NEWBERRY, S.C.- The Coker College baseball team faced the Newberry College Wolves in games two and three of the series on Saturday, March 24. Coker fell in game one of Saturday's doubleheader, 12-1 and 3-2 in game two. Reilly Hall continued to improve both of his on-base and hitting streaks, while Brooks Estrada, Connor Cleary and Larry McCabe tacked on multi-hit efforts.
GAME ONE-
Coker was able to put the ball in play for the better half of the first game, collecting nine hits, but wasn't able to push across but one run in the contest. Coker trailed 1-0 heading into the seventh inning. The Cobras were able to tie the game though in the top half of the seventh at 1-1.
Connor Cleary led the inning off with a base hit to center. Matt Swiderski came in and drew a pinch-hit walk. With one out and runners on first and second, Coker's leadoff batter, Reilly Hall, extended his on-base streak to 16-straight games earning a walk, the team-leading 18th, loading the bases. Thomas Lopez then pinch-hit and grounded into a fielder's choice. The play scored the tying run in the process to even the game 1-1.
The demise of Coker's day in game one came in the bottom of the seventh and eighth innings when the Wolves went on to score 11 runs. Coker dropped game one to Newberry 12-1.
While Hall extended his consecutive on-base streak to 16 games, he also extended his current hitting streak to seven games from the leadoff spot. Both Brooks Estrada (2-for-3, SAC) and Cleary (2-for-4) had a multi-hit game. Estrada's efforts gave him his 12th multi-hit game of the season, Cleary his fifth.
GAME TWO-
Coker took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning complements of a Bryson Conner RBI single. Matt Swiderski reached on a throwing error from Newberry's third baseman and moved to second on the play. With two outs, Conner sent the run-scoring base hit to left to put the Cobras up 1-0.
With a 1-1 contest moving in to the top of the fourth inning, Larry McCabe and Connor Cleary put the Navy and Gold back on top. With two outs, McCabe shot a base hit to center. Behind him, Cleary drove a double to left field which brought in McCabe. Newberry's left fielder made a diving attempt at the ball and missed, which allowed McCabe to trot in all the way around from first to give Coker the 2-1 lead.
Newberry, however, took advantage of the Cobras in the bottom of the sixth inning with two runs of their own.
In the seventh, Coker presented the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at first, though couldn't collect. Cleary started off the seventh with a single back up the shoot. With one out, Thomas Lopez drew a walk to put runners on first and second. RJ Ball came in to pinch-hit and flew out to deep center field, which allowed Cleary to advance to third. With the tying run 90 feet away, KJ Curry came in for his pinch-hit opportunity and ended the game popping out to the shortstop.
Newberry claimed game three, 3-2, and swept Coker for the series.
Other notables, Reilly Hall extended his on-base streak to 17-straight, and now owns an eight-game hitting streak. McCabe (2-for-3, R) and Cleary (2-for-3, RBI, 2B) provided multi-hit efforts on the day- Cleary's seventh multi-hit game of the season.
The Cobras will be back in action on Friday, April 30, traveling to Mars Hill to take on the Lions in another South Atlantic Conference series.