SAN MARCOS, TEXAS – Coastal Carolina starting pitching
Reid VanScoter struck out a career-high nine batters over a career-high 7.2 innings pitched, as the Chanticleers held off the No. 9/20 nationally-ranked Texas State Bobcats for a 7-5 win in game two of the Sun Belt Conference series on Saturday in San Marcos, Texas.
The win pushed Coastal to 13-8-1 overall and 2-2-1 in Sun Belt play, while the loss dropped Texas State to 19-5 overall and 4-1 in league play.
The Chants moved to 2-1 to start the eight-game road trip with both wins coming over top-25 nationally-ranked teams.
VanScoter (4-1) picked up his fourth win of the season, as he threw 7.2-scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out nine Bobcat batters.
Picking up his first career save as a Chant was
Colin Yablonski (1), as the righty got the final two outs of the game with the game-winning run at the plate.
The loss fell to Texas State starter Levi Wells (3-1), as the righty allowed two runs on three hits, four walks, and five strikeouts over 6.0 innings of work.
The top four hitters did most of the damage for the Chants at the plate on Saturday, as lead-off hitter
Austin White (3-for-5, 2 runs, SB) had a team-high three base hits, while the three-hole hitter
Nick Lucky (2-for-5, RBI, run) picked up two base hits and drove in an RBI. Four-hole hitter
Dale Thomas (2-for-4, HR, 2B, BB, 4 RBIs, run) drove in a game-high four RBIs, while outfielder
Graham Brown (1-for-4, HR) hit his first home run as a Chant in the win.
Texas State was held to just five runs on five hits and did most of their work in the ninth inning, scoring all five runs on three base hits in the comeback bid.
Dalton Shuffield (2-for-4, 2B, run) had a team-high two base hits, while Cameron Gibbons (1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBIs) drove in two of the five RBIs for the home team in the loss.
The Chanticleers scored first to start Saturday's contest, as White led-off the game with a single to left and then raced around to third on a failed pickoff attempt to get the Chants' offense going.
After
Eric Brown was hit by a pitch, Lucky hit an RBI-ground ball to second to move both runners up 90-feet and plate White for the 1-0 lead.
Following a walk to Thomas and a wild pitch that moved both Thomas and
Eric Brown up to second and third base, respectively, the Chants'
Cooper Weiss hit a deep fly ball to center field to drive in
Eric Brown on a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 2-0 for the visitors in teal.
The Bobcats finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth, as Shuffield led off the inning with a double over the head of Lucky in left field. However, three-straight ground balls up the middle led to three consecutive fielder's choices and outs at second base to keep the home team off the scoreboard heading into the sixth inning of play.
Texas State again threatened in the sixth, as the team in all cream put two runners on base by way of a hit batter, sacrifice bunt, and walk, yet watched a ground ball to
Matt McDermott at second base end the frame with the Chants still on top 2-0.
The Chanticleers added what would prove to be some much-needed insurance runs in the top of the eighth by way of a two-run home run to left field from Thomas and a solo shot two batters later to left-center field by
Graham Brown to push Coastal in front at 5-0.
After VanScoter and
Riley Eikhoff stranded two Bobcats in the bottom half of the eighth inning, Thomas and the Chants struck again in the top of the ninth with a two-out base hit off the handle of the bat that found the turf in center field to score both White and
Eric Brown and extend the Chants' lead to 7-0 with three outs to play.
The two-out base hit was huge for the Chants, as the wheels fell off in the bottom of the ninth.
Following a ground-out to the shortstop, the Bobcats then picked up a one-out single, walk, and an RBI-single to spoil the shutout bid and cut the score to 7-1.
After an error on a fly ball to center field allowed a second Bobcat to score, the Coastal bullpen then hit a batter to load the bases. Gibbons then lined a single just inside the left-field line to score two more Bobcats and close the gap to three at 7-4.
Texas State added another run on a fielder's choice before Yablonski got back-to-back flyouts to end the game with the visitors on top 7-5.
Both teams stranded seven runners on base each and were hindered by one error in the field.
Coastal and Texas State will play the rubber game of the three-game conference series tomorrow afternoon with the first pitch set for 2 p.m. ET.
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.
