Chants make statement with win over No. 4 Virginia

A record crowd packed into Springs Brooks Stadium on Sunday to watch Coastal Carolina host reigning national champion Virginia and, ultimately, to witness what might go down as the day these Chanticleers officially forced their way back onto the national radar.

A two-out, two-run single from junior Michael Paez in the seventh completed the comeback, a two-out RBI single from sophomore Billy Cooke in the eighth put the Chanticleers ahead and a steely ninth-inning performance from junior right-hander Andrew Beckwith sealed one of the program’s biggest wins in recent years.

The No. 23-ranked Chants, backing up the considerable preseason hype that accompanied them into the season and perhaps ratcheting up expectations even higher, rallied back to defeat the No. 4 Cavaliers, 5-4, before the 3,136 fans who made up the program’s largest-ever on-campus crowd for a regular-season game.

“That was a head rush. I’m still getting over it,” Beckwith said.

“It’s a big win,” added Paez. “It’s just a confidence builder … to show our fans that we’re here for real and this is our year.”

Those in and around the program have wanted to believe that this is indeed the season the Chants return to their previous heights, that they challenge for that long-awaited first College World Series appearance, and on days like Sunday it’s easy to see why.

With a quick turnaround after taking a tough loss the night before to No. 19 N.C. State, the Chants leaned on their bullpen and timely hitting to get the best of one of college baseball’s preeminent national powers and earn Coastal Carolina its first win over a top-five opponent since 2010.

“It’s huge, and especially against those guys,” Chants coach Gary Gilmore said. “They’re the program, at least east of the Mississippi to a large degree, they’re one of the five that everyone else is chasing. They do a great job. I have unbelievable respect for them and how they go about what they do and how well their kids are coached, so anytime you can get a win against these guys – anywhere, any place, anytime – it’s huge for your program.”

After Virginia (2-1) went up 1-0 in the top of the first inning, junior designated hitter G.K. Young answered back for Coastal Carolina (2-1) with a two-run opposite-field home run to left in the bottom of the inning.

But a day after the Chants and N.C. State combined for nine homers, runs would be at a premium Sunday.

The game stayed 2-1 until the top of the fifth when the Cavaliers put up three runs to go ahead 4-2. Adam Haseley clubbed a two-run homer and Ernie Clement followed with a single to chase junior starter Cole Schaefer from the game. A throwing error by Paez at shortstop later allowed an unearned run to score after Beckwith had taken over on the mound.

But the visitors wouldn’t get anything else against the veteran reliever.

Beckwith was at his best while yielding only five hits, no walks and no earned runs over 4 1/3 innings to earn the win and buy his team enough time to climb out of that two-run deficit and seize the momentum for good.

Paez had the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the seventh when he blooped a 1-2 pitch from reliever Kevin Doherty into left field for two RBIs to tie the game at 4 as the crowd reverberated in approval.

“I knew this guy was definitely breaking ball heavy so I was definitely trying to look for a breaking ball up to crush, but also I was thinking I made that error a couple innings before and cost us a run so I knew this was a time to help our team out,” Paez said. “And I also had another situation before where I popped up with the bases loaded, so I was like, ‘This is it. I need to help our team out.’ And thank God I did.”

And in the eighth senior Connor Owings and freshman Peyton Isaacson drew back-to-back one-out walks against reliever Alec Bettinger to keep the pressure on the Cavaliers. Bettinger then uncorked a wild pitch and Owings tried to take third before being thrown out in a call that Gilmore argued vehemently with the umpires. That left a runner on second for Cooke, the emerging second-year player, and he ripped a single past the third baseman to give the Chants a 5-4 lead and again bring the crowd to its feet.

“I was just looking for a pitch I could hit,” Cooke said. “We knew he was throwing fastballs, we got a scouting report on him and I was just looking for a pitch to hit. Luckily I got one and I was able to drive it.”

That left it up to Beckwith and the defense to close out the game.

He gave up a lead-off single to Andy Weber and a one-out infield single to Clement to put runners on first and third for Virginia’s three-hole hitter Matt Thaiss.

The anticipation in the stadium was palpable as Thaiss hit a routine grounder to second that Cooke fielded cleanly as Paez then completed the turn and fired to first for a game-ending double play. As the fans erupted in celebration in the stands, the players streamed out of the dugout to bask in the moment.

“It’s unbelievable,” Cooke said. “We knew it was going to be dogfight going into this game. We just battled all throughout the game, we never got down on ourselves and we kept rolling.”

Bettinger took the loss for the Cavaliers while starter Tommy Doyle got a hard-luck no decision after allowing four hits, two walks and two runs over six strong innings.

After collecting 28 hits over their first two games, the Chants had only six Sunday, but it was just enough to outlast the reigning national champs and to make an early-season statement.

“We had a great game against N.C. State yesterday and today we bring it – we brought it all three days,” Beckwith said. “Gilley thought we were going to have some trouble, in past years we’ve had trouble bringing it all three days. I mean, this team, it’s unbelievable – offense, defense picking each other up. Coming into today we all knew what it meant to beat Virginia and we brought it to them. We finished it. …

“We’re here to do one job, and that’s win. That’s what we need to do, and that’s what we’re doing.”

As for the crowd, Gilmore and the players alike marveled after the game about the atmosphere in the ballpark.

“It was incredible. Would you ever believe that Coastal Carolina would do this in the regular season?” Gilmore said. “It’s not [against] South Carolina or Clemson, you expect it for those guys. To have an atmosphere like this, heck, yesterday was a fantastic atmosphere. Both those games are regional caliber settings with fans and teams competing. It was a lot of fun.”

That is the big picture goal for this team, after all. To be good enough to host an NCAA Regional … and see how far they can go from there.

And while Sunday was just one game, it was certainly a big one – for national perception, for the resume this team hopes to build and, perhaps as much as anything, for the inner confidence of a team looking to follow through on its ever growing expectations.

“It’s a huge confidence builder for sure,” Gilmore said. “I don’t think I slept much last night just trying to figure some things out pitching wise and maneuverability wise. … The kids just battled. Beckwith was just absolutely outstanding for us today. And that team we beat, that’s one the classiest groups of players, coaches, unbelievably well coached. Any time you beat them, you have to earn it, brother. None of them come easy against those guys. They’re one of the best teams in the country every year.”

This story was originally published February 21, 2016 at 6:45 PM with the headline "Chants make statement with win over No. 4 Virginia."