No. 9 Coastal Carolina Earns Statement Win at No. 2 North Carolina, 12-2
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – No. 9 Coastal Carolina delivered one of the most impressive regular season wins in program history on Tuesday night, rolling past No. 2 North Carolina, 12-2, at Boshamer Stadium.
The win marks the Chanticleers’ highest-ranked road victory since defeating NC State, 7-6, on April 10, 2019, and stands as one of the program’s biggest regular season wins to date. Coastal’s last regular season win over a No. 1-ranked team also came in Chapel Hill, a 7-2 victory over North Carolina in 2009.
Trailing 2-1 in the top of the sixth inning, the Chants seized control of the game with timely hitting and relentless pressure at the plate. Domenico Tozzi evened the score with an RBI single to left field before Colby Thorndyke followed with a go-ahead RBI single to score Jackson Winer, giving Coastal a 3-2 lead. Thorndyke led the offensive charge, finishing 3-for-4 at the plate.
The Chanticleers broke the game open in the seventh inning, plating six runs behind a combination of small ball and aggressive base running to stretch the lead to 9-2. Blake Barthol paced the offense with a team-high four hits, including a triple in the ninth inning, as Coastal added three more runs in the final frame to cap the scoring.
That offensive outburst proved more than enough for a strong combined effort on the mound from four Coastal pitchers. Starter Jackson Smallets tossed 4.0 innings, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out three. Daniel Parker followed with two scoreless innings of relief, giving up just one hit and striking out two. Darin Horn continued the dominant effort, allowing two hits over two scoreless innings while striking out three, before Ryan Lynch closed out the ninth with a pair of strikeouts.
With the win, the Chanticleers improve to 31-13 overall and remain 17-4 in Sun Belt Conference play.
Coastal Carolina will hit the road this weekend, traveling to Georgia Southern for a three-game conference series beginning Friday night at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
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