No. 24 UNCP Narrowly Defeats Coker 5-4

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker baseball team suffered a tough one-run loss, 5-4, to No. 24 UNC Pembroke on Wednesday (Feb. 27) in collegiate baseball. The loss drops the regionally ranked No. 10 Cobras to 10-4 overall.

Tyler Witzel (3-1) was tagged with the loss. He allowed one run on one hit with two strikeouts in one inning of relief work. 

The UNCP Braves were the first to strike, plating a run in the first inning. Coker responded with two runs in the second to take a 2-1 lead. Two more runs in the fourth gave the Cobras a 4-1 advantage. The Braves cut the lead to just two with a run in the fifth. After a pair of scoreless innings, UNCP scored three runs in the top of the eighth to take the lead, 5-4. The Cobras fought hard in the final two innings, but they were unable to drive in another run.

Ernie Kirkwood lead the Cobras at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored, while Frank Suarez, Keith Wolf and Fico Kondla each drove in a run.

The Cobras will be back on the field this weekend for a three-game Conference Carolinas series with Limestone College. The Cobras and the Saints will open the series Friday afternoon with a single game starting at 2 p.m., followed by a double-header on Saturday beginning at noon. All three  games will be played at Coker's Tom J. New Field.