Coker Baseball Sweeps Doubleheader Versus Alderson Broaddus

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker University baseball team swept Sunday's (Feb. 9) doubleheader against the Alderson Broaddus University Battlers, winning game one 4-2, and game two 7-4.

Game One

After the Battlers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the third inning, the Cobras came rallying back in the fifth inning when Phil Griffor reached on an error by Lane Casto, scoring Casey Demko and Harrison Morris. The Cobras took the lead in the bottom of the sixth when Jonathan Barham came through in the clutch with an RBI double, bringing Chase Bruno home to take a 3-2 lead. Casey Demko gave the Cobras an extra insurance run with an RBI single, extending the advantage to 4-2.

John DeFazio delivered another great pitching performance on Sunday afternoon after a great start last weekend against Chowan, when he struck out 10 over six innings. This time, DeFazio threw a complete game, striking out nine over the course of seven innings as the Cobras won 4-2.

Game Two

Once again, the Battlers were able to take an early lead as they led 1-0 going into the bottom of the third inning. That's when Vito Castronovo came through with a two-run single, scoring AJ Vonderschmidt and Casey Demko. In the bottom of the fourth, Grant Thompson drew a walk with the bases loaded to grow the lead to 3-1.

When Alderson Broaddus tied the game up in the fifth inning at 3-3, the Coker bats once again responded as Harrison Morris doubled to right field, scoring Zac Capaldi and Castronovo to give the Cobras a 5-3 advantage. The next inning, Phill Griffor extended the lead even further with a two-run double to make it 7-3.

Aaron Mitchell threw four good innings in his second start of the season, only allowing two runs. The Cobra bullpen came up big this afternoon, as Michael DeLeo picked up the win, striking out three in 1.2 innings. Matt Hyatt relieved DeLeo in the ninth, getting the final three outs to fuel Coker to a 7-4 win.

McDonald's Player of the Game: John DeFazio, striking out nine in a complete game performance in game one.

The Cobras will be back in action on Wednesday (Feb. 12) when they travel to Franklin Springs, Gerogia to take on the Emmanuel College Lions. First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m., with live coverage available at www.cokercobras.com.