Box Score / Play by Play
CONWAY, S.C. – College of Charleston baseball dropped No. 18 Coastal Carolina, 8-3, on another double-digit hitting performance in non-conference, in-state rivalry action on Tuesday night at newly constructed Springs Brooks Stadium.
Charleston (25-8) eclipsed 10 hits for the eighth time in nine starts, as the Cougars once again improved upon their batting average which came into the game ranked seventh in the nation.
“We played well,” said head coach Monte Lee. “We were able to capitalize on a couple mistakes. We all know how good Coastal Carolina is. We knew we had to come in here and put a complete game together if we were going to compete with a team like that. The atmosphere felt like a big game, and it makes you proud. I really look up to [Coastal head coach] Gary Gilmore. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and his entire coaching staff, so it makes me proud and I wish Coastal a tremendous amount of success from here on out because of that.”
The College got two hits apiece out of Morgan Phillips, Blake Butler, and Ryan Brown, with Phillips and Bradley Jones contributing two RBIs. Jones' RBIs came on a two-run homerun which put CofC in front for good in the second inning.
“Bradley Jones had a big homer for us and we were able to get a big inning,” said Lee. “When we score three runs or more in one inning, we have had a lot of success this year. We scored three in the second inning and from that point forward we felt pretty good. We held them to one run from the seventh inning on, and that was another key for us.”
Cougar starter and right-handed junior Nathan Helvey (5-3) earned the win on the mound after holding the Coastal offense to two runs on four hits across 5.0 innings. Helvey fanned five batters against one walk.
Freshmen Will Detwiler and Carter Love combined in relief in the middle innings, and senior Chase Henry pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and shut the game down in the ninth to earn his fourth save of the year.
The pitching corps kept the Chanticleer lineup in the ballpark after CCU entered averaging 1.2 home runs per game, the fourth best average in the nation.
“I thought Nathan Helvey did an outstanding job in a midweek start against a team like Coastal Carolina, that's one of the best programs in the country,” said Lee. “It was important for him to give us a strong start, and we got five good innings. I would have loved to leave him in longer, but we need him back for the bullpen this weekend.
“We pitched extremely well. Detwiler came in and got a big double play ball to get us out of an inning. Carter Love got a huge strikeout with runners on first and third and one out in the eighth, and Chase Henry was phenomenal too. He got a big strikeout to end the eighth, and threw extremely well in the ninth inning. Our bullpen did very well tonight.”
The Cougars fell victim to circumstance on a Coastal run in the first, as Ryan Brown lost a line drive to left field in the sun, leading to a double, and a bunt attempt parked on the third baseline for an infield hit. With runners on the corners, the Cougars conceded the run with a 6-4-3 double play to avoid a crooked inning, and Helvey got a strikeout to wholly shut down the rally.
Charleston shifted the tide in the second with Butler lacing a leadoff double into the corner in left, and scoring on an RBI single by Phillips. Jones jumped all over a 2-1 pitch in the ensuing at-bat, hammering a towering shot out to left for his sixth of the year and a 3-1 CofC lead.
Coastal chipped away at the lead in the fourth with a one-out double by G.K. Young, who would score on a sacrifice fly by Zach Remillard.
The Cougars were unable to take advantage of a couple Coastal errors in a tense top of the fifth, and were narrowly denied an opportunity when a liner off the bat of Champ Rowland landed near the foul line in right, but was ruled a foul ball. Rowland and Erven Roper both wound up on base via back-to-back infield throwing errors, and Brown singled through the left side with a runner in scoring position, but Roper was called out on a bang-bang play at the plate.
The Cougars did manage an insurance run in the sixth, after Carl Wise led off with a line drive single to right, and came around to score on a two-out, two-strike RBI double to left center by Phillips.
The College manufactured two more in the seventh with one hit and three different sacrifices, as well as another Coastal error. A leadoff single by Roper triggered the inning, and Coastal committed its third error on a sacrifice bunt by Rowland to put runners on the corners. Roper scored and Rowland moved to second on a wild pitch, and Brown sacrifice bunted Rowland up to third, where he scored on a sacrifice fly by Alex Pastorius.
Detwiler worked around a walk in the sixth, and avoided trouble against two base runners in the seventh by forcing a groundball for an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
Detwiler preserved the lead into the eighth, but found further trouble after a walk and infield single put runners on the corners with one out. Love came out of the pen and dealt a critical strikeout for the second out of the inning, but a Texas-league single fell into centerfield to score a run. A walk loaded the bases before Henry came on, and the senior calmly fanned the potential go-ahead run on three pitches to keep the lead intact.
The Cougars crushed any further Chanticleer comeback dreams with two more runs in the top of the ninth inning. CofC loaded the bases on singles by Rowland and Brown and a walk by Pastorius, and Wise delivered his 44th RBI of the season with a sacrifice fly to right. Butler doubled to the corner in right to plate another run, but the trail runner was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
Henry struck out two more hitters in the ninth, after getting help from his shortstop as Rowland made a diving catch on a line drive to his right for the first out of the inning.
The Cougars return to Colonial Athletic Association competition with a road swing at Delaware April 17-19.
POSTGAME NOTES
Charleston entered the week ranked No. 22 by both Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), and No. 30 by Collegiate Baseball, while receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll (No. 29) and D1Baseball Poll (No. 26).
Coastal was ranked in all polls this week, clocking in at No. 18 (D1Baseball), No. 20 (USA Today Coaches Poll), No. 29 (Collegiate Baseball), and No. 18 (Baseball America).
With the win, the Cougars evened the all-time rivalry series at 18-18. It was the first road victory for either team in seven tries since the 2011 season.
Charleston is 22-0 when leading after the sixth inning and 23-0 when leading after the seventh.
The Coastal run in the first inning was the first against Nathan Helvey in five outings, with the junior pitching 13.2 scoreless innings over that span.
Carter Love does not have a run charged against him in seven consecutive outings, pitching 8.2 scoreless innings with only 4 hits and one walk against 12 strikeouts over the stretch.
The game was Morgan Phillips' and Blake Butler's16th with multiple hits. Both of Phillips' hits came with two strikes against him and delivered runs to the plate.
Blake Butler has reached base successfully* in 31 straight games going all the way back to opening weekend. On the season, Butler has at least one base hit in 29 of CofC's 33 games.
Carl Wise has reached base* in 19 consecutive games.
*A reached-base streak includes base hits, walks, and hit by pitches. Reaching on an error or fielder's choice does not extend a reached-base streak.
