Coker Snaps Four Game Skid with 5-2 Win

By Christian Stryker, SID Coker College

Hartsville, S.C. - The Coker Baseball Team bounced back from a 13-2 hammering at Augusta State yesterday by bringing homing a 5-2 win over Claflin University in their 2009 home opener on Wednesday.

Claflin struck first with a run in the first, but Coker answered with a pair of runs in the second, a run in the third and a run in the fifth and sixth innings. The Panthers narrowed the lead to three with a run in the eighth, before Coker shut the door for the game.

Justin Collier (Laurens, SC) (1-1) earned the win on the mound, going two innings, allowing one run on three hits with three strike outs, while Carmine Iorio (Livonia, NY) picked up his first collegiate save with a scoreless ninth inning of work.

Kyle Walker (Centralia, IL), Brian Luchsinger (Farmingville, NY) and Taylor Evans (Arvada, CO) each had two hits for the Cobras, with Walker driving in a run and scoring two, and Luchsinger driving in one run, while scoring one.

The Cobras return to the diamond on Saturday, when they begin Conference Carolinas play with a double-header against Limestone College. First pitch is scheduled for noon.