Late Inning Heroics Lift Coker Past Pfeiffer, 8-7

BURLINGTON, N.C. – Fico Kondla's walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth lifted the No. 2 seed Coker Cobras to an 8-7 come-from-behind win over the No. 5 seed Pfeiffer Falcons on Thursday (Apr. 25) in the opening round of the 2013 Conference Carolinas Baseball Tournament.

Trailing by one run in the bottom of the ninth, the Cobras found themselves just one out away from heading to the losers bracket, but back-to-back walks and an RBI single by T.J. Giczkowski tied the game at seven. Kondla then drove home Zach Loraine with a single to right field to give Coker the victory.

Coker (30-13 overall) now advances to play the No. 3 seed King on Friday (Apr. 26) at 7 p.m.

Coker opened the game on a high note as starter Dan Meyer retired the first six consecutive batters and freshman Justin Blechle belted a solo homer, the first of his collegiate career, in the bottom of the first. Pfeiffer plated three runs in the top of the third to take their first lead of the game.

The Cobras answered with four runs in the bottom half of the inning, including a three-run double by Ernie Kirkwood, to regain the lead, 5-3. Another three run inning by the Falcons in the fourth made it 6-5 in favor of Pfeiffer.

Both teams exchanged runs in the sixth making it a 7-6 ball game. The score remain unchanged until the Cobras scored the final runs of the game in the ninth.

As a team the Cobras belted out 14 hits. Leading the offensive onslaught was Giczkowski, going 4-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Kirkwood had a pair of hits including a double with three RBIs and a run scored. Blechle added two hits with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored, while Kondla also had two hits and drove in a run.

Loraine (2-2) picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief. He allowed just one hit with a strikeout.

For up-to-date information on the 2013 Conference Carolinas Baseball Tournament visit www.cokercobras.com.