COASTAL CAROLINA 20 WINTHROP 3
CONWAY, S.C. - The 7th ranked Coastal Carolina University baseball team (40-6, 18-0 Big South) won its 40th game for the ninth time in 10 years as the Chanticleers defeated Winthrop (21-23, 9-10 Big South) 20-3 May 8 in Conway, S.C. Coastal Carolina scored 20 or more runs in a game for the fifth time this season.
Coastal scored three runs apiece in the first two frames. In the first, junior Scott Woodward was hit by a pitch. He moved to third on a single from senior Jose Iglesias and scored on a wild pitch. Senior Adam Rice, who proposed to his girlfriend before the game, then hit a double and scored as sophomore Daniel Bowman's fly ball to right was dropped by Sean Sullivan. Winthrop answered with a run in the second as Chas Crane connected on his 10th home run of the season, but the Chants quickly rebounded in the second. Redshirt-senior Chance Gilmore opened the inning with a Texas League double to left. He moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a double from sophomore Steve Davis. Junior Rico Noel moved Davis to third with a sacrifice bunt and Woodward's single brought in the run to make it 5-1. Redshirt-sophomore Tommy La Stella then brought in Woodward with a sacrifice fly to right.
La Stella led off the fifth with a home run off the scoreboard in right field. Coastal then scored three runs in the sixth. Davis tripled and scored on a Noel single. Woodward was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. Winthrop then removed Robert Lake and brought in Austin Stuart. On his first pitch, Noel and Woodward executed a double steal. Noel would score on an Iglesias single. Woodward would score on a ground ball double play from La Stella.
Coastal blew the game open in the seventh. Sophomore Taylor Motter doubled and scored on a Gilmore double. The bases were then loaded for freshman Josh Conway, who belted a grand slam to center. It was his second home run of the season. Motter scored a pair on a double to left and redshirt-sophomore Rich Witten scored on a wild pitch to make it 18-1. Redshirt-sophomore Josh Keener drove in a pair of runs in the eighth with a single to left. Winthrop scored a pair of runs in the ninth on a wild pitch and a bases-loaded walk, but redshirt-freshman Jackson Geary came in and struck out Austen Barber and Sean Sullivan to end the game.
Sophomore Anthony Meo threw another gem, moving to 10-1 on the season. He struck out eight and allowed just four hits and a run in seven innings of work. Lake took the loss, allowing eight runs and 10 hits in five-plus innings. He struck out five.
Coastal Carolina had 19 hits and seven doubles on the night. Rice and Gilmroe had three hits apiece with all three of Gilmore's hit being two-baggers. Conway drove in four runs, while Woodward and Davis scored three runs apiece. Crane scored a pair of runs for the Eagles.
Coastal's 40 victories ties the Chants with Virginia for the most wins in the country.
Coastal Carolina and Winthrop continue the three-game set Sunday, May 9 at 2 p.m. It is Senior Day at Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field.
KENTUCKY 2 SOUTH CAROLINA 1
Lexington, Ky. - Braden Kapteyn's two-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning was enough to lift Kentucky to a 2-1 victory over 8th ranked South Carolina on Saturday night on a cool evening for baseball at Cliff Hagan Stadium. Carolina is now 36-10 and 17-6 in the SEC with Kentucky improving to 25-21 and 8-15 in league play. The rubber game is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday and will be broadcast live on the Gamecock Radio Network and at GamecocksOnline.com.
Kentucky starter Jordan Cooper went 6.2 innings and allowed one run on four hits with five strikeouts, two walks and three hit by pitches to earn the win. He is now 3-4 for the year. Matt Little pitched 2.1 scoreless innings of relief to pick up his seventh save of the year. He allowed just two hits and struck out a pair of batters. South Carolina starter Sam Dyson went the distance, his second complete game of the season and allowed two runs on six hits in eight innings of work. He struck out eight and walked four. Dyson is 4-4 for the season.
The Gamecocks went ahead 1-0 in the top of the fifth inning on a solo home run by Evan Marzilli. On a 1-1 pitch, Marzilli crushed a homer to right center, his second of the season to give the Gamecocks a one-run lead. Kentucky struck back in the bottom half to score a pair of runs and take a 2-1 lead. The Wildcats had three consecutive hits that led to a pair of runs. Gunner Glad singled to left field, Lance Ray hit a base hit to right field and both scored on Braden Kapteyn's double to the gap in left center.
From then on it was the Wildcats, who kept Carolina off the scoreboard to secure the victory. Carolina had a couple of chances in the late innings but could not scratch across the tying run. In the seventh inning, Marzilli drew a one-out walk followed by a two-out single by Scott Wingo to give the Gamecocks a pair of runners. That brought Little in from the bullpen for Kentucky. He struggled with his second pitch to Whit Merrifield and threw wild giving the Gamecocks runners in scoring position at second and third base. But Little battled and coaxed Merrifield into fouling out to the third baseman as Kentucky dodged a bullet.
In the eighth inning, after Jackie Bradley Jr. reached base on a strikeout, wild pitch by Little, the Gamecocks' second threat in the late innings was thwarted as Christian Walker grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Jeffery Jones followed the double play with a base hit to center field. The Gamecocks went to the bench with pinch runner Robert Beary, who was able to get into scoring position by stealing second base. On a 2-2 pitch, Little threw one in the dirt but Wildcat catcher Luke Maile was able to corral the ball and throw out Beary attempting to reach third base to end the inning and another Gamecock threat.
South Carolina tried once more to get the tying run home in the top of the ninth as Adrian Morales led off with a single to left field. Morales would be out at second base on a fielder's choice to Brady Thomas. Carolina again went to the bench with pinch runner Adam Matthews, but he would be stranded on first as Little struck out Marzilli looking and got pinch hitter Michael Roth to pop out to shortstop Taylor Black ending the game and the final Gamecock chance.
Both teams finished with six hits. Morales went 2-for-3 to lead Carolina with Gunner Glad 2-for-4 to lead the Wildcats.
CLEMSON 12 MARYLAND 8
College Park, MD - Brad Miller went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and Clemson totaled 17 hits in its 12-8 victory over Maryland in front of 908 fans at Bob Smith Stadium on a windy Saturday afternoon. The Tigers, who took a 2-0 series lead and reached the 30-win mark for the 36th season in a row, improved to 30-17 overall and 13-10 in the ACC. The Terrapins fell to 16-36 overall and 4-22 in ACC play.
The back-and-forth game saw the Tigers score two runs in the top of the first, only to see Maryland score four runs in the bottom of the first. Clemson scored two runs in the top of the second, but the Terrapins regained the lead with a run in the bottom of the second. But the Tigers scored eight combined runs in the final four innings and Alex Frederick pitched 5.0 solid innings in relief to seal the victory.
Frederick (4-1) earned the win, as he allowed six hits, two runs, and one walk with one strikeout. Jonathan Meyer, the second of three Tiger hurlers, pitched 2.0 scoreless innings as well.
John Dischert (0-1), the second of three Maryland pitchers, suffered the loss. He gave up five hits, five runs (two earned), and two walks with two strikeouts in 2.0 innings pitched.
In the top of the first inning, Mike Freeman hit a one-out double down the left-field line to extend his hitting streak to 15 games, the longest by a Tiger in 2010. Jeff Schaus followed with a walk and Kyle Parker loaded the bases with a single off the fence in right field. Two batters later, Brad Miller grounded a 1-2 pitch up the middle for a two-out single to score Freeman and Schaus. It also extended Miller's hitting streak to 10 games.
Alfredo Rodriguez led off the bottom of the first inning with a single to center on a 1-2 pitch and advanced to third on Jon Wilson's single through the right side. Gary Schneider reached on an infield single that enabled Rodriguez to score and Matt Marquis walked on four pitches to load the bases with no outs. Brandon Padula hit a potential double-play grounder, but Miller booted the ball and all runners were safe, including Wilson scoring from third. David Poutier grounded into a 4-6-3 double play as Schneider scored, then Scott Weismann's throwing error on Matthew Murakami's bunt allowed Marquis to score from third.
Clemson came right back and scored two runs in the top of the second inning to tie the score. Richie Shaffer led off with a double to right field and scored on Will Lamb's single up the middle as Lamb moved to second on the throw to the plate. Lamb advanced to third on Freeman's groundout and scored on Schaus' single up the middle.
In the bottom of the second inning, Mike Rozak led off with a double down the left-field line on an 0-2 pitch and advanced to third on Jack Cleary's sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, Wilson grounded a two-out single up the middle to score Rozak, giving Maryland a 5-4 lead.
Marquis led off the third inning with a double down the left-field line and stole third with one out. After Poutier walked, Murakami lofted a sacrifice fly to center to score Marquis.
In the sixth inning, the Tigers rallied to take the lead thanks to two Terrapin miscues. Freeman led off with a single to left-center and advanced to second when Rodriguez dropped a pop-up in shallow left field. Two batters, John Hinson singled through the right side to score Freeman and Miller loaded the bases with a bunt single. John Nester followed with a deep drive to left field, but the wind kept the ball in the park. Wilson made the catch and Schaus scored on the sacrifice fly. Another error enabled the Tigers to take the lead when Murakami dropped a pop-up in the infield as Hinson scored the go-ahead run.
Clemson added to its lead in the top of the seventh inning. Lamb led off with a bunt single. After Schaus drew a one-out walk, Parker doubled off the third-base bag to score Lamb. Hinson walked to load the bases, then Miller hit a sacrifice fly to left-center to score Schaus and give the Tigers a 9-6 lead.
The Terrapins clawed back in the bottom of the seventh inning. Pinch-hitter Kevin Tehansky led off with a double over the first-base bag and stole third with one out. Two batters later, pinch-hitter Zach Fisher lofted a soft line drive to Schaus, but the Tiger left-fielder dropped the ball and Tehansky scored on the sacrifice fly. But Clemson avoided further damage when Frederick picked Fisher off second base and got Rozak to fly out to end the frame.
Schaus led off the top of the ninth inning with a solo home run to right field, his 10th long ball of the season. After Parker reached on an infield single, Hinson followed with a two-run homer to right field, his 10th home run of the year, to up Clemson's lead to 12-7.
The Terrapins refused to go down quietly in the bottom of the ninth inning. Tehansky drew a two-out walk and Poutier reached on an infield single. Tehansky scored on Fisher's single up the middle, but Frederick got Rozak to ground out to end the game.
Miller tallied a career-high four hits along with a walk, while Parker went 3-for-5 with a double, RBI, run, and walk. Schaus went 2-for-4 with a homer, two RBIs, four runs, and two walks, while Hinson went 2-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs, two runs, and a walk. Lamb and Freeman added two hits apiece, meaning each of the top six batters in the lineup had at least two hits apiece.
Rodriguez, Wilson, Schneider, and Poutier all had two hits apiece for Maryland, who had 14 hits in the game.
The Tigers overcame 15 runners left on base, seven Terrapin leadoff batters reaching base, and five errors in the game.
Clemson and Maryland will play the series-finale on Sunday at 1:00 PM.