MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Coastal Carolina nearly erased a seven-run deficit Wednesday afternoon, but the Chanticleers' comeback bid came up just short in a 12-11 loss to Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Dabos Park.
Louisiana built a 7-0 lead through four innings before Coastal Carolina answered with four runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to tie the game at 7-7.
Blagen Pado sparked the comeback with a solo home run in the fifth before
Walker Mitchell added a three-run homer later in the inning.
Pado struck again in the sixth, launching a three-run home run to pull the Chanticleers even.
Louisiana responded with three runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth to take a 12-7 lead, but Coastal made one final push in the ninth.
Blake Barthol and
Rex Watson each delivered RBI singles before Trace Mazon tripled to deep center field to score two runs and cut the deficit to one. The Chanticleers brought the potential tying run to third before Louisiana closed out the win.
Pado finished with two home runs and four RBIs, while Mazon went 3-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs. Mitchell added a three-run homer, and Barthol had two hits and an RBI.
Coastal Carolina will face App State in an elimination game Thursday at 1:30 p.m. ET.
