CONWAY, S.C.? Coastal Carolina allowed just two runs and seven hits in a doubleheader sweep of VMI, scoring 8-0 and 4-2 wins in Big South Conference baseball action on Sunday afternoon at Watson Stadium. The wins improved the Chanticleers to 39-13 on the season and 18-5 in conference, while VMI falls to 16-32 on the year and 9-14 in league play.
Cody Wheeler was the story of game one, as the Coastal starting pitcher allowed just one hit in seven innings of work. The left-hander improved to 9-0 on the season while notching nine strikeouts, allowing just a lead-off single to Graham Sullivan in the fifth inning. Caleb Cuevas and Keith Hessler worked the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, combining for the one-hit shutout.
Keydet starter Chris Henderson (3-6) suffered the loss, allowing eight runs, though just four earned, in his seven innings. The Chants took a 2-0 lead in the third inning, as Taylor Motter's squeeze bunt plated Tyler Bortnick with an unearned run, followed by Jose Iglesias' RBI double in the next at bat.
Following a fifth inning single by Rico Noel that plated Rich Witten made it a 3-0 lead against Henderson, the Chants broke the game open in the next two innings. Bortnick led off the sixth by being hit by a pitch, then moved to third base on a passed ball and scored on an errant throw following the passed ball. Later in the frame, Witten hit a sacrifice fly that scored Taylor Motter to bring the margin to 5-0.
A two-out error loomed large in the seventh, as Daniel Bowman delivered his 10th home run one batter later, a three-run shot to right field to cap the game's scoring.
"Coastal Carolina showed this weekend why they're, hands down, the top team in our league," said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. "Cody Wheeler dominated us in game one. He's the best pitcher in this league."
Bowman was one of three Chants with two hits in the first game, going 2-for-4 with three RBI. Iglesias notched his second-straight two-double game, while Motter scored a run and drove one home with his 2-for-3 outing.
A three-run rally in the third inning gave the Chants all the offense they needed in game two behind starter Anthony Meo (7-2). The freshman struck out a career-best 10 through six-plus innings, allowing just one run on three hits.
Matt Edwards (3-5), making just the second start of his career, took the loss for the Keydets despite a career-long seven innings of work. He surrendered just three runs on five hits, striking out five hitters while issuing two walks.
After Edwards stranded single runners in the first two innings, the Chants batted around in the third inning. With one out and runners at second and third, Edwards issued an intentional walk to David Anderson. Bortnick then drew a walk to break the scoreless tie, followed by Daniel Bowman's infield hit to make it 2-0. Edwards struck out Motter for the second out, but hit Witten with a pitch to force home the inning's third run.
Edwards and Meo traded zeroes over the next three innings, with Meo facing just one batter over the minimum through six frames. He then surrendered a leadoff single to Tanner Biagini, spelling the end of his outing. Three batters later, Brian Sandridge delivered a two-run home run off of reliever Matt Rein, cutting the margin to 3-2.
The Chants rallied for an insurance run in the eighth, when Bowman plated Anderson with a two-bagger into left-center field against reliever Travis Smink. Bobby Gagg then came on to slam the door for the Chants, picking up his second save of the season by allowing just one hit through 1.2 innings.
"I thought that we played hard today," said Ikenberry. "The second game was really a good ballgame. We needed to execute on the little things in the middle innings, and we didn't do that. I was proud of Matt Edwards today, he did a really nice job for just his second career start. I thought that we had some opportunities early on, but we just didn't capitalize."
Jacob Morley led the Keydets at the dish, going 2-for-3 with a pair of singles in game two, while Sandridge's home run and A.J. Yoder's fourth-inning double were VMI's only extra-base hits of the doubleheader.
Bowman and Anderson each had a pair of hits in game two for the hosts, with Bowman driving in half of the team's runs.
The Keydets return to action on Thursday evening, playing host to High Point in the first game of a three-game series at Gray-Minor Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
