CONWAY, S.C. – For the 20th time this season, the No. 8/10 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers scored double-digit runs, as the Chanticleers defeated the No. 23/24 Southern Miss Golden Eagles 15-7 in the Sun Belt Conference series opener on Friday night at Springs Brooks Stadium.

Saturday's game has been moved up to noon ET due to the forecast of inclement weather later in the day throughout the Conway/Myrtle Beach area. Fan Fest @ Teal Town will open at 10 a.m. ET outside of Gate 1 of Springs Brooks Stadium.
 
The win pushed Coastal to 25-11 overall and 12-4 in conference play, while with the loss, USM fell to 22-14 overall and 10-6 in league action.
 
With the 15-run outburst, CCU improved to 20-0 on the season when scoring 10 runs or more in a game.
 
The Chants continued to rely on the long ball, as the Men in Teal blasted three home runs to improve to 19-3 overall on the season when hitting two home runs or more in a game.
 
The Coastal offense again was clutch with runners on base, as the Chants hit .455 (10-for-22) with runners on base, .429 (6-for-14) with runners in scoring position, and .400 (4-for-10) with two outs.
 
In the other dugout, the Golden Eagles hit just .182 (6-for-33) for the game overall, going 2-for-12 (.167) with two outs, 3-for-12 (.250) with runners on base, and just 2-for-7 (.286) with runners in scoring position.
 
The Coastal offense, which drew nine walks and struck out just three times versus one of the best pitching staffs in the Sun Belt Conference, was led by Derek Bender (2-for-5, 2 HR, HBP, 5 RBIs, 2 runs), who hit two home runs in the same game for the third time this season and matched his career high with five RBIs in the win.
 
Lead-off hitter Payton Eeles (2-for-4, 2B, SF, BB, 4 RBIs, run, SB) drove in a career-high four RBIs, while fellow infielder Ty Dooley (2-for-4, 2B, BB, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) drove in two RBIs himself for the contest.
 
The middle of the Southern Miss lineup hit two home runs, one each from Christopher Sargent (1-for-4, HR, BB, 2 RBIs, run) and Reece Ewing (1-for-3, HR, BB, RBI, 2 runs), while lead-off hitter Matthew Etzel (1-for-5, 2 RBIs) was tied for the team-high with two RBIs.
 
Picking up the win for the home team was sophomore Matthew Potok (3-2), who recorded his third quality start of the season. The tall righty gave up just three runs on three hits, three walks, one hit batter, and seven strikeouts over 6.0-complete innings.
 
The Chants' pitching staff struck out 10 Golden Eagle hitters, marking the seventh consecutive game that they have fanned double-digit batters.
 
The loss fell to USM's ace Tanner Hall (7-3), as the right-handed pitcher gave up five runs on four hits, seven walks, and three strikeouts over 3.0-plus innings on the mound.
 
Southern Miss got the scoring started in the very first inning, as Sargent hit a two-run home run to left field to put the visitors in front 2-0 midway through the first inning.
 
However, Potok settled in on the mound for the Chants to strand two USM runners in both the second and third frames to allow the offense to awaken the bats, posting back-to-back two-out RBI base hits from Zack Beach and Dooley, with the latter driving in two runs, to put the home team on top 3-2 heading into the fourth inning of play.
 
While Potok continued to get stronger as the game went on, walking one in the top of the fourth inning and firing a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth frame, the Chanticleers doubled their runs total in the bottom of the fourth inning with one swing of the bat on a three-run home run from Bender to extend the lead to 6-2.
 
After Southern Miss got one run back in the top of the sixth inning on a solo home run down the right-field line by Ewing to put the score at 6-3, the Chants blew the game open with six runs in the bottom half of the inning, highlighted by back-to-back home runs from Bender and Nick Lucky to pull the Men in Teal in front 12-3.
 
Southern Miss cut into the Chants' lead with four runs in the top of the eighth inning with the help of three walks, a hit batter, a wild pitch, and two base hits, including a two-run single to center field by Etzel to close the gap to 12-7 midway through the eighth inning.
 
Coastal got three of the four runs back in the bottom half of the inning, as Eeles lined a bases-loaded double over the head of the USM center fielder to drive in three runs and put the Chanticleers on top 15-7, where it would stand after the final inning of play.

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.