Coastal softball unable to complete comeback bid against Marshall

CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina softball team (30-13, 7-7 Sun Belt) was unable to complete its comeback bid against Marshall on Saturday at St. John Stadium. The Chants fought back from a 2-0 deficit to level the score, but the Herd pushed ahead to secure the 5-3 victory.

Marshall struck first in the top of the second inning after a lead-off double and a sacrifice bunt put Camryn Michallas on third base. A groundout on the following play allowed Michallas to reach home to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

The Herd scored one more run in the top of the third inning when Grace Chelemen drilled an RBI single up the middle to extend Marshall’s lead to 2-0.

Coastal looked to get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth inning when Delaney Keith struck her second single of the game through the right side. Maddy Jennings followed with a single of her own to right field and advanced to second base on the throw to put both runners in scoring position. However, Marshall held firm to keep the score at 2-0.

The Chants’ bats came alive in the bottom of the sixth inning when Iyanla De Jesus blasted a double down the right-field line to drive in Riley Zana to narrow the gap to 2-1. Senior Indya Smith then stepped up to the plate and smashed an RBI single to right field to level the score at 2-2.

The Herd rallied back in the top of the seventh inning when back-to-back singles from Alex Coleman and Sydney Bickel put runners on first and second base. A fielder’s choice and a CCU fielding miscue then loaded the bases for the visitors. Marshall capitalized on the opportunity when Autumn Owen hammered a sacrifice fly deep into right field to drive in two RBIs to push the Herd out in front at 4-2. The scoring wasn’t over for Marshall as they notched one more run off another Chanticleer miscue in the inning to make the score 5-2.

CCU did not go down without a fight, as Diamond Williams and Zana each crushed singles to open the bottom of the seventh inning. The next hitter, Keith, ripped an RBI single through the right side to decrease the deficit to 5-3 with zero outs on the board. However, the Herd kept calm to strike out one hitter and then turned a 5-4-3 double play to close out the game at 5-3.

Nicolette Picone fell to 8-3 with the loss after giving up three runs off two hits in her singular inning of work in the circle.

The Chanticleers will face Marshall in the series-deciding matchup Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.