CBI Co-Founder
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(Editor’s note: Coastal Carolina added a run in the ninth and defeated NC State 4-0 on Sunday afternoon in completion of suspended game)
RALEIGH, N.C. – Had Mother Nature not wreaked havoc yet again on the Raleigh Regional, Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore likely would have had effusive praise for starting pitcher Alex Cunningham and closer Mike Morrison. And NC State coach Elliott Avent likely would have lamented missed opportunities the Wolfpack had all night.
Instead, more rains came in the top of the ninth, suspending the game with the Chanticleers leading 3-0 and needing three outs to advance to the regional final.
Coastal Carolina loaded the bases three batters into the game but managed only one run, which came on G.K. Young’s RBI single to left. Wolfpack starter Cory Wilder got a double play grounder to minimize the damage.
Cunningham ran into mini-jams in each inning from the third to the sixth, each time making quality pitches to keep NC State off the board. In the fifth inning, with runners on second and third with one out, he induced a infield popout from Evan Mendoza on a high-inside fastball on a 3-1 count. Against 3-hole hitter Preston Palmeiro, he located a 2-1 fastball low and outside before getting a strikeout on a 3-2 changeup.
Morrison, for his part, was brilliant after entering with a runner on third and one out in the sixth. He got two popouts to second base to get out of the sixth before coasting through the seventh and eighth innings with three ground balls and three strikeouts. The Wolfpack were limited to four hits in eight innings.
The Chanticleers expanded their lead to 3-0 in the top of the eighth off of Tommy DeJuneas. Connor Owings (2 for 3) walked and scored on Zach Remillard’s (2 for 4) double that shot the gap in right center. He scored on Kevin Woodall, Jr.’s RBI single.
The game was pushed back one hour and five minutes because of Navy’s 13-inning elimination win over Saint Mary’s and one and 25 minutes by weather. It was halted at 12:31 a.m. local time and will resume today at 12:30 p.m. with Coastal Carolina batting in the ninth with one out.