STATESBORO, Ga. – The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers saw a three-run home run by
Tyler Johnson fly over the right-center field wall in the fifth inning to break a 3-3 tie and propel the Chanticleers to a 6-4 road win over the No. 17/24 nationally-ranked Georgia Southern Eagles on Saturday in Statesboro, Ga.
The win boosted the Chanticleers to 25-14-1 overall and 13-6-1 in Sun Belt play, while the loss dropped the Eagles to 28-15 overall and 14-6 in the conference.
The victory is the sixth consecutive win for the Chants overall and their eighth straight Sun Belt Conference win.
On top of Johnson's (1-for-3, HR, 2 BB, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) three-run home run, his team-leading ninth home run of the season, both
Matt McDermott (2-for-4, 2B, RBI) and
Dale Thomas (2-for-3, 2B, SAC, run) had two base hits, while McDermott,
Graham Brown (0-for-3, SF, RBI), and
Eric Brown (1-for-5, RBI, SB) all drove in one RBI in the win.
The Eagles' Noah Ledford (2-for-3, HR, 2B, BB, RBI, 2 runs) had both of the home team's two extra-base hits on the day, while he along with Jason Swan (1-for-4, HBP, RBI, run, SB), Christian Avant (0-for-4, RBI), and Jarrett Brown (3-for-3, BB, RBI) all had one RBI in the loss.
CCU's
Michael Knorr (4-0) picked up his fourth win of the season, as the right-handed hurler allowed three runs, one of which was earned, on five hits, one walk, and three strikeouts over 5.0-complete innings.
The tandem of
Elliott Carney and
Jacob Maton (2) did the rest out of the bullpen, as Carney gave up just one run on three hits, one walk, two hit batters, and three strikeouts over 3.0 innings before handing the ball over to Maton for a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his second save of the year.
GS starter Jaylen Paden (5-1) was handed his first loss of the season, as the righty was hit up for five runs, four of which were earned, on four hits, five walks, and three strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched.
Georgia Southern took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on a lead-off home run from Ledford before the Chants answered back with a run of their own in the top of the third on an
Austin White double and an
Eric Brown RBI-single to tie the score up at 1-1 midway through the third inning.
However, three errors by the Chanticleers in the field in the bottom half of the third inning allowed the Eagles two retake the lead at 3-1 on a pair of unearned runs.
The Men in Teal did not fret and rather tied the game back up at 3-3 with a sacrifice fly off the bat of
Graham Brown followed by an RBI-double off the wall in left-center field from McDermott in the top of the fourth inning.
After Knorr pitched around a lead-off walk in the bottom of the fourth, back-to-back two-out walks in the top of the fifth forced a pitching change for the Eagles. Johnson then hit the first pitch from the new reliever into the trees in right-center field for a three-run blast and put the visitors in front for the first time on the day at 6-3.
The Eagles scored one more run in the bottom of the sixth on a Jarrett Brown RBI-single to put the score at 6-4, but that was as close as the home team would get.
Carney pitched around two hit batters in the seventh and both a walk and single in the eighth inning to keep the Chants in front by two.
Maton then threw a 1-2-3 ninth, including striking out the first hitter of the final inning to seal the road win.
The Chanticleers' defense turned two more double plays giving them four on the weekend thus far, while the CCU arms held the Eagles hitless (0-for-8) with two outs.
Coastal will look for the series sweep over Georgia Southern tomorrow. First pitch is set for 1 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.
