BAY MINETTE, Ala. - The Coastal Alabama South Baseball team (8-12, 4-0) managed a conference sweep in a rescheduled doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon, March 11, sweeping Lawson State (Ala.) for the second time in five days. Coastal South and Lawson State faced off in a doubleheader on Thursday, March 6 in Bay Minette, Ala., with the Coyotes winning both games, while scheduled to meet on Lawson State's home field in Birmingham, Ala. over the weekend. However, weather forced the weekend DH to be postponed and pushed back to Bay Minette on Tuesday. Coastal South was listed as the visiting team across both games.
Coyotes Roll;Â Throw Combined No-Hitter in First Game
Coastal South dominated to begin action on Tuesday, defeating the Cougars 17-0 in run-rule fashion. The Coyotes pushed across five runs in the top of the first inning, followed by a seven-run second inning to put the game out of reach. Coastal South's offense scored in all five frames, recording 11 hits and 12 walks in the process. Meanwhile, the pitching staff was unhittable, with Spencer Nicholas and Tyler Zawacki combining to toss a no-hitter in the five-inning contest.Â
For Nicholas, the Northport, Ala. native collected the start and the win against the Cougars, managing three perfect innings and five strikeouts. Tyler Zawacki, a Hoschton, Ga. native, closed out the game, allowing no hits and the lone walk of the game for Lawson State. He struck out one.
At the plate, Derek Jelen finished 4-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored as the Coyotes' leadoff batter, while Joseph Stephens managed a 2-for-2 line with a pair of walks and one RBI. Drake McBride connected with Coastal South's lone home run of the game, finishing 1-for-3 with his homer and three RBIs. McBride added two walks to his game one performance.
In game two, it was Lawson State who opened the game with runs in the first inning, pushing across two runs in the first frame, while later adding three runs in the third. However, the Coastal South pitching staff managed to keep the Cougars scoreless for the remainder of the contest following the third inning, with the offense eventually working a comeback for a 10-5 victory.Â
All 10 of Coastal South's runs came across the final five innings, with the Coyotes grabbing the lead during the seventh. Overall, the Coyotes out-hit Lawson State 16-5 in Tuesday's second game, earning the four-game sweep over the Cougars.Â
Joseph Stephens recorded another strong game at the plate, tallying three hits and four RBIs. Stephens totaled five hits and five RBIs during Tuesday's doubleheader and was the lone Coyote to record multiple RBIs in the game two win. Five other Coyotes recorded two hits a piece in the win, with six tallying one RBI each.
On the rubber, reliever Garrett Milbourn was awarded the win after pitching six innings from out of the bullpen, allowing no runs and just three hits. He struck out four Cougars. Trevor Ferris closed out the sweep with a scoreless ninth inning, allowing just one hit.Â
Schedule Change Ahead
Due to severe inclement weather forecasted for the state of Alabama on Saturday, Coastal South's next conference doubleheader on the schedule has been bumped up one day to Friday, March 14 in Wadley, Ala. The Coyotes are scheduled to face Southern Union (Ala.) in Wadley, with the DH set for 2:00 p.m. CT.
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