MADEIRA, Fla. – The Coastal Carolina softball team (17-3) secured two shutouts on the final day of the Spring Games tournament in Madeira, Fla on Sunday. CCU downed the Central Michigan Chippewas 1-0 and blanked the Creighton Bluejays 3-0.
Coastal Carolina finished the weekend with a 4-1 record scoring 21 runs and recording 10 home runs, five doubles, and 19 RBIs.
Game 1: Coastal 1, Central Michigan 0
The first three innings of the game were a stalemate with neither team being able to get on the board.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, junior Payton Ebersole got the ball rolling when she drilled a single to left-center field to knot her first RBI of the season to give the Chants a 1-0 lead.
The Chippewas looked to fight back in the top of the fifth inning when they loaded up the bases. The Chants made the call to the bullpen and brought in Nicolette Picone to enter the circle to extinguish the threat to keep the score at 1-0.
There were just two more hits, one each for both teams, in the remainder of the game. CCU's Iyanla De Jesus singled in the bottom of the sixth inning and Emily Bracamonte singled trying to spark the Chippewas back in the game in the top of the seventh inning.
Coastal ended the game with a fielder's choice and two groundouts in the top of the seventh inning to earn the 1-0 win.
Raelee Brabham (7-1) notched her seventh win of the season recording three strikeouts in 4.2 shutout innings of work in the circle, while Picone tallied her sixth save of the season giving up a lone hit in the 2.1 innings of work.
Game 2: Coastal 3, Creighton 0
Junior Riley Zana crushed her fourth home run of the season over the left-center field wall to give the Chants an early lead at 1-0 in the top of the first inning.
The Chanticleers added two more runs to their total in the top of the third inning when Delaney Keith smashed her third home run of the tournament to drive in Zana and make the score 3-0.
A couple of CCU miscues in the bottom of the third inning put two Bluejays in scoring position but the Chants kept their cool and preserved their 3-0 lead.
In the top of the fourth inning, Coastal looked to extend its lead when Abbey Montoya drilled a double down the left line to advance Jay Wrightsman to third base but the Bluejays worked out of the jam to keep the score at 3-0.
Creighton knocked on the door in the bottom of the fourth inning when two walks and a single loaded up the bases. Sophomore Mady Volpe then entered the circle and notched the third out to deny the Bluejay's hopes of a comeback to hold the score at 3-0.
The Chants closed out the game with back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the bottom of the sixth and seventh inning to secure the 3-0 victory.
Picone (3-1) logged her third win of the season pitching 3.1 shutout innings while recording four strikeouts in the circle.
The Chants will be back in action tomorrow when they face the College of Charleston at 3 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.
