Suarez Swings Cobras into Championship
The Cobras rallied in the eighth inning to knock off the No. 1 seeded Mount Olive Trojans in the conference tournament on Saturday (Apr. 27) night.
BURLINGTON, N.C. – With the game tied at three and the bases loaded, senior catcher Frank Suarez stepped to the plate and launched a bomb to center field to drive in two runs and set the Coker baseball team up for a 7-4 win over the No. 1 seeded Mount Olive on Saturday (Apr. 27). With the win the Cobras improve to 32-14 on the year.
The Trojans struck first in the third inning to take a small 1-0 lead, but Coker answered in the bottom of the fourth when T.J. Giczkowski doubled to right center driving in Zach Loraine for the 1-1 tie.
Both teams would then score a run in the sixth to keep the score tied as the game crept into the late innings.
Mount Olive would take a one run lead yet again in the top of the eighth, but the relentless Coker defense would respond to keep the damage to a minimal.
With the game on the line, the Cobra offense came alive to score five runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a commanding 7-3 lead. Mount Olive would go on to score a run in the top of the ninth, but it would not be enough as Coker would preserve the 7-4 win.
Loraine (4-2) would earn the win on the mound after 2.2 innings of work. The right hander gave up two runs on four hits and whiffed three batters.
Justin Blechle, Keith Wolf, Fico Kondla, Giczkowski (2) and Suarez (2) totaled the seven Cobra RBIs on the night, while contributing to the team's 13 hits.
Coker will move on to play the No. 3 seeded King University in the conference championship on Sunday (Apr. 28). The game will begin at 11:00 a.m.