Coastal Carolina’s slide continues with loss to Ole Miss

Taking advantage of early miscues by Coastal Carolina, the visiting Rebels of Ole Miss cruised to an 8-2 victory, sending the Chanticleers to their third consecutive loss Saturday at Spring Brooks Stadium.

Assisted by two Coastal Carolina errors, Ole Miss jumped to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

The Chants (5-5) had a hard time from the start with leadoff hitter Errol Robinson, who started the game by reaching first base on an error. He ended up scoring on centerfielder J.B. Woodman’s sacrifice fly after first baseman Will Golsan’s double advanced him to third base.

Golsan later scored on Tate Blackman’s double, one of his three runs driven in. Overall, he went 3-for-5 on the day, in addition to scoring a run.

After the first inning, the Rebels (9-1) were on cruise control as they sporadically scored runs in the third, sixth, seventh and eighth innings.

It was more than enough for Ole Miss starter Chad Smith, who scattered seven hits and allowed two runs on the day to earn his first win of the season. He struck out six while walking two Coastal Carolina batters.

Chants hurler Tyler Poole received his first loss in 2016, giving up six runs on four hits and four walks in 5.1 innings.

The Chanticleers had an opportunity in the fifth inning, when Zach Remillard hit a two-out RBI single to left field, scoring second baseman Seth Lancaster and cutting the Rebels’ lead to 4-2. But that’s all that the Coastal Carolina would muster.

“Anything that can go wrong at this moment is going wrong,” Coastal Carolina baseball coach Gary Gilmore said after the game. “I’ve coached 31 years and never had an entire team go into a funk like this. There’s not one part of it that you can correct and make alright; it’s pitching, it’s offense and it’s defense. I’ve had teams go into funks before, you just have to figure out how to compensate.”

Said Coastal Carolina designated hitter G.K. Young: “The plays that we’re messing up on are routine plays that we make everyday in practice.Our field isn’t where it needs to be, but it’s nothing we can’t fix. Tomorrow’s another day, we’ll get back out there and swing the bat tomorrow and forget about all of this stuff that’s going on right now.”

On Sunday, Coastal Carolina will look to turn the page on its recent woes when it takes on Ball State Cardinals to end the Chanticleer Classic. Coach Gilmore expects the Chants to get back on track and, if nothing else, gain a little confidence after this bump in the road.

“We’re a step short from where we need to be and it’s 99% confidence,” Gilmore said. “We’re mentally unsure of ourselves for whatever reason and the slightest bit of turmoil has challenged us.

“It’s better to have turmoil in the beginning and see how you live through it and see how you become bigger and better out of it. That’s the great thing about baseball, you can pout and whine about it for 12 or 15 hours and we’ll get suited up again and go back at it and see if we can figure it out.”

Sunday’s game at Springs Brook Stadium against Ball State will start at 3 p.m.

This story was originally published March 5, 2016 at 10:15 PM with the headline "Coastal Carolina’s slide continues with loss to Ole Miss."