Coastal Carolina baseball ready for Texas Rangers

Coastal Carolina baseball is in a funk.

The Chanticleers (15-10) have lost five of their last seven games, including seven one-run games. The team is the Big South's worst hitting team, averaging a .240 clip. Coastal Carolina trails Liberty (who comes to town this weekend) by a full four games in the standings.  But veteran coach Gary Gilmore still thinks this is as good a time as any for a major league exhibition.

“We can go out there and play and no body is walking up and down the dugout and wondering if we are going to win or lose,” Gilmore said. “Just go out and play. have fun you playing against the American League champions. They are one of the best baseball teams on the face of the earth.”

Coastal Carolina will face the new parent club of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Texas Rangers, in a major league exhibition at 6:35, Tuesday night at BB&T Coastal Field.  The Rangers flew non-stop from Surprise, Arizona after winning a final spring training game against the Diamondbacks on Monday night.

"You know, you get a chance to play against the guys you played against in video games,” senior outfielder Hayes Orton said. “That's unreal."

Coastal Carolina will be treating the exhibition game like an all-star game.  No pitcher will be throwing more than one inning, but the team did announce senior Matt Rein as the starter for the game.  That will likely assure Rein a crack at pitching against Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus and reigning AL MVP Josh Hamilton.

"I haven’t really gone through a game plan yet. (I) don't know if I will,” Rein said. “I will go through my routine and just throw it up there."

Coastal Carolina players will be testing their skills against the best players in the world, but that’s not the only thing players and coaches want to take away from Tuesday night’s exhibition.

"Seeing how they have business-like mentality and how they approach the game," Orton said about what he'll take away from Tuesday's game. "That's something that you can really learn."

According to the associated press, the Rangers will start Alexi Ogando, who is the odds-on favorite to be the team’s fifth starter. After Tuesday’s game, the Rangers will go to Austin, Texas to face the triple-a team in Round Rock, TX.

The Rangers announced their roster for Tuesday’s game.

PITCHERS (15)
47           Dave Bush
70           Cody Eppley
30           Neftali Feliz
54           Matt Harrison
45           Derek Holland
48           Colby Lewis
57           Mark Lowe
56           Darren O’Day
41           Alexi Ogando
28           Darren Oliver
77      Neil Ramirez
53           Arthur Rhodes
46           Pedro Strop
64           Mason Tobin
21           Brett Tomko

CATCHERS (3)
25          Mike Napoli
2            Taylor Teagarden
8            Yorvit Torrealba

INFIELDERS (8)
1        Elvis Andrus
29           Adrian Beltre
3             Andres Blanco
19           Chris Davis
6             Esteban German
5             Ian Kinsler
18           Mitch Moreland
10           Michael Young

OUTFIELDERS (7)
20            Julio Borbon
9              Endy Chavez
17            Nelson Cruz
65            Doug Deeds
23            Craig Gentry
32            Josh Hamilton
7        David Murphy