ELLISVILLE –
Beau Bryans picked up his third win in his third career start in game one, but the Bobcats couldn't find the timely hits in the nightcap as they split a pair against Coastal Alabama-North Tuesday at The Bank.
Jones won the opener, 4-2, and dropped game two, 5-3, for its first loss.
The Bobcats moved to 10-1 on the year and the Coyotes picked up their first win in six tries.
Jones hosts Coastal Alabama-South on Thursday at 3 p.m. for a single, 9-inning game. Tickets are $7 online and go up to $10 cash only at the gate. Visit
jcbobcats.com/tickets to purchase online.
Jones 4, Coastal-North 2
Bryans worked five innings and
Evan Rogers had three of the Bobcats' four RBIs in a 10th straight win to open the year.
Rogers' two-run triple in the first and Bryans' RBI-groundout made it 3-0 Bobcats after one.
The Coyotes hit back-to-back home runs off Bryans in the fifth to pull within 3-2 before
Collin Pipkins and
Brady Thomas tossed two shutout innings. Thomas grabbed his first collegiate save with a scoreless seventh.
Rogers' RBI-groundout in the sixth scored Thomas, who was 2-for-3 at the plate, for a huge insurance run.
Coastal-North 5, Jones 3
A three-run Coastal fourth, aided by a Bobcat error and a wild pitch, allowed the Coyotes to take a 5-2 lead and they would hold on for their first win of the season.
After Coastal scored two in the first, Jones tied it in the second on
Braden Smith's RBI-double and
Josh King's RBI-single.
Trailing 5-2 in the fourth, Bryans was stranded at second after a leadoff double. Jones got one back in the fifth on Rogers' RBI-single and then left the bases loaded.
Jones got two runners on in the sixth before a lineout and struck out three times in the seventh to drop the finale.
Cole Manuel took the loss in a spot start, allowing three earned over 3.1 innings with three strikeouts.
Micah Daniell and
Connor Brooks combined for the final 3.2 and didn't allow a hit.
Bryans was 2-for-4 to lead a seven-hit attack.
Randall Futral,
Gatlin Sanders and
Josh King all added hits.