Five Home Runs Push Raiders Past Coastal Carolina

Saturday, March 7

Conway, SC

1 PM

Middle Tennessee

5-9

Coastal Carolina

9-5

Middle Tennessee

Coastal Carolina

3/7/2020 5:27:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Brady McBride

Conway, S.C. – The Middle Tennessee baseball team defeated Coastal Carolina, 12-5, at Spring Brooks Stadium to claim their first road win of the season. The Blue Raiders (5-9, C-USA 0-0) were powered by five home runs, which marks the first time since April 14, 2017 that MT combines for five long balls in one game.

MT fell into a quick 1-0 hole on a solo home run by Cooper Weiss in the second inning, but that lead was immediately erased by an explosion of Blue Raiders offense in the next half inning. MT tallied 10 runs, racked up six extra base hits, including four home runs from Mark Engel, Nathan Sanders, Brycen Thomas and Hunter Sullivan, and batted 12 batters in the inning. The last time the Blue Raiders scored 10 runs in an inning was May 10, 2009 against Mississippi Valley State.

"That was our best inning of the year by far," said Head Coach Jim Toman. "The wind helped with those home runs, and we said before the game if we get enough balls up in the air we're going to hit six out and we almost got to that."

Peyton Wigginton had another solid pitching performance in his fourth start of the season and went eight innings, striking out six.

The Chanticleers would chip into the Blue Raider lead inning by inning, cutting the Coastal Carolina deficit to 10-5.

Hunter Sullivan dashed the hopes of a Chanticleer comeback with his second home run of the game in the top of the eighth inning to push the Raider lead to 11-5.

Less than 24 hours after receiving news that his father had passed away from a long battle with cancer, Austin Cheeley came in and pitched the final inning to secure the Blue Raider win.

"Honestly it's just what he wanted," said Cheeley. "He told me when he was first diagnosed that if something goes wrong, and its going to affect baseball, not to miss baseball."

The Blue Raiders look to take game three and the series from the Chanticleers tomorrow at 12 p.m.