By: Jake Miller
HARROGATE, TENN.- Coker baseball split its doubleheader at Lincoln Memorial on Saturday (Mar. 4) to win the South Atlantic Conference series two games to one.
Coker dropped the opening game of the day 5-3 and rebounded to win the seven-inning rubber match 6-4.
Coker struck first in the second inning off the bat of Tanner Crosby, when the sophomore roped a single to left field to score Bryson Conner and Thomas Lopez. Lincoln Memorial would respond with three runs in the home half of the fourth, but the Cobras would tie the game in the sixth when Jon Koski scored on a Darius Coldiron single.
The Railsplitters would score once in the seventh and once in the eighth to put the game away and knot the series heading to game three. Crosby finished the game 2-4 with two RBI, while five other Cobras tallied hits. Cody Brown (1-1) took the loss on the hill, allowing one earned run on one hit in two innings. The junior walked three and struck out two. Forrest Arnold got the ball to start, tossing 4.2 innings allowing three earned runs on six hits while walking four and striking out five. Griffin Hollifield allowed one earned run on two hits in 1.1 innings in his second appearance of the series, recording one strikeout.
Game two would see Lincoln Memorial jump out to a 4-0 lead through three innings of the seven-inning contest. The Cobras would mount a comeback, scoring twice in each of the next three innings to secure a 6-4 and ultimately a series win.
The Cobras got two runs in the fourth before the first out was recorded, starting with a leadoff single from Koski. Koski would touch them all shortly after as AJ Strnad lifted his third homer of the year over the left field fence to get the visitors back in the ball game. The Cobras would tie the ballgame after a shutdown inning from lefty Matt Ticer, when Brooks Estrada led off reaching on an error by the shortstop. Crosby drew a walk to move Estrada into scoring position, before Allen laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up 90 feet. Robert Lybrand came to the plate with two in scoring position and just one out, and delivered a single through the right side to score them both. The Cobras still threatened after tying the game when Lybrand advanced all the way to third and Koski reached first via walk with one out, but the visitors could not capitalize.
The Cobras would take the lead for good in the top of the sixth, which started with a one-out single from Conner. The junior would swipe second and come around to score on a double to left center by Estrada, putting Coker up 5-4. Crosby drew a walk to force LMU to call on its bullpen, and Allen welcomed the new pitcher with an RBI single to score Estrada and make it a 6-4 ball game. Ticer (1-0) would secure his first collegiate win with his fourth inning of work out of the pen.
In those four innings, the freshman did not allow a run or a free pass. He only surrendered two hits and recorded two punchouts. Brady Shuey got the start for the Cobras, allowing four earned runs on three hits in three innings. The right-hander also issued two free passes and struck out three.
The Cobras enjoy spring break until the weekend (Mar. 10-11) when they travel to Catawba for yet another South Atlantic Conference road series. First pitch on Friday is set for 6:00 p.m.