Coker sweeps MOC in CVAC baseball

Published in Sports on March 27, 2005 2:08 AM

• Print
• Email

HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- Coker College pulled off a three-game sweep of defending NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference baseball champion Mount Olive College on Saturday afternoon with a 6-5 come-from-behind victory.

Coker improved to 18-15 overall and 9-6 in the CVAC.

The Trojans fell to 15-20 and 8-10 against conference foes.

Mount Olive took a one-run lead on two different occasions but the Cobras fought back each time and eventually took the lead with a four-run outburst in the sixth inning. Coker struck first with a RBI single by Brian in the first inning for a 1-0 advantage.

The Trojans leveled the score in the second when Nick Panaccia came around from second base on a throwing error by Nally. MOC forged ahead in the fourth when a passed ball and a wild pitched moved Panaccia from second base all the way home.

Coker's Nic Fletcher tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth by scoring when Eric Losten reached on a throwing error by the third baseman. The Trojans used another Coker error in the sixth to edge back in front 3-2 but CC broke through in the bottom of the inning.

The Cobras loaded the bases with one out on a single, a walk, and a hit batsman. A fielder's choice by Seth Weinberg tied the game at 3-3 and Dustin Dockter made it 4-3 with a base hit.

Reliever Brett Williams came in for MOC but hit the next two batters to force in another run. Senior Conrad Deese singled in Weinberg but Fletcher was called out at home on a throw by the second baseman.

A single and a sacrifice fly in the Trojan seventh inning made the score 6-5 and made for a tense final two innings. Pitcher Larry Morris came through, however, and retired the side 1-2-3 in the ninth to preserve the victory.

Morris earned the win with four innings pitched, one earned run allowed and three strikeouts. Nally finished 3-3 with a RBI and a run scored, while Docter and Weinberg both went 1-4 with a run scored and one RBI.

Friday's doubleheader

A five-run seventh inning broke a 3-3 tie and Coker went on to defeat Mount Olive 12-4 in game one Friday afternoon.

Coker completed the sweep with a 6-3 victory in game two.

In the first game, Mount Olive (15-19 overall, 7-8 CVAC) rallied from an early 2-0 deficit with three runs in the top of the fourth as Josh Carter hit a two-run triple and scored on a ground out. Coker (17-15, 8-6) tied the game with a run in the fifth, then took the lead for good in the seventh.

Seth Weinberg and Dustin Dockter connected on RBI doubles and the Cobras converted an error and a wild pitch into two more runs and take an 8-3 lead.

Carter drove in his third run of the game on a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth, but Coker broke the game open with four more runs in the bottom of the frame as three batters reached on a hit by pitch.

Ricky Davis led the Trojans with a 4-for-4 effort.

In game two, Mount Olive took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Stephen Nordan singled with two outs, stole second, went to third on an error and scored on a single by Carter. But two hit batsmen and two Trojan errors led to five Coker runs in the bottom of the third. Four of the runs were unearned.

The Trojans closed the gap in the top of the sixth, thanks to an unlikely bat in the lineup. Bryan Corbett, an All-CVAC pitcher, was in the starting lineup as the designated hitter and delivered a two-out, two-run single after Lance Martin walked and Carter doubled. Corbett went 2-for-3 with two runs batted in.

After Coker added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, the Trojans threatened with nobody out in the seventh as Dustin Richardson led off with a single and Jeff Thamann was hit by a pitch. But Coker reliever Blake Miller struck out the next two batters and Richardson was caught stealing to end the game.

Justin Staatz (4-4) went the distance for the Trojans in the loss, striking out nine and allowing five hits. Five of the six runs allowed were unearned. Despite the loss, Staatz lowered his season earned run average to 2.09.