San Marcos, TX (WBTW) — The No. 6-seed Coastal Carolina softball team’s (39-21) storied run ended on Saturday afternoon in the 2019 Sun Belt Softball Tournament at Bobcat Stadium. The Chanticleers were able to stave off elimination with a 4-2 extra-inning win over the No. 8-seed ULM Warhawks, but then fell in the title game to the No. 1-seed Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 1-0.
 
Game 1: Coastal Carolina 4, ULM 2
Freshman Abbey Montoya led off the top of the second with a walk off the ULM starting pitcher Adrianna Chavarria. After senior Chelsea D’Avilar moved Montoya over to second base, freshman Sydney Guess gave the Chanticleers a 1-0 lead with her 15th RBI of the season on a single to right center field that plated Montoya.
 
Senior Natalie David extended the Chanticleer lead to 2-0 in the top of the third with her 17th run batted in of the season on a groundout that scored junior Kassidy Smith. Smith would open the inning with a double down the left field line.
 
The Warhawks answered in the bottom of the third with one run to cut the Coastal lead to 2-1. Leadoff batter Sydney McKay tripled down the left field line and then came around to score on Jayden Mount’s sacrifice bunt.
 
ULM would tack another run on in the bottom of the fourth to tie the score. Bailey Thibodeaux led off the inning with a single through the left side. After Kylie Page was hit by Chant starter Ashley Guillette’s 1-2 pitch, both Warhawk runners would move up on a steal but the throw to third base by CCU catcher Mackenzie Beyer would go into left field allowing the pinch Victoria Pederson to tie the score 2-2.

Both Guillette and Warhawk combination of Chavarria and Jesse Watts were excellent over the next four innings of play as neither side would give up a run.
 
In the top of the ninth, the Chanticleers broke through on the Monroe reliever Watts. Montoya and fellow freshman Adrienne Visintine got back-to-back hits off Watts to give CCU runners in scoring position with one out. Back-to-back sacrifices from senior Chelsea D’Avilar and Guess gave the Chanticleers a 4-2 lead.
 
The two-run lead was too much for the ULM batters to come back from on Guillette. 

Guillette finished off the Warhawks in the bottom of the ninth as she got Megan Shaw to pop up to Smith to end the game and move on the Sun Belt Championship game.

In the game one win, the Oxford, Ct., native improved to 16-6 as she pitched nine innings, allowed four hits, gave up two runs, one earned, and struck out five batters.

Game 2: Louisiana 1, Coastal Carolina 0
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers took the field 45 minutes later in a rematch of Friday’s game with No.1-seed Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns.

In the bottom of the first, Cajun leadoff hitter Keeli Milligan reached first on a bunt single off the Chant starter Guillette, but a throwing error from Smith at first base allowed Milligan to move over to second base. Milligan would come around to school on Sun Belt Player of the Year Alissa Dalton’s RBI single to give Louisiana a 1-0 lead.
 
The Chanticleers had Natalie David on second base with one out in the fourth inning against Cajun starter Summer Ellyson, but CCU players, Montoya and Visintine both were retired to end the inning.
 
In the top of the sixth, sophomore Stavi Augur led off the with a double into right-center field but again Ellyson was able to work her way out of the inning and keep the Chanticleers from scoring their first run of the game.
 
The Cajuns looked like they were going to add insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth off Guillette. The Chant starter allowed hits to Milligan and Dalton, and then intentionally walked Sarah Hudek for designated player Laura Curry. On the 1-0 pitch, Guillette induced a ground ball double-play to Chelsea D’Avilar at third base to end the Louisiana rally.
 
In the seventh, the Chanticleers weren’t able to tie the game off the Louisiana ace as it ended their run in the 2019 Sun Belt Tournament.

Guillette took the loss for CCU as she ends her season with a 16-7 record. The senior totaled 15 innings, 229 pitches and gave up one earned run on the day.
 
The Chanticleer softball team made history in 2019 as they were the first CCU team to win a Sun Belt Tournament game and were the first make it to the Sun Belt Championship game.

All-Tournament Team
The Chanticleers had a record of 4-2 in the four-day conference tournament and had three players named to the Sun Belt All-Tournament Team in Ashley Guillette, Natalie David, and Kassidy Smith.