CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina softball team (13-2) split a doubleheader against Mount St. Mary's on the final day of the Chanticleer Showdown. The Chanticleers defeated the Mount 6-1 in game one before falling 3-2 in the second matchup.
Game 1: Coastal Carolina 6, Mount St. Mary's 1
The Chants took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning when
Iyanla De Jesus singled to right-center field to drive in
Diamond Williams and make the score 1-0.
In the bottom of the second inning,
Indya Smith hit a leadoff single through the left side to instantly put pressure on the Mount. Williams then stepped up to the plate and crushed her second home run of the season over the right-field wall to extend Coastal's lead 3-0.
CCU would not let up on the Mount when freshman
Delaney Keith struck her third double of the year down the right-field line. De Jesus then followed with a single to right field to drive in Keith, putting the Chants up 4-0 at the end of the inning.
The Chanticleers had their third consecutive inning of scoring when
Riley Zana doubled to left field to drive in
Keirstin Roose from second base in the third inning to put CCU up 5-0 with four innings left to play.
Senior
Raelee Brabham struck out 12 of 19 hitters before giving up her first run in the top of the fifth when Zoe Wilcox reached home on a throw to make the score 5-1.
De Jesus closed out the game in the bottom of the sixth inning when she singled to left-center field to drive in an RBI and give CCU the 6-1 victory.
Brabham (6-1) dominated in the circle, recording a career-high 12 strikeouts and giving up just one run and two hits in 4.2 innings of work to record her sixth win of the season.
Game 2: Mount St. Mary's 3, Coastal Carolina 2
The Mount came back swinging in game two after a double, sacrifice fly, and fielder's choice allowed them to take the lead 1-0 in the top of first.
In the bottom of the second, the Chanticleers leveled the score at 1-1 when a groundout by Smith pushed
Abbey Montoya across the plate.
The score remained at one apiece for the next four innings, with a total of just four hits being made.
Mount St. Mary's pushed out in front in the top of the seventh inning when Lia Festa singled, driving in an RBI to make the score 2-1. The Mount did not take their foot off the gas, as Julia Vincent singled to drive in the second RBI of the inning, extending their lead to 3-1.
The Chanticleers looked to rally a comeback in the bottom of the seventh when Smith doubled to center field to drive in Montoya to make the score 3-2, but it was not enough to give CCU the win.
The Chanticleers will be back in action next weekend for their first away contests at the Spring Games in Madeira Beach, Fla., March 3-5.
For complete coverage of CCU softball, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalSoftball (Twitter), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), and facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com.
