JONESBORO, Ark. – Coastal Carolina held Arkansas State to just three hits in a 4-0 Sun Belt Conference road win on Friday night in Jonesboro, Ark.
 
The shutout win was the first for the Chants in 2022 and the first since defeating Liberty 2-0 in Lynchburg, Va. back on April 24, 2021.
 
With the victory, the Chanticleers moved to 14-10-1 overall and 3-3-1 in Sun Belt play. The loss dropped the Red Wolves to 5-18 overall and 0-7 in league play.
 
In what turned into a pitcher's duel, Coastal starter Reid VanScoter (5-1) recorded his fourth quality start of the season, holding A-State to just three hits, two walks, and six strikeouts over 6.0-scoreless innings to earn the win.
 
A-State starter Justin Medlin (0-3) was handed the loss by allowing three runs, two of which were earned, on five hits, three walks, and four strikeouts over 6.0 innings.
 
The Chanticleer pitchers combined to strike out 11 A-State batters and did not allow a hit from the third inning on, recording six 1-2-3 innings in the win.
 
Arkansas native Tyler Johnson (4-for-4, 2B, RBI, run, SB) outhit the Red Wolves himself with four base hits, his third four-hit game of the season, while outfielder Billy Underwood (1-for-3, 2B, RBI), second baseman Matt McDermott (0-for-3, SF, RBI), and first baseman Zack Beach (0-for-1, SF, RBI) each had an RBI in the win.
 
Arkansas State had just three hits on the night, all singles with one each from Mickey Coyne (1-for-3, HBP), Cooper Tremmel (1-for-3), and Jaylon Deshazier (1-for-4).
 
Coastal sacrificed its way to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning, as Johnson led off the inning with a single through the right side and then advanced to second on a throwing error on the A-State pitcher on a sacrifice bunt attempt from catcher Tanner Garrison.
 
Following another sacrifice bunt, this time from first baseman Cooper Weiss, to move the runners up to second and third with one out, Underwood doubled to the left-center field gap to plate Johnson and put the visitors on the scoreboard first at 1-0.
 
The Chants added to their lead on a sacrifice fly from McDermott to plate Garrison from third and push the lead to 2-0.
 
The visitors then loaded the bases on back-to-back walks and looked to add to its lead before a strikeout ended the inning with the bases loaded and the Chants in front by two midway through the second inning.
 
After VanScoter sent the Red Wolves down in order in both the third and fourth innings, the Chants added to their lead in the top of the fifth on an Eric Brown lead-off single and a Johnson two-out, RBI-double to extend the lead to 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.
 
Following 10 consecutive outs for VanScoter, the lefty hit and walked the first two A-State hitters in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the home team their first base runners since the second inning.
 
The Coastal hurler got out of the inning on a fielder's choice ground out, a strikeout, and a fly out to center field to keep the Red Wolves scoreless as the game moved into the seventh inning of play.
 
Following a 1-2-3 inning by reliever Matt Joyce, which included two strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Chanticleers added an insurance run in the top half of the eighth frame on a Johnson lead-off single, a sacrifice bunt, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly from Beach to put the Chants on top at 4-0.
 
The bullpen did the rest, as right-hander twirler Elliot Carney pitched a 1-2-3 eighth with one strikeout, while fellow right-handed hurler Jacob Maton fanned two in a three-up, three-down inning in the ninth to complete the shutout win.
 
Coastal and Arkansas State will play the second game of the three-game series tomorrow night at 7 p.m. ET.
 
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