JEFFREY McMURRAY
Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. - As a speed guy who'd only homered twice, Phillip Coker was under strict instructions from manager John Pawlowski: hit the ball on the ground, not in the air.
So much for that advice.
Coker's first-inning grand slam highlighted a two-out, six run rally as College of Charleston defeated Kentucky 7-4 Sunday night to win its first NCAA regional.
"Not something we teach, but something we'll take," Pawlowski said.
Coker is also taking the Cougars (46-15) to their first-ever super-regional this weekend against Georgia Tech for the right to advance to the College World Series. The Southern Conference tournament champs, seeded second, swept the Lexington regional by beating all three opponents - Notre Dame, Ball State and Kentucky.
Top-seeded Kentucky (44-17) was eliminated after its finest season in which it set a school record for wins and captured a share of its first-ever Southeastern Conference regular-season title. The Wildcats had beaten Ball State earlier Sunday but needed to defeat Charleston both Sunday and Monday nights to advance.
Kentucky starter Aaron Tennyson (4-3) struck out the first two batters he faced Sunday night but imploded after that.
Eight consecutive Charleston hitters reached base and six of them scored - four on Coker's slam, his third home run of the year.
"You knew he's got to come with a fastball, but I was sitting on it," Coker said.
Larry Cobb contributed a solo shot in the inning and Graham Maiden got an RBI when he was hit by a pitch.
Tennyson didn't return for the second. It marked the first time since April 4, 2004, that the Wildcats had surrendered six runs in the opening inning.
Kentucky coach John Cohen said even though the inning "got away from us," he was confident the Wildcats would mount a comeback.
It didn't take Kentucky long to get back in it. Michael Bertram's first-inning groundout gave the Wildcats their first run, and Antone DeJesus launched a three-run homer in the second to pull within two.
But after that, there were missed opportunities galore. Kentucky stranded a season-high 15 runners.
DeJesus had another prime RBI opportunity with the bases loaded in the third, but he struck out and Collin Cowgill flied out to get Charleston out of the jam.
Kentucky again loaded the bases - without a hit - in the seventh, but Sean Coughlin popped out to first to end the threat.
"We fought the whole way," Bertram said. "If we get a ball to fall here, a ball to fall there, who knows? The game could be completely different."
The Cougars scored the game's final run in the fourth when Alex Garabedian grounded into a double play. Garabedian was named the outstanding player of the tournament.
Garabedian's sacrifice bunt in the ninth was the 94th of the season for College of Charleston - a Southern Conference record.
Both teams got solid relief pitching. Quinn Monsma (7-2) allowed three hits and no runs in four-plus innings. Josh McLaughlin pitched the final two-plus innings for his 15th save.
"That's the bullpen's job," McLaughlin said. "If we're given the lead, our job is to keep it."
Zach Dials went eight strong innings for Kentucky, giving up eight hits and no runs.