CONWAY, SC-- The Winthrop Eagles rallied for six runs in the ninth inning to defeat Coastal Carolina 13-7, claiming their first Big South Tournament title since 1999 and third title overall in Coach Joe Hudak's tenure.
The Eagles (43-20) battled the Chants back and forth, tying the game four times. Winthrop jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on back-to-back homers by Heath Rollins and Daniel Carte. With that home run, Carte has 18 for the year, tying the single season homer record set by Rick Kobsik in 1998.
"What a ballgame," Hudak said. "This was like a heavyweight fight. We'd knock them down, they'd get up and knock us down, and it was a great effort by both clubs. We watched them celebrate the last three years on our field and it was great to celebrate on their field."
Coastal Carolina tied the game at 2-2 via a Mike Costanzo homer, but Kyle Roberson hit a two-out double and scored on Ben Ehrlich's single to put the Eagles back on top 3-2. Coastal scored one in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 3-3.
After a rain delay that lasted more than an hour, Winthrop reclaimed the lead in the sixth inning on a two-out RBI single by Tommy Lentz. Coastal then scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to lead 5-4.
The Eagles got the lead back in the seventh after Jacob Dempsey was hit by a Donnie Presley pitch with the bases loaded to tie the game at 5-5. Matt Repec's sacrifice fly scored Chris Carrara and the Eagles took a 6-5 lead.
Coastal scored twice in the seventh to lead 7-6, but the Eagles got a run in the eighth. Roberson was hit by a pitch and scored on an error by Coastal first baseman D.J. Burns to tie the game at 7-7.
In the ninth, the Eagles ended any hopes of a Chanticleer comeback. Alan Robbins and Roberson were walked. With the infield drawn in, Ben Ehrlich ripped a double down the first base line to give Winthrop a 9-7 lead. Carrara then lined a Mike Andreas pitch over the left field wall to give the Eagles a 11-7 lead. Rollins and Carte later scored for a 13-7 Winthrop advantage.
Jon Wilson (5-3) struck out the last three hitters he faced to secure the win. Carte was named tournament MVP and Carrara, Robbins, Dempsey, and Rollins were named to the All-Tournament team.
The Eagles have secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will find out their destination Monday afternoon.
