Coastal storms back against Rutgers, winning series

Coastal Carolina University’s baseball team won all three games in their series against Rutgers University, bringing the team to an overall record of 8-1.

The Feb. 28 game against Rutgers was the season high in attendance at Spring Brooks Stadium. That was broken the next day as this game hosted nearly 200 more fans. 3,171 loud fans packed Springs Brooks Stadium. 

The stadium was filled with U.S. veterans, active military members and Coastal ROTC members to celebrate them during the military appreciation game.  

“It’s a military appreciation game, we did the color guard and now we’re about to throw the t-shirts,” sophomore ROTC Member Brya Marlow said.  

“I was so excited. We were sitting in the chairs behind the outfield, and a guy 50 feet away caught it. It was really cool,” junior Olivia Norris said in response to the win. 

The offense started early with Dean Mihos leading off the bottom of the first inning with a single. He advanced on a wild pitch, and Bodine drove him in with an RBI single. Bodine also touched home when first baseman Colby Thorndyke singled to center field.  

Rutgers tied the game in the second inning with an RBI double. They scored three more unanswered runs, two in the fourth and another in the seventh inning. The score was 5-2 Rutgers.  

Great defense and timely pitching shut down Rutgers. Coastal third baseman Walker Mitchell made two phenomenal plays to keep Rutgers off the base path.  

Bodine, again in the action, drove in and scored a run to spark the offense in the seventh inning with a single-scoring Dooley. Second baseman Blake Barthol hit the Chanticleers’ fourth RBI single in the game to put Coastal down by a run heading into the 9th. 

Matthew Potok and Hayden Johnson pitched scoreless innings for Coastal giving the offense another chance in the 9th inning.  

Down one in the bottom of the ninth Ty Dooley led off the inning with a solo home run, tying the game at 5-5 with zero outs. Bodine, catcher, then called the game with another solo home run, adding to the Coastal team’s five-game winning streak. 

Coastal offense needed 13 pitches to walk off the game. Dooley’s and Bodine’s home runs give the Chanticleers’ the second longest active win streak in the Sun Belt Conference.