Cobras Staved Off Elimination Twice to Advance to Sunday
Eighth-seeded Coker staved off elimination with a pair of wins, defeating No. 4 seed Mars Hill, 4–1, and No. 5 seed LMU, 11–1.
SALISBURY, N.C. – Facing elimination twice on Saturday, Coker University baseball—the No. 8 seed in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament—rose to the occasion with a pair of clutch wins, defeating No. 4 seed Mars Hill, 4-1, before run-ruling No. 5 seed Lincoln Memorial, 11-1, at Newman Park.
In both games, Coker's starting pitchers were dominant, each carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Against Mars Hill, freshman Cooper Mitchell picked up his first career win after tossing 6.0 innings and allowing just one run on two hits. In the second game, junior Ian Hawk went the distance in the seven-inning run-rule victory over Lincoln Memorial, surrendering just one run on three hits.
BY THE NUMBERS:
#8 Coker 16-33 (12-21 SAC) | #4 Mars Hill 26-25-1 (19-13-1 SAC)
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Cooper Mitchell took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and went on to secure the victory after allowing two hits and a run in 6.0 innings of work. The win was the first of his career.
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Luke Alford, Matthew Lipcsey and Gavin Edens each had two-hit games.
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Casey Cleghorn earned the first save of his career, going 3.0 innings in relief and allowing a run on two hits.
#8 Coker 17-33 (12-21 SAC) | #5 Lincoln Memorial 29-23 (19-14)
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Ian Hawk tossed a complete game three-hitter to pick up the win. Hawk also took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
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Luke Alford belted his eighth home run of the season and the 13th of his career, a three-run blast in the 4th inning that gave Coker a 4-0 lead.
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Alford and Peter Adams each recorded three-hit games, while Matthew Lipcsey had two hits.
TOP PERFORMERS:
vs. Mars Hill
P Cooper Mitchell: Win, 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 7 Ks
P Casey Cleghorn: Save, 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 Ks
LF Luke Alford: 2 H, 1 R, 1 double, 1 stolen base
CF Matthew Lipcsey: 2 H, 1 RBI
2B Gavin Edens: 2 H, 1 R, 1 stolen base
vs. LMU
P Ian Hawk: Win, 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 5 Ks
LF Luke Alford: 3 H, 4 RBI, 1 HR, 1 R
SS Peter Adams: 3 H, 2 R, 1 RBI
PH Barak Boston: 1 H, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 double, 1 stolen base
WHAT'S NEXT:
Eight-seeded Coker will face top-seeded and host Catawba at 1 PM on Sunday at Newman Park. The Cobras will need to defeat Catawba twice to advance to next week's SAC Tournament Championship series.