COASTAL CAROLINA POUNDS FURMAN 14-4
Conway, S.C.--Coastal Carolina's offense, which had been struggling
lately against the likes of South Carolina and Georgia Tech, sprang to life
early in a 14-4 victory over Furman Wednesday afternoon at Watson Stadium. The
Chanticleers batted around in the first inning, scoring seven runs as they improved
to 7-3 on the season, while the Paladins fell to 4-6. CCU, who had been averaging
over 10 runs a game before scoring only seven in their last four, pounded out
15 hits as the cold winds swept through the area.
Steve Pinnochio made the first and last outs of the first inning for CCU, but in between the Chants managed five hits, a walk and a hit batsman to plate seven, highlighted by Jeff Baker's three-run, opposite field blast. Baker drove in another pair of runners in the second as Coastal extended its lead to 9-0, and ended the day 2-for-4 with five RBI.
Junior transfer Brian Waack (1-0) pitched 5.0 innings in his first start at
CCU, allowing four runs and seven hits as he earned the win. Waack cruised through
the first three innings before running into trouble in the fourth, as the first
five batters all managed hits, three of which were the infield variety, and
the Paladins scored four times.
The Chants got three of those runs back in the fifth on Randy McGarvey's 2-run
single to center and a Furman error, and plated another two in the sixth on
a sacrifice fly by Greg Orsimarsi and an infield hit from Brandon Powell after
Coastal had loaded the bases with no outs. McGarvey ended the day 3-for-3 with
3 RBI, while Ryan McGraw added three hits and a pair of steals. Derek Norman,
Drew Latora and Danny Rueckel each had a pair of hits for Furman.
Furman starter Tom Mastny (1-1) took the loss, allowing 12 runs (nine earned)
in 5.0 innings pitched as he allowed 11 hits and five walks, but received little
help from his defense that committed six errors.
The two teams conclude the series tomorrow at 2:00 pm.