The University of South Carolina swept Duquesne at home by scores of 10-3, 13-3 and 5-3 at home to start the 2010 season.
Breaking it down…South Carolina beat Duquesne in all phases of the series. The Gamecocks scored early and often in the first two games and used several small innings to prevail on Sunday. South Carolina’s pitching depth was on display all weekend. Friday starter Blake Cooper pitched 5 inning of 3 hit baseball before giving way to Nolan Belcher, Matt Price and Colby Holmes. On Saturday veteran starter Sam Dyson was limited to a 50 pitch count, but pitched 3 2/3 innings of no hit baseball. On Sunday true freshman Tyler Webb gave up 5 hits and 0 runs in 4 1/3.
South Carolina’s hitting was equally on display. There was good production up and down the order, but Jeffrey Jones and Christian Walker were clearly the stars. Freshman Third Baseman Walker was 8 of 14 with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs. Senior Jones was 4 of 12 with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs. Jones drove in more runs than Duquesne scored.
What to take away from the weekend…Without knowing how good Duquesne is going to be, it’s tough to infer too much from this weekend. That being said, Gamecock fans should be optimistic about this year’s team. The team hit the ball well (without the benefit of Nick Ebert or Jackie Bradley, Jr.), and the pitching was effective. Christian Walker and Jeffrey Jones played very, very well, and the starting pitching looks as strong as advertised.
Stars of the weekend…Jones, Walker, Dyson, Cooper and Webb. Also of note was the performance of true freshman Colby Holmes who came in on Friday to close. He struck out the three batters he faced on 11 total pitches.
Up next…The Gamecocks travel to Greenville, NC to take on East Carolina , the Pre-Season #18 team. The Pirates opened the season by dropping a home series 2-1 against #2 Virginia. This is the first test for Carolina and will be a good one to watch.
*Make sure to check out the LOHD Gamecocks Baseball Season Preview – HERE.
