HARTSVILLE, S.C. – A scheduled doubleheader in South Atlantic Conference action was cut down to a single contest following a lengthy weather delay Friday afternoon, and the Limestone University baseball team would end up dropping the series opener to Coker University by a final of 7-5 at Tom J. New Field.
 
GAME 1 INFORMATION
Score: Coker 7, Limestone 5
Records: Coker (8-14, 7-10), Limestone (10-12, 8-9)
Location: Tom J. New Field
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
 

• Senior Alex Cornell (Columbia, Conn.) went 3-for-5 with a homerun, a double, and three RBIs
• Senior Devon Cantey (Half Moon Bay, Calif.) hit his first homerun in the Blue and Gold
• Junior Benjamin Huber (Pendleton, S.C.) finished with a double and an RBI
• Senior Brian Forbes (Rocky Point, N.Y.) also doubled for the Saints
• Senior Josh Evans (Indian Land, S.C.) tallied a base knock and two runs scored
• Senior starter Jordan Adcox (Lawrenceville, Ga.) took the loss, falling to 3-1 on the year
• Despite eight strikeouts, he gave up seven runs on seven hits and three walks over six innings
• Limestone outhit the Cobras, 9-7, but would leave six runners stranded on the afternoon

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Following a four-plus hour weather delay that started on a 2-2 count to the first batter of the day, the Saints got something going in the top of the first when Evans singled to right-center. A wild pitch and a throwing error later, Huber put the Blue and Gold in front early on, 1-0, with an RBI groundout to short.
 
Adcox struck out the side in the bottom of the first and got the lead hitter in the second to fly out, but the next two batters doubled and homered, respectively, on first pitches to give Coker a 2-1 lead. The Cobras added another tally the next inning as a two-out RBI single put the home team on top, 3-1, through three.
 
After leaving two-out doubles by Forbes and Huber stranded over the first three innings of play, the Saints came through with a two-out bomb by Cantey in the fourth to cut the margin to one. Limestone then used another two-out hit, an RBI double that split the leftfield gap by Cornell, to tie the game at 3-all in the fifth.
 
The two-out theme continued in the bottom half of the fifth inning as Adcox quickly retired the first two batters in the frame before running into trouble with a two-out walk. Coker took full advantage with three straight knocks, including a two-run double to jump ahead, 6-3, late. The Cobras would then put the game out of reach in the home half of the sixth as a dropped third strike came around to plate an insurance run.
 
Fittingly, the Saints would get one more two-out hit in the top of the seventh as Cornell launched a two-run shot over the leftfield wall, but the two-out magic ended there as Limestone dropped game one, 7-5.
 
NOTABLES
 

• Limestone batted .500 (6-of-12) with two outs, scoring four of its five runs with two gone
• Conversely, Coker also hit well with two outs, going 4-of-10 while scoring four two-out runs
• Cornell crushed his team-leading fifth homerun of the season
• Adcox tossed his third straight complete game, but this one coming in a loss
• Former Conference Carolinas foes, the Saints and Cobras played on the diamond for the first time since the 2015 season – it was Limestone's first trip to Hartsville since 2014
• The second game of Friday's doubleheader has been cancelled, making it a three-game series

 
UP NEXT
 
Limestone and Coker will wrap things up tomorrow afternoon with a twin bill scheduled for a 12 p.m. start.