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MOBILE, Ala. – No. 26 Coastal Carolina used a four-run eighth inning to defeat the University of South Alabama baseball team 11-9 Friday at Stanky Field and clinch the three-game series. 

The Chanticleers trailed 8-7 after seven innings, but pushed across four runs in the top of the eighth on a one-out, two-run triple to right-center field by Kieton Rivers for a 9-8 lead, and added its final runs of the game on RBI singles by Billy Cooke and Jordan Gore.

Cooke went 3-for-3 with a double, three RBI and one run scored to lead CCU at the plate, while Kieton Rivers finished 2-for-4 with a triple, two RBI and one run scored. Carter Perkins went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored, and Drew LaBounty finished 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored to lead the Jaguars offensively. Brendan Donovan added a double and four RBI.

CCU (22-12-1, 10-3-1 SBC) jumped out to a one-run lead in the top of the first inning. Cooke led off the game with a double to left field, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Wood Myers. Cooke scored two batters later when Kevin Woodall Jr. reached on a three-base throwing error by Brendan Donovan on a grounder to third for a 1-0 Chanticleer advantage.

USA (20-15, 9-5 SBC) answered with a run in the bottom of the first to tie the game. LaBounty led off the inning with an infield single to shortstop, stole second and advanced to third on a groundout to second off the bat of Donovan. Travis Swaggerty followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to plate LaBounty and tie the game 1-1.

CCU responded with a pair of runs in the top of the second, highlighted by a two-out RBI single to center field by Cooke, for a 3-1 lead.

The Jaguars pushed across four runs with two outs in the bottom of the second to take a two-run lead. Will Luft doubled off the left field wall, and scored one batter later on an RBI single to center field by Carter Perkins to cut the CCU lead to 3-2. A single by Hunter Stokes and walk by LaBounty loaded the bases for Donovan, who delivered a bases-clearing triple off the right field wall for a 5-3 Jaguar lead. 

Coastal Carolina tied the game 5-5 in the top of the sixth on a two-run home run to center field by Kevin Woodall Jr., on the first pitch he saw from Jaguar left-hander Thomas Huston. The Chanticleers loaded the bases with one out later in the inning before Cory Wood drew a walk to score Peyton Isaacson for a 6-5 CCU lead. Cooke delivered a sacrifice fly to left-center field one batter later to score Seth Lancaster and extend the Coastal lead to 7-5.

South Alabama threatened in the bottom of the sixth, but did not push across a run. Perkins led off the inning with a single, and moved to second on a balk by CCU right-hander Andrew Beckwith. Stokes followed with a walk before a sacrifice bunt by LaBounty put two runners in scoring position with one out. Swaggerty drew a two-out walk later in the inning to load the bases for Wells Davis, but Beckwith escaped the jam when Cooke made a diving catch in the right-center field gap to rob Davis of extra bases and preserve a two-run Chanticleer lead. 

The Jaguars rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a one-run lead. Hardy singled with one out in the inning, and advanced to second when Luft reached on a fielding error by Gore on a grounder to shortstop. Perkins followed with an RBI single through the right side of the infield to score Hardy and cut the CCU lead to 7-6. Stokes drew a walk to load the bases for LaBounty, who delivered an RBI single to left field to score Luft and tie the game 7-7. Donovan followed with an RBI groundout to second to plate Perkins for an 8-7 Jaguar lead. 

USA responded with its final run of the contest in the bottom of the eighth when Barnes lifted an 0-2 pitch from Beckwith over the left field wall for a one-out solo home run.

"We walked eight (batters) tonight, and you just can't give a good team like that free bases," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "Both teams hit and know how to score runs, they (CCU) just scored a few more than we did tonight. We gave them a few too many free passes and they made us pay. They were a little better than we were on the mound in the second half of the game, and we paid for it. But we'll move on; we have one more tomorrow."

Beckwith (5-1) allowed four runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and three walks in six relief innings in the win. Austin Kitchen struck out one in one perfect relief inning to earn his third save of the season. Jaguar right-hander Avery Geyer (0-2) allowed four runs on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks in 2 1/3 innings in the loss.

The series will conclude with game three at 1 p.m. Saturday at Stanky Field. 

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Dugout Club, the baseball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. Members enjoy all games from inside the Stadium Club with climate control, private restrooms, private concessions and access to listen to the radio broadcast. All donations to the Dugout Club go directly to support the South Alabama baseball program. For more information on how you can join visit: jaguarathleticfund.com/dugoutclub