaville hit a solo home run to left field to put the visitors in front 1-0 before Coastal used a hit-by-pitch, a single from Derek Bender, and a two-out RBI-single from Johnson to tie the game up at 1-1 after two innings played.
 
CCU took its first lead of the game in the next at-bat, as White walked and stole second before Brown laced a triple into the right-center field gap to put the home team on top 2-1.
 
Following a solo home run to left field from Johnson in the bottom of the fourth inning, Beach hit the first pitch from reliever ULM reliever Jackie Robinson over the 20-foot batter's eye in straightaway center field to clear the bases for a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth to put the Chants up big at 7-1 with four innings to play.
 
ULM pushed across the next three runs of the game with an RBI-double from DeJean in the top of the sixth and a two-run home run off the bat of Holt in the top of the seventh to cut the Coastal lead to three at 7-4 at the seventh-inning stretch.
 
However, Coastal got two runs back in the bottom half of the seventh inning, as Johnson lined a two-run double down the right-field line to put the home team on top 9-4 with two innings to play.
 
Coastal reliever Jacob Maton pitched around a double and a walk to strand two ULM runners in the top of the eighth inning and a single in the ninth frame to help seal the five-run Sun Belt Conference win.
 
The Chanticleers stranded seven runners on base for the contest, while ULM left eight on the base paths for the game.
 
The two teams will play the rubber game tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET at Springs Brooks Stadium.

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