BOONE, N.C. – The No. 13 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers dropped the series opener 16-8 to the Appalachian State Mountaineers in Boone, N.C. With the loss, the Chanticleers drop to 17-5 overall and 2-2 in league play, while App State improves to 14-6 on the year and 2-2 in the Sun Belt.
Coastal Carolina took the early lead in the top of the first as
Sam Antonacci (2-for-4, R, RBI) singled to left to lead off the game and advanced to third on a
Blake Barthol (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI) single before a
Derek Bender (1-for-3, 2B, BB, R, RBI) double down the right field line made it 1-0 for the Chants. With no outs, Barthol scored on a ground out to the shortstop before
Zack Beach (1-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBIs) made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly to score Bender, who extended his hit streak to 11 games.
The Chanticleers added a pair of runs in the top of the second after
Jake Books doubled to right field to lead off the inning.
Corey Zientek found the gap in left-center for a triple and scored on an errant throw to third to take a 5-0 lead.
CCU's Beach pushed the score to 6-0 in the top of the third inning. The Mountaineers found their grove in the home half of the frame with a double by Adam Quintero (2-for-3 2B, 2 BB, 2 Rs, 2 RBIs) and a single to center field by Joseph Zamora (3-for-5, 2B, R, 3 RBIs). CJ Boyd (1-for-3, HR, R, 3 RBIs) turned on a 1-0 pitch for a three-run home run to cut the deficit in half at 6-3.
Coastal answered with a run in the top of the fourth after a one-out walk by Zientek, who scored on a single to left field by Antonacci to make the score 7-3. However, App State pulled to within one at 7-6 after a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases. The Mountaineers' Zamora singled up the middle to plate Braxton Church (1-for-4, 2B, 2 Rs) and Drew Holderbach (2-for-4, 3 Rs, 2 RBIs). With the bases full of Mountaineers, Austin St. Laurent reached on a fielder's choice to score Hunter Wilder (1-for-3 BB, 2 Rs, RBI).
Appalachian State tied the game up in the fifth inning on a ground out to the second baseman before batting around in the sixth. Banks Tolley (2-for-4 BB, HR, 3 Rs, 2 RBIs) homered to left center to score St. Laurent for the first lead of the game for App at 9-7. After a double and single by Church and Holderbach, respectively, Quintero drew a walk to load the bases. Wilder reached via a hit-by-pitch before Zamora cleared the bases with a double to right center for a 13-7 lead.
The Chanticleers' Barthol scored the final run for the visitors on a home run to left field in the seventh to make the score 13-8. App State would tack on three runs in the bottom of the inning for the final tally of 16-8.
Coastal's
Dominick Carbone (3-1) picked up his first loss of the season, as the freshman lefty pitched 1.0 inning, giving up two runs on one hit while walking two. CCU's starter
Alexander Meckley worked 3.1 innings, giving up six runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
Appalachian State's starter Bradley Wilson worked 5.0 innings, allowing eight hits and three walks for seven runs before giving way to Grey LaSpaluto (3-0). LaSpaluto threw 4.0 innings, allowing one run on one hit with five strikeouts
Coastal Carolina will remain in Boone, N.C., for a doubleheader with Appalachian State on Sunday, March 22, at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium with a 6 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.
