ATLANTA – The No. 19 nationally-ranked Coastal Carolina Chanticleers pounded the Georgia State Panthers in the three-game Sun Belt Conference series opener on Friday night, as the visitors in Black and Teal scored 16 runs on 19 hits in the 16-7 road win over the Panthers in Atlanta, Ga.
 
With the 16 runs, the Chants improved to 14-0 when scoring double-digit runs in a game and 15-1 when scoring six runs or more.
 
CCU once again hit two home runs, pushing its record to 12-2 this season when recording two or more home runs for the game.
 
Coastal finished the month of March going 12-3 overall.
 
Freshman catcher Caden Bodine (5-for-6, 2 2B, 3 runs) had a career night with five base hits, a team-high for a Chant this season, while senior Graham Brown (4-for-5, HR, 2B, BB, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) had four hits, including blasting his sixth home run of the season.
 
Fellow senior Zack Beach (2-for-5, GS, BB, 4 RBIs, 2 runs) blasted his second grand slam of the year, super senior Nick Lucky (2-for-4, 2B, 2 BB, 3 RBIs, 3 runs) drove in three RBIs, and sophomore Ty Dooley (2-for-5, BB, 2 RBIs, run) added two more RBIs in the blowout win.
 
The Chants hit .432 (19-for-44) overall on the night but were even better with two outs, hitting .500 (9-for-18). CCU also hit .348 (8-for-23) with runners on base and an even better .375 (6-for-16) with runners in scoring position.
 
For the Panthers offensively, outfielder JoJo Jackson (2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) led the way with two extra-base hits, including a solo home run, while infielder Luke Boynton (1-for-4, HR, 2 RBIs, run) also homered and drove in two RBIs in the loss.
 
Even with the 16 runs, the Chanticleers stranded 10 runners on base compared to just four by the Panthers.
 
Earning the win out of the bullpen was junior Bryce Shaffer (3-0). The lefty entered the game in the fifth inning and fired 3.0-complete innings, allowing three runs on three hits, one walk, and three strikeouts.
 
Shaffer was followed with back-to-back scoreless innings from Liam Doyle (1.0 IP, 2 K) and Davis Tyndall (1.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 K).
 
Coastal starter Matthew Potok gave up four runs on seven hits, one walk, and four strikeouts over the first 4.0 innings.
 
The loss fell to GSU's Joseph Brandon (2-2), as the starter was hit up for seven runs on 11 hits, one walk, one hit batter, and six strikeouts over 4.0 innings.
 
Coastal pounced on the Panthers early with back-to-back two-run innings to start the contest.
 
CCU got on the scoreboard in the first inning on an RBI ground out off the bat of Derek Bender following back-to-back base hits from Chad Born and Bodine. With runners on the corners, Lucky singled through the right side to drive in Bodine to put the Chants on top 2-0 midway through the first inning of play.
 
Following a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play by the Coastal defense in the bottom of the first inning, the Chants doubled their lead to 4-0 with two more runs in the top of the second on a single, sacrifice bunt, wild pitch, and an RBI double from Georgia native Payton Eeles and then added a run on a sacrifice fly by Born after Eeles had stolen third.
 
The Panthers' offense got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second, cutting the Chanticleers' lead to 4-3 on three doubles and a wild pitch that allowed Jackson to race in from third to put the home team within one run heading into the third inning.
 
After both teams threw a shutdown inning in the third, the Chants' offense struck again in the top of the fourth as Bender was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with two outs. Lucky and Brown made the Panthers pay, as the veteran duo ripped back-to-back RBI doubles, Lucky's scoring two runs and Brown's driving in one, to push the Chants' lead back out to four at 7-3 midway through the fourth inning.
 
GSU got one run back in the bottom of the fourth on an opposite-field home run by Jackson before Potok got the third out of the inning with his fourth strikeout of the contest to keep the Chants on top 7-4 leading into the top of the fifth inning.
 
With the help of two singles and two Coastal errors, the Panthers scored another run in the bottom of the fifth frame to trim the Chants' lead to two at 7-5.
 
The Chants struck again with two outs in the top of the sixth, as Dooley lined a two-strike pitch into center field with the bases loaded to drive in two more Coastal runners to extend the lead to 9-5.
 
With runners on the corners and two outs in the inning, freshman Blake Barthol drew a four-pitch walk with the fourth pitch going to the backstop to allow Beach to scurry in from third base to once again double up the Panthers this time at 10-5.
 
Coastal pulled away for good in the top of the seventh inning, as the visitors loaded the bases on a Bodine single and back-to-back walks to Lucky and Brown before Beach blasted his second grand slam of the season and sixth home run of the year with two outs to put Chants up big at 14-5.
 
Georgia State put up two runs on a two-run home run by Boynton in the bottom of the seventh inning to put the score at 14-7, only to see the Chants tack on two more runs in the top of the ninth with the help of two wild pitches and a solo home run from Brown to put the final score at 16-7.
 
Coastal (16-7, 5-2 Sun Belt) and Georgia State (14-12, 4-3 Sun Belt) are scheduled to play game two of the three-game Sun Belt Conference series tomorrow at 3 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.