(20) CCU baseball drops mid-week contest to UNC-Wilmington, 6-4
WILMINGTON, N.C. – The No. 20 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers fell 6-4 to the UNCW Seahawks in Wilmington, N.C., on Tuesday night to wrap up an eight-game road trip. With the loss, the Chants fell to 20-8 overall, while the Seahawks improved to 18-11 on the year.
Coastal jumped on the scoreboard early as Sam Antonacci (3-for-4, 2Rs) and Derek Bender (2-for-5, 2RBIs) led off the top of the first with back-to-back singles. Antonacci scored on Caden Bodine‘s (2-for-4, 2RBIs) single to right field to make the score 1-0. Chanticleer starter Oliver Ellison (2.0 IP, R, BB), who did not factor in the decision, sat down UNCW in order with three straight flyouts.
However, the Seahawks tied the game in the home half of the second frame after a hit batter and a walk to put runners on first and second with no outs. Bryan Arendt moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt down the third base line before Kevin Jones made the score 1-1 with an RBI ground out.
UNCW added a pair of runs in the bottom of the third as Bromley Thornton singled to lead off the inning and scored on a triple by Jac Croom, who subsequently scored on a CCU throwing error to make the score 3-1.
The Seahawks took a 4-1 lead in the home half of the fourth inning on a Bryan Arendt home run down the left-field line.
In the bottom of the fifth, Coastal cut the deficit in half after Antonacci singled for the third straight time in the game. The Springfield, Ill., native moved to second on a passed ball before advancing to third on a groundout by Bender. Bodine plated Antonacci with his second RBI single of the game as CCU trailed 4-2.
The Chanticleers tied it up after Dean Mihos drew a one-out walk and advanced to third on a double by Ty Dooley to put runners in scoring position. Antonacci loaded the bases after getting hit by a pitch and Bender drove a single to center field to score Mihos and Dooley to make the score 4-4.
The Seahawks broke the 4-4 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning on a double by Aiden Evans to score pinch-runner Schaefer and a triple by Croom to plate Evans to lead 6-4.
Coastal’s Josh O’Neill (1-1) suffered his first loss of the season, working 2.0 innings and allowing one run on one hit and one walk. UNCW’s Luke Craig (3-0) threw 3.1 innings, giving up no runs, no hits, and no walks while striking out six batters. The Seahawks starter Ryan Calvert went 4.0 innings, allowing one run on six hits and with eight strikeouts.
Coastal Carolina will return to Conway, S.C., for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series on Friday, April 5, with a meeting against the Old Dominion Monarchs. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET and will be streamed on ESPN+ with the games on Saturday and Sunday scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and 1 p.m. ET, respectively.
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