By: Jake Miller
HARTSVILLE, S.C.- On Senior Day (Saturday, April 23) at Tom J. New Field, Coker baseball split its South Atlantic Conference doubleheader with Newberry, walking off in game one 6-5 and dropping game two 4-1. The win earned Coker a berth in the South Atlantic Conference tournament.
Coker trailed Newberry 5-0 after two and a half, but chipped into the lead with three runs in the bottom of the third. AJ Strnad started off the inning with a double down the left field line, and would advance to third on a wild pitch. Will Winslow scored Strnad on a ground out for the second out of the inning, getting Coker on the board. Jack Leech reached via infield single to keep the inning alive, and he would move to third on a Darius Coldiron double down the right field line. Thomas Lopez stepped to the plate and dropped a single down the right field line to score Leech and Coldiron and make it 5-3.
Coker tied the game with two outs in the sixth, on RBI singles from Winslow and Leech. Going to the ninth the game was still knotted at five-all, when Thomas Lopez got on with a leadoff single. With one out, Bryson Conner doubled into the right center gap. Lopez beat the throw home to complete the comeback and the walkoff, scoring from first.
Strnad and Conner each had three hits in the win, while Leech, Coldiron and Lopez each recorded two. Colton Henthorne, Winslow and Miguel Frias each notched one hit.
Dallas Baldwin (6-3) earned the win in his fourth consecutive complete game effort. The senior allowed five runs, four earned on six hits while walking three and punching out five.
Newberry would even the series winning game two 4-1. Coker jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Winslow's sixth home run of the season, and Newberry would tie the game up in the fourth. A three-run fifth inning would do the damage for the Wolves against Coker starter Will Sutton (3-4). The southpaw allowed four runs, three earned on six hits in four innings. The lefty walked one and struck out two in the loss. Anthony Scaccia and Forrest Arnold each tossed scoreless relief appearances in the contest.
The teams wrap up the series tomorrow (Sunday, April 24) at 1:00 p.m. at Tom J. New Field. Tickets for the game are $5 for adults, $3 for students and free to all Coker faculty, staff and students.
McDonald's Player of the Game- Dallas Baldwin