CONWAY, S.C. — No. 21 Coastal Carolina used a balanced effort on the mound and timely situational offense to defeat Arkansas State 4-1 on Saturday afternoon at Springs Brooks Stadium, clinching the weekend series in Sun Belt Conference play.

The Chanticleers (23-8, 8-3 SBC) broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth and added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings to pull away from the Red Wolves (13-17, 4-7).

Wells Sykes launched a solo home run in the seventh inning — his third of the season — to give Coastal a 3-1 advantage. Ty Dooley and Domenico Tozzi each added RBIs, and the Chants capitalized on a pair of Arkansas State errors to build their lead.

Starter Cameron Flukey struck out six over 5.1 innings and allowed just two hits and one unearned run. Ryan Lynch (2-1) earned the win in relief with 1.2 scoreless innings, while Darin Horn and Dominick Carbone each tossed a shutout frame, with Carbone recording his fourth save.

Dean Mihos doubled and scored twice for Coastal, while Colby Thorndyke went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles.

Arkansas State's only run came in the sixth, when Jake Henry Williams reached on an error to score Wil French, who had earlier walked and stolen second. The Red Wolves managed five hits but left nine runners on base.

Jelle van der Lelie started and allowed one run over 4.1 innings for Arkansas State, while Kole Turner (1-3) took the loss in relief.

NOTABLE

• Pitching Power: Starter Cameron Flukey struck out six and allowed just two hits over 5.1 innings, exiting with a 1-0 lead. Although Arkansas State (13-17, 4-7 SBC) tied it up on a fielding error in the sixth, Ryan Lynch (2-1) stranded two inherited runners and held the line. Darin Horn and Dominick Carbone each tossed a scoreless inning to close it out, with Carbone notching his fourth save.
• Go-Ahead Blast: Right fielder Wells Sykes provided the loudest swing of the day with a solo home run to left in the seventh—his third of the season—that gave Coastal a 3-1 cushion.
• Grind-It-Out Offense: Coastal managed just five hits, but worked four walks and took advantage of key Arkansas State miscues. Ty Dooley drove in a run with a single, while sacrifice plays and a fielder's choice helped manufacture runs in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings.
• Defensive Highlights & Hiccups: Despite a pair of errors, Coastal's defense came through in big moments, including a pickoff by Flukey and a caught stealing by catcher Caden Bodine to erase a potential Red Wolves threat.
• Series on the Line: The Chants will go for the sweep on Sunday in the finale, having outscored Arkansas State 8-2 through the first two games of the series.

UP NEXT

• Coastal faces a series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET to wrap the weekend.
• All three games this weekend are available on ESPN+ and the Chanticleer Sports Network.
• Tickets for all Chanticleer baseball games are available at GoCCUSports.com.