Coastal Carolina Opens Conference Play in Boone

No. 16 Coastal Carolina opens conference play against Appalachian State after a statement 10-4 victory over No. 12 Wake Forest on Tuesday night in front of a record crowd. First pitch in Boone is set for 6 p.m. Friday in the series opener.

The Chanticleers’ win on Tuesday was highlighted by a seven-run sixth inning where nine batters reached base before recording a single out in the inning.

Coastal Carolina struck first in the bottom of the second inning as shortstop Ty Barrango delivered a two-run single to right field, giving the Chants an early 2-0 lead.

Wake Forest responded with four runs across the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to take a 4-2 lead. From there, the Coastal offense outburst happened and they did not look back.

First baseman Colby Thorndyke ignited the rally with an opposite-field home run for his first of the season, cutting the deficit to one before the Chanticleers continued to pour it on.

Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Dean Mihos brought home Walker Mitchell with an RBI single. Trace Mazon followed with another RBI knock to keep the momentum rolling.

Still with the bases loaded, Blake Barthol was hit by a pitch to bring Barrango across the plate. The Chanticleers kept the pressure on as Rex Watson lined a two-run single to right field, capping the big inning and giving Coastal a 9–4 advantage.

Coastal tacked on another run in the seventh when Mazon drove in a run to stretch the Chanticleer lead to 10–4.

Mazon and Mitchell each added multi-hit games in the victory, and senior Connor Kane earned his first win of the season, tossing 2.0 innings allowing three hits and no earned runs.

Freshman starter Daniel Parker was also impactful in the win, allowing no hits and no runs through 3.0 innings pitched against a red-hot Demon Deacons offense.

App State is also 10-6 overall, opening conference play this weekend.

The weekend rotation in Boone pic.twitter.com/rlDPz7lZ5R

— Coastal Carolina Baseball (@CoastalBaseball) March 12, 2026

The Mountaineers dropped their midweek game to Western Carolina on Tuesday at home in a 13-3 contest.

The Catamounts pushed across seven runs over the fifth and sixth innings, including five in the sixth. Walker Fox started the scoring with an RBI double that brought home Mason Holton to make it 3–1, and Jones later drove in Fox with an RBI single to cap the two-run fifth.

Western Carolina kept the pressure on in the sixth as Dominic Robinson scored on an error off Wyatt Stanley’s bat, and Jackson Lyda came home on a wild pitch. Fox then put the finishing touch on the inning with a three-run home run, extending the lead to 9–1. The sophomore North Carolina native finished a triple shy of the cycle in a 3-for-4, four RBI performance.

App State scored two runs in the seventh inning on a Jalen Seward double and a sacrifice fly by Nico Soul to cut the deficit to 9–3.

However, the Catamounts answered with a four-run ninth inning to put the game away. Western Carolina scored on a balk and a bases-loaded walk by Lyda before Holton added a two-run single to center field to seal the 13–3 final.

Drew DuPont, Jonathan Xuereb and Riley Luft each had two hits apiece for the Mountaineers in the loss.

App State starter Logan Tibbett (0-2) was credited with the loss. Tibbett was the first of 10 pitchers used by the Mountaineers in the loss.

The Chanticleers seek to build off the momentum from the midweek showdown and carry their strong offensive performance into Boone.