Liberty University
31-19, 15-6
Coastal Carolina
34-16, 16-5
No. 26 Coastal Carolina Downs Liberty in Rain-Shortened Contest
5/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The No. 26 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers defeated the Liberty Flames, 12-1, in a game shortened by thunderstorms and rain, Monday at Springs Brooks Stadium.
The contest went five innings, before lightning was confirmed in the area and play was halted. Later the contest was stopped and declared an official game.
Right fielder Will Shepherd hit his fourth home run of the season in the fourth inning for the Flames' only run.
Liberty drops to 15-6 in the Big South and 31-19 overall. Coastal Carolina moves to 16-5 in conference and 34-16 overall. The Chanticleers take the series, two games to one, with the win.
As in each of the first two games of the series, Coastal Carolina plated the first run of the contest. With one out in the second, designated hitter G.K. Young hit his seventh home run of the year, giving the Chanticleers a 1-0 edge.
After Liberty left runners at second and third with two outs in the top of the third, Coastal Carolina added to its lead with eight runs in the bottom of the inning. The first three Chanticleers to hit in the frame each singled, loading the bases for right fielder Connor Owings, who hit his ninth home run of the year, for a 5-0 advantage. Third baseman Zach Remillard followed with an infield single. Two batters later, catcher Casey Schroeder hit his 12th home run of the year for a 7-0 lead.
After a pitching change, first baseman Tyler Chadwick singled and moved to third on a Liberty fielding error on a grounder by center fielder Billy Cook. A single by Seth Lancaster and a ground out by left fielder Adam Marks pushed across two more runs for a 9-0 advantage.
Both teams scored runs in the fourth. With two outs in the top of the inning, Shepherd belted his fourth home run of season for the Flames. In the bottom of inning, Coastal Carolina made it, 12-1, plating runs on a RBI single by Remillard and a two-run single by Lancaster.
Lightning and heavy rainfall then caused the game to be halted.
Liberty starting pitcher Shawn Clowers falls to 9-4 on the year. The left-hander gave up seven runs on seven hits over 2 1/3-plus innings. He struck out one and walked one.
Coastal Carolina starter Shane Sawczak evens his record at 3-3. He allowed one run on three hits over four innings. He struck out two batters and walked one.
Liberty managed four hits. Coastal Carolina had 13 hits.
Liberty travels to College Park, Md., for a Tuesday contest with the Maryland Terrapins. Game time at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: SAWCZAK, Shane (3-3)
L: Clowers, Shawn (9-4)
Batting:
HR: Shepherd, Will 1
RBI: Shepherd, Will 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Shepherd, Will 1
CS: Paxton, Nick 1
PO: Paxton, Nick 1
Batting:
HR: OWINGS, Connor 1 ; YOUNG, G.K. 1 ; SCHROEDER, Casey 1
RBI: MARKS, Anthony 1 ; OWINGS, Connor 4 ; REMILLARD, Zach 1 ; YOUNG, G.K. 1 ; SCHROEDER, Casey 2 ; LANCASTER, Seth 3
Base Running:
RUNS: MARKS, Anthony 1 ; PAEZ, Michael 1 ; OWINGS, Connor 2 ; REMILLARD, Zach 1 ; YOUNG, G.K. 2 ; SCHROEDER, Casey 2 ; CHADWICK, Tyler 1 ; COOKE, Billy 1 ; LANCASTER, Seth 1
SB: OWINGS, Connor 1
