MOBILE, Ala. – No. 8 Coastal Carolina scored double-digit runs for the 24th time this season to hold off the South Alabama Jaguars in a 14-11 slugfest on Saturday in Mobile, Ala.
 
CCU improved to 24-0 on the year when scoring double-digit runs and 28-5 on the season when totaling six runs or more for the game.
 
With the win, the Chanticleers took the series win and extended their streak to 15 consecutive Sun Belt Conference series wins dating back to April 8-10, 2022, of last season.
 
All nine starters for the Chanticleers had at least one hit for the game, while two Chants in Graham Brown (1-for-6, 2B, 3 RBIs) and Derek Bender (2-for-6, HR, 3 RBIs, run) drove in a game-high three RBIs.
 
Also contributing for the Chants at the plate was Payton Eeles (2-for-5, HBP, sac bunt, 2 RBIs, 2 runs, SB) and Caden Bodine (2-for-4, HR, BB, HBP, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) with two RBIs each, while at the bottom of the order Jake Books (1-for-2, SF, BB, HBP, RBI, 2 runs), Ty Dooley (1-for-3, SF, HBP, RBI), and Blake Barthol (2-for-4, HBP, RBI, 3 runs) all had one RBI apiece.
 
Coastal used six pitchers for the game, with the first reliever out of the bullpen in Will Smith (4-1) picking up the win. The redshirt junior, who entered the game in the fourth inning and got the Chants out of trouble, gave up two runs on two hits and one walk over 1.1 innings of work.
 
South Alabama, who outhit the Chants 15-14 for the game, had eight of nine of its starters pick up a base hit in the loss, as the home team stranded 11 runners on base.
 
Micah Morgan (4-for-5, 2 2B, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) had a game-high four base hits, including a pair of doubles, while lead-off hitter Erick Orbeta (3-for-6, RBI) had three base hits at the top of the lineup.
 
Taking the loss for the Jaguars was starter Jeremy Lee (2-7). The right-handed pitcher was roughed up for eight runs on seven hits, three walks, two hit batters, and four strikeouts over 4.0 innings.
 
Both teams put the lead-off hitter on base in five of the nine innings and hit over .375 with runners in scoring position, with the Chants going 6-for-16 (.375) and the Jaguars hitting 9-for-19 (.474).
 
USA also did most of its damage with two outs, as the Jaguars hit .471 (8-for-17) and drove in seven two-our RBIs compared to the Chants' four.
 
Coastal opened the scoring in the top of the second inning with the help of a wild pitch and a two-out, two-run single by Eeles to pull out in front 3-0 midway through the second inning.
 
After the Jaguars got one run back in the bottom of the second on a two-out RBI double from Morgan, Coastal recorded another big inning in the top of the third inning on a two-run home run from Bender and a sacrifice fly from Books to push the score to 6-1 after three innings of play.
 
The Chanticleers tacked on another run in the top of the fourth on a two-out RBI single up the middle from Bodine, only to see the Jaguars respond with two runs in the bottom half of the inning on back-to-back RBI doubles from Morgan and Diego Altamirano with two outs in the inning to cut the Chants' leads to four at 7-3.
 
The Men in Teal blew the game open in the top of the fifth inning with a five-run frame, as the Chants took advantage of three consecutive walks to score on a Dooley sacrifice fly, a Barthol RBI single, and a bases-clearing three-run double from Brown to run out in front 12-3 halfway through the contest.
 
However, the next six runs would come from the home-standing Jaguars, who used a two-run home fun from Tyler Borges in the fifth inning and scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on three RBI singles and a double play ball to close the gap to three at 12-9 with two innings to play.
 
Coastal scored one run in the top of the eighth on a solo home run from Bodine, his ninth of the season, and added another run in the ninth frame on a two-out RBI single from Bender, his 70th RBI of the year, to push the lead back out to five at 14-11.
 
South Alabama's comeback bid in the bottom of the ninth included two runs on three base hits but was quickly ended on a strikeout and fielder's choice to put the final score at 14-13
 
The Chants (32-17, 19-7 Sun Belt) and South Alabama (23-26, 11-16 Sun Belt) will play the final game of the three-game series tomorrow at noon ET.

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