This weekend series may have seemed like a cake walk on paper for the Carolina baseball team but it proved to be a great tune up for the upcoming Tennessee series this weekend. This series was full of drama as the Gamecocks got tested often in this series and Brown proved to be decent despite their record.
Game 1 and Game 2 were interesting as starting pitching was shakey but thanks to effective relief pitching with timely hitting the Gamecocks won 8-4 then 10-7 to win the double-header on Saturday.
Game 1 hero was Parker Bangs as he got his first three hits of the season and drove in four runs – three with a home run. The Gamecocks scored seven runs in the first three innings and turned four double plays to earn an opening-game victory over the Bears.
Game 2 saw junior Sam Dyson struggle but a strong relief performance by Jay Brown got the senior his first victory of the season. Jay is now 5-0 in his career. To me, Brown was the hero of Game 2 as he allowed just one earned run on four hits without walking a batter. He struck out four on 73 pitches.
Game 3 saw much of the same. Pitching that was lackluster at times and thankfully timely hitting lead to a win late. Hero of the day – Kyle Enders went 3-for-5 with four RBI — including a two-out RBI base hit in the 10th inning. Sophomore left-hander Jimmy Revan earned the win in relief after 0.1 innings of work. Carolina ended up getting a 6-5 win.
In the series, the Gamecocks pounded out 24 runs, 35 hits, 19 walks, 19 strikeouts, 23 RBIs and 31 men “left-on-base.” The Gamecocks pitching staff threw 26 strikeouts, 8 walks, gave up 25 hits, surrended 15 earned runs and hit 4 bears.
Other Notes
- Scott Wingo was hit by a pitch for the school-record 35th time of his career in the second game.
- Jackie Bradley, Jr. cut his thumb while stealing a base in the second game.
- Bobby Haney, recovering from a shoulder injury, made a brief defensive appearance and had a error.
- Junior Whit Merrifield, saw his 26-game hitting streak snapped after going 0-5 in Game 1.
South Carolina has a pair of midweek tilts before Tennessee comes to town to open Southeastern Conference play. The Gamecocks travel to Fluor Field for the second time this season, this time to face Furman, on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. The final tune-up is on Wednesday facing Davidson at Carolina Stadium at 7:00 p.m.
