CONWAY, S.C.? A five-run first inning put VMI in a deep hole they could never escape, as #20 Coastal Carolina posted a Friday night win over the Keydets by a 7-5 count at Watson Stadium in Conway. The win moves the Chanticleers to 31-8 overall and 9-1 in Big South play, while the Keydets fall to 28-11 and 5-5 in the League.
Coastal brought ten men to the plate off of VMI starter Trey Barham (8-3), who allowed a season-high six runs in the contest. Meanwhile, the Keydets managed only two baserunners in the first six innings off of Chanticleer starter Andy DeLaGarza (9-1). However, the visitors were able to scratch together a four-run rally in the eighth inning to cut the margin from 7-1 to 7-5, before David Anderson slammed the door to convert his ninth save of the season.
“I was really proud of how our guys fought back tonight,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “Once we got DeLaGarza out of there, we were able to put up a couple runs, and even bring the tying run to the plate. I thought Brian Sandridge had some great at bats tonight as our designated hitter. You know, if you take out the first inning, then we only gave up three hits the rest of the way, which shows that when you throw strikes, good things happen. But we're able to take some positives out of this one, and we'll just have to come back out ready to go tomorrow.”
Sandridge collected two of the Keydets' five hits in the contest, including his second home run of the season to get the Keydets on the board in the third inning, while also doubling and scoring a run in the team's eighth-inning rally. A.J. Yoder came up with a two-RBI double in the eighth as well, with Robert Crumpler and Chad Rice accounting of the other RBI on the evening.
Each of the Chanticleers' starting nine collected hits in the game, with Matt Rademacher the lone two-hit man for Coastal. Derek Martin drove home a pair of runs with a first-inning fielder's choice and a seventh-inning double, while Tommy Baldridge accounted for the team's only other extra-base knock, a double.
A pair of hot shots past third base got things going for Coastal in the bottom of the first inning, before Rademacher brought home the first run of the game two batters later with a single down the rightfield-line. Baldridge followed with his RBI double, before David Anderson connected with a line drive just over the shortstop's head to make it a 3-0 advantage off of Barham. Martin's fielder's choice hit to the shortstop plated another run, before Ricky Grice, hitting out of the ninth-spot in the lineup, brought the advantage to 5-0 with his single up the middle, before Barham escaped the inning by inducing David Sappelt into a groundout.
DeLaGarza continued to roll through the early innings until Sandridge connected on a 1-2 pitch for his second roundtripper of the season, just clearing the rightfield wall for the Keydets' first hit of the contest. Coastal answered in the fourth, as Chris Raber plated Sappelt with his single into left-centerfield to push the advantage back to 6-1.
A leadoff walk by Barham in the fifth inning spelled the end of the night for the junior hurler, as senior reliever Ian Casher entered the contest. Casher set down the first six batters he faced before hitting Rademacher to lead off the seventh, as he would come around to score on Martin's double later in the inning to give the hosts a 7-1 advantage.
The Keydets fought back off of DeLaGarza in the eighth inning, leading off with a Sandridge double and an infield single by Shane Geisslinger. Rice's sacrifice fly was followed by a four-pitch walk to Thane Smith, as DeLaGarza was removed in favor of Travis Risser. The reliever faced only two batters, allowing a run on Crumpler's run-scoring fielder's choice before walking Eddie Van Es. That was enough to cause the Chanticleers to bring Anderson into the game to stop the bleeding, however, he was greeted by Yoder's two-bagger down the rightfield-line, plating a pair to bring the margin to 7-5.
But the Keydets could manage nothing else, as the bottom third of the order went 1-2-3 in the ninth off of Anderson.
The teams will jump back into action Saturday afternoon, as first pitch is slated for 2 p.m. at Watson Stadium. The Keydets will send Michael Bowman (6-1, 2.53 ERA) to the mound, and he will be opposed by Coastal's Bobby Gagg (7-1, 2.37 ERA)
