CONWAY, S.C. – No. 16 Coastal Carolina walked it off in dramatic fashion Friday night as Rex Watson blasted a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Chanticleers to a 10–6 win over East Carolina at Springs Brooks Stadium.
Watson's blast marked his first home run as a Chanticleer and secured Coastal Carolina's second walk-off victory of the season, both coming on grand slams. The walk-off grand slam also marked the second of the year for the Chanticleers, joining Ty Barrango's walk-off grand slam against VCU on Feb. 20.
The Chanticleers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. In the bottom of the first inning, Walker Mitchell drove in Dean Mihos with an RBI single to right field to give Coastal an early 1-0 lead. Coastal added another run later in the inning when Jordan Taylor put the ball in play, forcing a throwing error by East Carolina that allowed Mitchell to score from third.
Mitchell paced the Coastal Carolina offense, going 3-for-6 with two RBIs. The performance continued a strong start to the season for the Chanticleer infielder, who has now reached base safely in all 13 games this year.
Mihos also had a strong night at the plate, collecting three hits to extend his hitting streak to 10 consecutive games. Colby Thorndyke reached base four times, going 2-for-2 with two RBIs while also drawing a walk and being hit by a pitch.
Luke Jones delivered the best outing of his career, tossing a career-high 6.2 innings while allowing just one run on four hits with one strikeout. The right-hander kept the Pirates off balance for most of the night and left the game with Coastal holding the lead.
East Carolina rallied in the eighth inning, scoring five runs to take a 6-4 lead.
Coastal answered in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs when Blake Barthol delivered a hard-hit infield single that brought home Domenico Tozzi and Brayden Horton to tie the game at 6-6.
After a scoreless ninth inning forced extras, Coastal Carolina loaded the bases in the bottom of the 10th before Watson delivered the decisive blow to seal the walk-off victory.
Coastal Carolina will continue the three-game series against East Carolina on Saturday afternoon at Springs Brooks Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
