No. 17 Coastal Takes Tight Series from Troy

Saturday, April 14

Troy, Ala.

1:00 PM

Troy University

23-11, 8-6

#17 Coastal Carolina

25-12, 11-3

Coastal Carolina

Troy

No. 17 Coastal Takes Tight Series from Troy

4/14/2018 8:12:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score (First Game)Box Score (Second Game)

By: Jace Sanders

TROY, Alabama – 17^th-ranked Coastal Carolina took two one-run nail-biters to take the Sun Belt Conference series from Troy, winning 3-2 and 5-4 in the twin bill Saturday at Riddle-Pace Field.

The Trojans (23-12, 8-7) had late chances to win both games but the Chanticleers (26-12, 12-3) held off the charges to sweep the doubleheader.

Game One
Like Friday night, the two squads were locked in a pitchers' duel for the first seven innings of the game, this time between Daren Osby and Zack Hopeck.

Osby gave up a solo homer in the second inning and nothing else on the mound for the Trojans – he was pulled after eight solid innings with five strikeouts and five hits. Hopeck went 7.1 on the mound and was responsible for two runs on four hits around four strikeouts.

The duel ceased when the Trojans took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, the go-ahead run on a Joey Denison RBI, infield single. It was the second consecutive game that the senior drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning.

However, Troy couldn't make the lead stand, as the league-leading Chants responded with two unearned runs in the top of the ninth off Corey Childress (2-2) to even the series. Coastal reliever Shaddon Peavyhouse (2-3) worked 1.1 shutout innings to earn the victory.

Three Trojan batters turned in two-hit performances – Matt Sanders, Joey Denison and Rigsby Mosley – accounting for all of the squad's hits in the game.

Game Two
Coastal jumped out to a very quick 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Lee Sponseller launched his third grand slam of the season.

However, Troy refused to cash it in just yet, scoring a run in the third and three in the sixth inning to cut the lead back to just one.

Sadler Goodwin sparked the near comeback in the third by ripping the team's 17^th triple of the season – tied for second on the school's single-season record list. Redshirt freshman Rigsby Mosley then did his part to trim the lead on a two-RBI double in the three-run sixth.

After his rocky start, Rush Hixon (2-2) settled in nicely and threw four scoreless on the mound before being lifted. The JUCO-transfer gave up just three more hits in his outing around four strikeouts.

Chant starter Anthony Veneziano (4-0) improved his perfect record with the help of the early run support. Veneziano allowed four earned runs on two hits in five innings on the mound.

Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"It was good baseball again today. The disappointing thing about game one was we gave them the two runs late. Then they ambushed us in game two but we clawed back and had a chance. We played them pitch-for-pitch; they're the best team in the league. It's encouraging to see how our team battled today."

Noteworthy
• Joey Denison drove in another run with his go-ahead single in the eighth of game one and now has 44 in the 2018 season – entering the series, he led the conference in the category.

• With a perfect top of the ninth in game two, freshman Levi Thomas has thrown 10 innings to start his career and has allowed one hit and no runs.

• Four-year starter Matt Sanders recorded hit number 222 of his career and is third in the Troy school record books in the category.

• As a team, the Trojans are now tied for second on the single-season record list with 17 triples this season – just two behind the 1997 team.

On Deck
Troy will welcome Alabama A&M to Riddle-Pace Field for Dollar Night on Tuesday. First pitch in the midweek contest is set for 6 p.m.