HATTIESBURG, MISS. – The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers fell 7-3 to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Saturday afternoon as the Golden Eagles clinched the Sun Belt Conference series in Hattiesburg, Miss.
Coastal's
Graham Brown (2-for-4, BB, 3RBI) and
Derek Bender (2-for-4) recorded multiple hits to lead the offense, while
Sam Antonacci (1-for-4, HBP, R),
Zack Beach (1-for-4),
Jake Books (1-for-4, 2B, R), and
Dean Mihos (1-for2) tallied one hit each. CCU (27-19, 11-12 SBC) starter
Bryce Shaffer (1-5) pitched 3.0 innings, allowing five runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts in the loss.
USM (30-17, 14-9 SBC) starter Niko Mazza (7-3) allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out nine batters over 6.2 innings. Dalton McIntyre (2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI), Ozzie Pratt (3-for-4, HR, R, 2RBIs), and Carson Paetow (3-for-3, HR, R, 3RBIs) set the pace for the Golden Eagles.
The scoring started in the third inning as the Chanticleers opened with a lead-off double by Books and loaded the bases on back-to-back hit by pitches to Antonacci and
Blake Barthol before Brown singled to right field to plate Books and Antonacci for a 2-0 lead.
After only getting one hit in the first two innings, Southern Miss needed just two hits to cut the lead to 2-1 with no outs. Gabe Broadus led off the home half of the third with a single up the middle and scored on McIntyre's double down the first-base line. Pratt struck out to record the first out and was followed by a single from Slade Wilks to tie the game at 2-2. Davis Gillespie walked to put runners on first and second before Paetow homered to right center to lead 5-2.
Staked with a three-run lead, USM's Mazza shut down the Chants offense, allowing only a single by Mihos before getting an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth on a solo home run to right field by Pratt to lead 6-2.
In the top of the sixth inning, Coastal threatened as Bender hit a two-out single through the left side and advanced to third on a single to center field by Beach, but both runners were left stranded. The Golden Eagles got back-to-back singles by Pratt and McIntyre to score Broadus to make the score 7-2.
The Chants closed out the scoring in the top of the seventh as
Ty Dooley drew a one-out walk and moved into scoring position on a passed ball. Antonacci moved Dooley to third with a single up the middle before Brown hit a two-out single to center field for the final margin of 7-3.
Coastal and Southern Miss will close out the three-game series on Sunday, May 5, in Hattiesburg, Miss., with the first pitch scheduled for noon ET. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard on WRNN 99.5 Hot Talk.
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.
