Box Score CONWAY, S.C. – The West Virginia University baseball team closed play at the season-opening Baseball at the Beach event with a 9-7 loss to Coastal Carolina on Monday afternoon at Springs Brooks Stadium.
 
The Mountaineers (3-1) led early, scoring three runs in the first and one in the second. The squad also found two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh. In all, WVU collected six hits in the setback.
 
Jacob Maton earned the win for Coastal Carolina, which had 13 hits on the day, while junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Watters took the loss. CCU's Teddy Starkey was credited with the save.
 
"I thought we played really well down here," WVU coach Randy Mazey said. "We found some guys that will be really good for us, which is encouraging for the rest of the season.
 
"After opening weekend, you always go back and work on some things that you aren't as good at. So, we'll hopefully get outside this week and keep getting better."
 
West Virginia got its offense started in the first inning for the fourth straight day. The Mountaineers put together a two-out rally, which ended with a towering, three-run homer by freshman infielder Grant Hussey to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.
 
After the Chanticleers answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first, WVU made it a 4-2 game by scoring a run on a CCU error in the second. That lead held until the bottom of the fourth when Coastal put together a three-run frame to take a 5-4 advantage.
 
The Chants scored two more in the fifth to up their lead to 7-4. But WVU got two back in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to one. First, junior infielder Tevin Tucker drew a bases-loaded walk, before senior outfielder Austin Davis hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field.
 
After fifth-year senior right-hander Chase Smith got out of a one-out jam in the bottom of the sixth, the Mountaineers tied the ballgame in the top of the seventh. Sophomore right-handed pitcher/outfielder Ben Abernathy manufactured a run for WVU, stealing second, tagging up to go to third and eventually scoring on a wild pitch to make it 7-7.
 
From there, Watters came on to pitch a perfect seventh inning. CCU, however, scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 9-7 lead.
 
WVU got the tying run to the plate in the ninth but couldn't scratch any runs across.
 
Junior outfielder Victor Scott II led the offensive effort for WVU with a 2-for-3 day at the plate, while Hussey's three RBI paced the club in production.
 
Fifth-year senior right-hander Zach Bravo got the start on the mound for WVU on Monday. The Albuquerque, New Mexico, native tossed 3.2 innings in his Mountaineer debut, allowing six hits and three earned runs with a pair of strikeouts in a no decision.
 
Next up, West Virginia travels to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a three-game series at Charlotte from Feb. 25-27. Friday's first pitch is set for 4 p.m. ET, at Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium.
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUBaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.