The South Carolina baeball team hosted Santa Clara for the season opening series. The Gamecocks swept the Broncos by scores of 12-5, 2-1 and 6-0.
Breaking it down…South Carolina sent Michael Roth to the mound on Friday afternoon. Roth pitched into the sixth inning, allowing 2 runs while striking out 6 and walking only one. Roth was relieved by Steven Neff. Neff gave up 3 in 1 2/3 and was relieved by a succession of Gamecock pitchers. John Taylor pitched 1 and 2/3 before giving way to Alex Burrell and Patrick Sullivan. The Gamecock batters would provide more than enough offense to suffice. Jackie Bradley Jr drove in Scott Wingo in the third for the season’s first run. Bradley then hit a two run home run in the fifth inning. Later in the inning Evan Marzilli would drive Brady Thomas in for another run. The Gamecocks would be gifted two more runs in the 6th when Santa Clara’s pitchers walked 5 Gamecocks in a row. The Gamecocks blew the game open for good with 6 runs in the 8th.
After Friday’s offense, Saturday belonged to the pitchers. Santa Clara got on the board early. A lead off single moved to second on a passed ball. The runner was bunted over to third and was later driven in on a ground ball out. That 1-0 lead would hold until the fifth when the Gamecocks would tie it. Adrian Morales scored the equalizer when he was driven in by Dante Rosenberg’s single to left field. The next inning Morales drove in the go ahead run with a deep sac fly to left field. Tyler Webb started for USC and pitched 6 full innings. He gave up the one run and struck out 4. Webb retired the last 12 batters he faced before being relieved by Bryan Harper. Harper pitched 1 and 2/3 innings of 0 run baseball, and then Matt Price came in. Matt Price did what Matt Price does and closed the game out. Price allowed no hits in the 1 1/3 innings he pitched.
Sunday turned into another showcase of Gamecock pitching depth. Adam Westmoreland returned from injury to pitch 5 2/3 innings of shutout baseball. Westmoreland strike out 5, walked only 1 and allowed 3 hits. Jose Mata and Logan Munson each pitched 2/3 of an inning. Forrest Koumas finished the lat two innings.
The USC offense was held in check for most of the game. That all changed in the sixth inning. Christian Walker drove in Adam Matthews and Jackie Bradley, Jr with a double. A wild pitch would later allow Walker to score, and Brady Thomas scored on a Evan Marzilli sacrifice fly.
Stars of the Series…Jackie Bradley, Jr…7-12, HR, 3 2B, 3 RBI…Christian Walker…6-12, 6 RBI, 2B, HR…Adam Matthews…4-8, 5 R…Adrian Morales…3-7, 2 RBI, 3 R…Michael Roth…W, 5.2 IP, 4 h, 6 K…Tyler Webb…W, 6.0 IP, 3 h, 0 R, 4 K…Matt Price…S, 1.1 IP, 0 H…Adam Westmoreland…5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 K…
What to take from the Weekend…This was a nice opening weekend. Santa Clara isn’t the same kind of team USC will face in conference play, but they aren’t a bad team either. The Gamecocks proved that they can hit for power with the new bats, and the pitchers performed very well with few exceptions. 2011 is off to a good start. We’ll see what kind of identity this year’s edition develops over the next few weeks.
This and that…South Carolina improves to 3-0 on the year. Santa Clara falls to 0-3…The Gamecocks have now won 9 in a row dating back to last season…
Up next…USC has the week off before beginning a weekend series against the Southern Illinois Salukis on Friday at 3pm.
