In a tightly contested Sun Belt Conference Tournament game, Coastal Carolina came within one run of pulling off a dramatic comeback, only to watch Louisiana seal a 12‑11 victory in the ninth inning.
Louisiana built a commanding 7‑0 lead by the end of the fourth inning, capitalizing on early pitching struggles that left the Chanticleers scrambling to stay in the game.
The tide began to turn in the fifth when Blagen Pado launched a solo homer, and Walker Mitchell followed with a three‑run blast that trimmed the deficit. Pado added a tying three‑run homer in the sixth, knotting the score at 7‑7, and finished the game with two homers and four RBIs.
The Turning Point
Louisiana answered with a burst of three runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth, stretching their lead to 12‑7 and seemingly putting the game out of reach.
But the Chanticleers were not done. In the bottom of the ninth, Blake Barthol and Rex Watson delivered RBI singles, and Trace Mazon tripled to deep center, scoring two more runs to cut the margin to a single run. Mazon went 3‑for‑5 with a triple and three RBIs, while Mitchell’s three‑run homer added to the rally.
Ultimately, despite the late surge, Louisiana’s earlier cushion proved decisive, and the Chanticleers fell 12‑11, leaving a bittersweet taste to a season marked by resilience and near‑misses.