June 1, 2002
ATLANTA — Seamus Donovan went the distance Saturday, scattering nine hits and allowing one run for Coastal Carolina, which scored in each of the first six innings to survive its elimination game with Louisville, 9-1, in the NCAA Atlantic Regional at Russ Chandler Stadium.
The fourth-seeded Chanticleers improved to 44-18 and will meet the loser of Saturday afternoon’s game between host Georgia Tech and Georgia at 7 p.m. Saturday evening. The Cardinals went winless in their first-ever NCAA regional appearance and finished their season at 39-18.
Donovan (9-3) allowed a first-inning run, then blanked the Cardinals over the last nine innings for his first complete game of the season. He walked three and struck out three, and left 10 Louisville runners stranded in the game.
Brandon Powell and Chad Felty, the top two hitters in the Coastal Carolina order, each drove in two runs to pace the Chanticleers. Felty homered in the second inning, his 10th of the season, and delivered a sacrifice fly in the fifth, while Powell tripled home two runs in the second. Adam Keim belted a solo homer, his 16th of the season, in the fourth.
“This was a great game for us to be playing the way we’ve been playing all year,” said Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore. “We got some timely hitting, we ran the bases well, and we got great pitching. Now we’ve just got to cool down and relax for a little bit.
“Seamus keeps me on the edge of my seat every time he goes out there. There always seem to be guys on the bases, and he wiggles out of it somehow. He’s done a great job making good pitches when he’s had to.”
Dave Williams, Jr., singled to lead off the game and scored on Morgan Bojorquez’ single for the Cardinal’s only run.
Scott Barber (4-6) took the loss after giving up five runs and six hits in just two innings.
“Again, we had only one run, and our pitching was awful,” said Louisville coach Lelo Prado, whose team scored a total of three runs in its last four games. “You can’t fall behind when you are not swinging the bat. They came out swinging the bats.
“I am proud of them for what they did during the year. Hopefully we’ll be back with a little more experience next year and play a lot better than we did here.”
