CONWAY, S.C. – The No. 16 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers fell 7-4 to the James Madison Dukes in a Sun Belt Conference Saturday afternoon matchup in Conway at Springs Brooks Stadium. The Chanticleers saw their winning streak snapped at 15 games.
Coastal's starter
Riley Eikhoff did not factor in the decision but pitched 4.2 innings and allowed three runs on eight hits while striking out six Dukes.
Bryson Shaffer (1-1) suffered the loss, going 2.1 innings, allowing six hits and giving up four runs with one strikeout.
The Chants'
Derek Bender (2-for-3, HR, 2BB, R, RBI),
Blake Barthol (2-for-4, 2B, BB, RBI), and
Sam Antonacci (1-for-3, 2BB, 2 RBIs) did the majority of the damage at the plate for Coastal.
James Madison's Hunter Entsminger (2-0) earned the win in relief, going 1.2 innings, allowing two hits and no runs while striking out two batters. The Dukes starter Max Kuhle went 4.1 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and four walks while striking out four batters.
After a scoreless first inning, JMU (13-6, 1-1 SBC) opened the scoring in the top of the second after a leadoff walk and a Chanticleer miscue put runners on second and third. Jason Schiavone (2-for-4, 2B, BB, 2 RBIs) drove a single to right field to give the Dukes a 2-0 lead.
Coastal (16-3, 1-1 SBC) tied the game up in the home frame of the fourth as
Ty Barrango earned a one-out walk and was followed by
Chad Born getting hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. A balk by the James Madison pitcher put runners on second and third. Antonacci pulled a 1-2 pitch to right field to even the score at 2-2.
However, the Dukes pushed back in front as Ryan Dooley singled through the right side and scored on a Coleman Calabrese infield single to the shortstop to lead 3-2. Coastal tied it up in the bottom of the fifth as Bender sent a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall, for his fourth home run of the season, to make the score 3-3.
JMU retook the lead after a one-out single by Wyatt Peifer, who advanced to second on a single to left by Mike Mancini (3-for-5, R, RBI). Peifer crossed the plate on a Fenwick Trimble (3-for-4, BB, RBI) single to right field for the 4-3 lead.
In the top of the eighth inning, Mancini singled to left to score Schiavone which was followed by a Dunaway single to plate Peifer and Mancini to lead 7-3. The Chanticleers looked to answer as
Ty Dooley and Born reached on a single and hit by pitch, respectively, with no outs. Barthol singled up the middle to score Dooley to close out the scoring for the 7-4 final.
Coastal Carolina and James Madison will meet for the series finale on Sunday, March 17, at Springs Brooks Stadium with a 1 p.m. ET scheduled first pitch. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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.
