By: Jake Miller
SALISBURY, N.C.- Coker baseball split its Saturday doubleheader and ultimately dropped its South Atlantic Conference series to No. 24 Catawba two games to one on Saturday (Mar. 11).
The Cobras took game one 10-1 while the Indians took the rubber match 13-2.
A Thomas Lopez sacrifice fly got Coker on the board first, before a throwing error by Catawba's starting pitcher allowed Jon Koski to cross the plate and gave the visitors a 2-0 lead. Catawba cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first, and Coker's pitching would hold the Indians scoreless for the remainder of the game. AJ Strnad dropped a single down the right field line in the second to score Connor Cleary, and Cleary would score again in the fourth inning on a Clint Allen groundout. The Cobras tacked on one more in the fifth when Bryson Conner singled up the middle to score Lake Lybrand. Coker notched two-multi run innings in the contest, getting two in the sixth off the bat of Strnad once again. The senior roped a single to left that allowed Allen and Tanner Crosby to score. Lopez mashed his third homer of the year for another run in the seventh, and Koski knocked his first long ball of his Coker career in the ninth.
Koski led the offense in game one, going 3-5 with two runs driven in. Strnad, Lybrand, Cleary and Allen each registered two hits, while Lopez, Darius Coldiron, Conner and Crosby each chipped in one. Forrest Arnold (2-0) got the win on the bump, with another dazzling starting performance. The senior fired seven strong innings, allowing one earned run on six hits while walking one and punching out five. Griffin Hollifield made another appearance out of the pen, finishing off the final two innings not allowing a hit and recording one strikeout.
The rubber match went a little different for both teams, as Coker found itself on the other end of a 13-2 ballgame to end the series. After the Indians plated one in their half of the first, Coker was able to knot the game at one thanks to an RBI groundout from Crosby. Catawba scored four times in their half of the second and never looked back, holding the Navy and Gold to just two runs. Lybrand, who scored on Crosby's groundout in the second, returned the favor and scored Crosby on a fielder's choice in the top half of the fifth.
Five Cobras recorded hits in the series finale. Matt Ticer (1-1) took the loss in his first collegiate start, allowing five runs, three earned on five hits in two innings. Cody Brown relieved the southpaw for two innings, until he was lifted for Larry Parker who made his first appearance of the year. Parker allowed two unearned runs on two hits in one inning. Jake Moore closed out the day for the Cobras on the mound, allowing one earned run on one hit in one inning.
The Cobras (13-8, 5-4 SAC) come back home to take on the Barton Bulldogs on Tuesday (Mar. 14) in non-conference action. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. at Tom J. New Field at Dave Schmotzer Stadium. Tickets for the game are $5 for adults, $3 for students and free to all Coker faculty, staff and students.