Top seed Coastal Carolina will have to fight their way through the loser’s bracket if they are going to win their own Conway Regional. Rider centerfielder Richie Sica made a diving catch in short center of a shallow fly ball off the bat of Caden Bodine that ended the game with the bases load and preserved an 11-10 Broncs win. The win is the first in the NCAA Tournament for Rider since 1987.
The Chants appeared to be cruising with a 5-0 lead going to the top of the seventh. Liam Doyle had crafted a nifty no-hitter through six innings striking out nine, walking two and hitting one on 99 pitches. Will Smith came out to start the seventh and that’s when the night caved in on the Chants.
The Broncs loaded the bases on two walks and a single. Six more hits followed off of Smith and Darin Horn, and Coastal went from up 5-0 to trailing 7-5. And the Broncs weren’t done. They added two more runs in the inning before Colin Yablonski finally put out the fire.
The Chants, however, had plenty of fight left in them. Ty Dooley cut the lead in half with a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh. They made it a 9-8 game with a run in the eighth and had a chance to win it in the ninth. Coastal loaded the bases with one out before Nick Lucky tied things with a sac fly. That brought Derek Bender, with a .354 average, to the plate with a chance to be a hero, but he popped up to third to force the tenth inning.
The Broncs took an 11-9 lead with a pair of RBI singles scoring runners from second base, the second one with two outs. Coastal responded by getting runners to second and third with no one out and Ty Dooley lofting a sacrifice fly to center to score the runner from third to make it 11-10.
The Chants would eventually load the bases with two away, setting the stage for the freshman sensation Bodine to perhaps save the day, but it was Sica who spoiled the night for the standing room only crowd with his game-saving catch.
The loss is the third in a row for the Chanticleers who are now 39-20. They will attempt to extend their season with an elimination game against UNCW at Noon Saturday. The Seahawks lost to Duke Friday 12-3.
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