ATLANTA, GA. – The Coastal Carolina softball team (25-9) split a pair of Sun Belt Conference games against Georgia State (13-18) on Saturday in Atlanta, Ga. The Chanticleers dropped game one 6-5 but came back for revenge, defeating the Panthers 11-3 in game two of the doubleheader.
Game 1: Georgia State 6, Coastal 5
The Chants got the ball rolling in the top of the second inning when
Keirstin Roose crushed a sacrifice fly deep into center field to push
Ava Brooke Strickland across home plate to give CCU an early 1-0 lead.
The Panthers bounced right back and leveled the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning after a leadoff single and a Coastal fielding miscue allowed Ashton Schroyer to reach home.
CCU regained control in the top of the third inning after
Indya Smith smashed a leadoff single to left field and
Delaney Keith hammered a double down the right-field line to put two runners in scoring position.
Iyanla De Jesus then tallied her second hit of the game when she blasted a two-run single to center field to reclaim Coastal's lead at 3-1. The runs kept coming for the Chants when Roose slotted an RBI single up the middle to extend CCU's lead to 4-1.
Georgia State got two runs of its own in the bottom of the third inning after Bailee Richardson crushed an RBI single to right field and a fielder's choice allowed Chloe Nadler to cross home plate to narrow the gap to 4-3.
In the top of the fourth inning, the Chants stretched their lead to 5-3 when
Payton Ebersole belted her first home run of the season over the right-field wall.
The back-and-forth scoring continued in the bottom of the fourth inning when Emily Brown struck a single up the middle to drive in one run to make the score 5-4.
After a scoreless fifth inning, GSU took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when Brown hit her second RBI single of the game to left field and a CCU fielding error allowed the Panthers to secure another run to give the home team the win 6-5.
Nicolette Picone dropped to 5-2 with the loss, recording five strikeouts while giving up three runs in 3.2 innings of work in the circle.
Game 2: Coastal 11, Georgia State 3
The Chants were quick out of the gates in the top of the first inning when Keith blasted her seventh home run of the season over the left-field wall to drive in two RBIs and give Coastal a 2-0 lead.
CCU continued its momentum in the top of the second inning when Williams crushed a single into left field to drive in both
Abbey Montoya and
Livi Payne to make the score 4-0.
The Panthers got one run back in the bottom of the second inning when Brown singled to third base to drive in an RBI to put GSU on the scoreboard at 4-1.
It was clear to see Coastal's vengeance in the top of the third inning after Montoya blasted an RBI double to left field and Payne crushed a two-run single through the left side to push CCU ahead 7-1.
Montoya's hot streak continued in the top of the fifth inning when she sent a home run soaring over the center-field wall to put the Chants in front big at 8-1.
GSU got one run back in the bottom of the fifth inning when Nadler drilled an RBI single to right field to decrease Coastal's lead to 8-2.
This did not phase the Chants, as Williams buried a leadoff home run over the right-field wall in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 9-2.
The Panthers were not going down without a fight, as in the bottom of the sixth inning Brown hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in an RBI in an attempt to keep GSU in the game at 9-3.
The Chants closed out the game in the top of the seventh inning after Smith smashed a double to right field to drive in Montoya from second base and Williams lined an RBI double of her own to left field to give Coastal an 11-3 victory.
De Jesus (4-2) recorded four strikeouts and allowed three runs in 5.1 innings of work to secure her fourth win of the season.
The Chanticleers will return to St. John Stadium next weekend for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series versus Georgia Southern starting on March 31 at 6 p.m. ET.
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.
