HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- The Coker College baseball team opened South Atlantic Conference play with a victory over Mars Hill on Sunday (Feb. 24).
Grant Thompson extended his hitting streak to 11 games, and Drake Knight pitched four scoreless innings of relief to pick up the save, and help secure the victory.
The Cobras played small ball early, using a pair of bunts to first advance Matt Swiderski to second base, and then score him later in the inning. Casey Demko advanced him initially, and Lake Lybrand placed a perfect to bunt to squeeze in Swiderski, and to bring in Coker's first run of the game. Reilly Hall then singled in Grant Thompson to give the Cobras a 2-1 lead.
The Lions briefly tied the game in the top of the fourth, but the Cobras broke the game open in the bottom half of the inning. Larry McCabe led the inning off with a home run to left field, and then a pair of hits by Thompson and Hall helped plate three more runs and give Coker a 7-2 advantage. Thompson, Hall, and McCabe finished the game with two hits apiece. It was Thompson's seventh multi-hit game of the season.
The Cobras managed to score two more runs in the seventh when Demko's popup to the shortstop was caught in the air on a windy Hartsville afternoon. The ball ultimately landed safely to the ground, allowing Demko to get to second base, and McCabe and Nicolas Hertzfeld to score.
Jon Koski picked up his second victory of the season, pitching five innings, allowing just three runs while striking out six batters. Knight entered in the sixth inning, and shut the Lions down from that point forward. He finished with four innings pitched, five hits allowed, and four strikeouts, earning his second save of the year.
McDonald's Player of the Game: Drake Knight