HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker University baseball team picked up their second victory of the young 2020 season with a 16-1 win over the Chowan University Hawks. Offensively, Vito Castronovo led the way with six runs batted in, while John DeFazio struck out 10 over six innings of work.
When the Hawks scored the first run of the game in the top of the fifth inning, the Cobras exploded for 10 runs on six hits in the botto half of the fifth. Vito Castronovo accounted for five of those runs courtesy of two bases clearing doubles in the inning. After Lake Lybrand and Jonathan Barham drew back-to-back bases loaded walks, Casey Demko doubled to score two more runs for the Cobras.
In the 8th inning, the Cobras continued to grow their lead as Demko, Grant Thompson, Nick Leonard, and Reilly Hall all had RBI knocks. The Cobras went on to win 16-1 as Aaron Mitchell and Matt Hyatt came in out of the bullpen, relieving John DeFazio who was brilliant through six inning of work, striking out 10 Hawks while only allowing two hits.
For his outstanding start, DeFazio was named the McDonald's Player of the Game.
The Cobras will be back in action on Tuesday (Feb. 4) when they play host to St. Andrews. First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m., with live coverage available at www.cokercobras.com.