Coastal Carolina University
4-2
Ball State
2-3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Coastal Carolina | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | X | 12 | 13 | 0 |
No. 25 Chants Win 12-2 Behind Meckley’s Pitching
2/24/2024 6:04:00 PM | Baseball
A brief 20-minute weather delay unable to dampen the day
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Meckley (1-0), a junior, earned his first victory as a Chanticleer as he allowed just three hits, two earned runs, no walks, and struck out eight in seven innings of work.
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While Meckley was shutting down the Cardinals offense, Caden Bodine, Graham Brown, and Jake Books each had multi-hit games. Bodine went 2-for-4 with a homerun and three RBI. Brown went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and one RBI, while Books also went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBI. Zack Beach connected for his team-leading third homer of the season with two RBI.
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In the bottom of the first inning, the Chanticleers used small ball (aka Gilly ball)Â
to take a 1-0 lead. Sam Antonacci reached base on a hit by pitch to lead off the inning, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Blake Barthol, and then scored on a RBI groundout by Derek Bender.
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Ball State would answer in the top of the second inning when Matthew Gonzalez doubled down the right field line and later scored on a wild pitch by Meckley.
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With the score tied 1-1, Coastal Carolina erupted for eight runs on six hits in the bottom of the third inning to open a commanding 9-1 advantage. Cameron Sebuck led off inning by drawing a walk and quickly moved to third base on a double down the right field line by Antonacci. Bodine cleared the bases with his first homerun of the 2024 season as he cleared the teal wall in right-center.
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Barthol then reached when he was hit by a pitch and Bender drew a walk before a RBI double down the left field line by Brown and a two-RBI triple to center by Books gave the Chants a 7-1 lead. Ty Barrango hit a RBI double to centerfield, stole third, and scored the final run of the inning on a single to right field by Sebuck.Â
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After a 20-minute weather delay before their next at-bat, Coastal tallied three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on a two-run homer by Beach that scored Bender and a sacrifice fly by Barrango that plated Brown.
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On the day, coastal Carolina had nine batters with at least one hit and recorded 12 RBI as a team. Seven of the Chants' 13 hits went for extra bases, including four doubles, one triple and two homeruns.
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Merritt Beeker (1-1) took the loss for Ball State as he allowed eight earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three in 2.1 innings of work.Â
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Coastal Carolina will host Cincinnati at 2 pm on Sunday, February 25, at Springs Brooks Stadium. Ball State will play Illinois at 9 a.m. on Sunday in the first game of the final day of the round-robin tournament.
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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.
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Players Mentioned
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Meckley, Alexander (1-0)
L: Merritt Beeker (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Matthew Gonzalez 1
HR: Dylan Grego 1
RBI: Dylan Grego 1
SH: Dylan Grego 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Matthew Gonzalez 1 ; Dylan Grego 1
Batting:
2B: Antonacci, Sam 1 ; Brown, Graham 2 ; Barrango, Ty 1
3B: Books, Jake 1
HR: Bodine, Caden 1 ; Beach, Zack 1
RBI: Bodine, Caden 3 ; Bender, Derek 1 ; Beach, Zack 2 ; Brown, Graham 1 ; Books, Jake 2 ; Barrango, Ty 2 ; Sebuck, Cameron 1
SH: Barthol, Blake 1
SF: Barrango, Ty 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Antonacci, Sam 2 ; Bodine, Caden 1 ; Barthol, Blake 1 ; Bender, Derek 2 ; Beach, Zack 1 ; Brown, Graham 2 ; Books, Jake 1 ; Barrango, Ty 1 ; Sebuck, Cameron 1
SB: Barrango, Ty 1
CS: Alexander, Sebastian 1
HBP: Antonacci, Sam 1 ; Barthol, Blake 1
PO: Mitchell, Walker 1
