The cyclical nature of hitting has a way of making a batter work a little harder when hits aren't falling in.
In his first at-bat during South Carolina's 8-4 win over Appalachian State, catcher Chris Cullen peppered a string of well-hit foul balls down the left field line. Cullen entered Tuesday's contest with just two hits on the season after hitting cleanup in the Gamecocks' opening day lineup. The sophomore watched a potential home run drift a few feet left of the pole and a possible double skip away from the chalk, but then straightened out the eighth pitch of his at-bat for a three-run home run.
"He was working me with fastballs and changeups and I felt good that whole at-bat," Cullen said.
Cullen had sat the previous two games after his slow start to the season.
"I agree with the coaches giving me a few days off ... and not completely ruining my confidence," Cullen said. "I think that's what I needed going into today's game."
"Obviously it was big for Cullen because he'd been struggling so much," said South Carolina head coach Chad Holbrook. "Maybe that home run gave him a deep breath and then he got a hit there on a hit and run. So it was a good day for him."
Appalachian State shortstop Matt Vernon quickly erased South Carolina's early advantage, responding with a three-run home run of his own in the top of the third. The Mountaineers also registered a double, a single and a walk off of the Gamecocks' starting pitcher Graham Lawson in the inning.
Sophomore right fielder Jacob Olson led off the bottom of the fifth by unloading a 2-1 offering out to the left field bleachers. The home run marked his second of the season and tied with Alex Destino for the team lead. Destino would extend South Carolina's lead to 5-3 by scoring Hopkins on a sacrifice fly later in the inning.
Appalachian State continued the home run parade in the top of the sixth inning when catcher Chandler Seagle connected for his first home run of the season.
Olson would surpass Destino in the bottom of the seventh, sending his second home run on the day into the visitor's bullpen.
Sophomore second baseman LT Tolbert would cap off a three-hit performance with a two-run single in the eighth.
"If we force the pitchers to throw it in the strike zone, we got some big, strong athletic kids that can do some damage," Holbrook said. "What we've been doing up to this point is we've been swinging at pitches that, you know, the best hitters in the world can't hit. Our pitch selection has to improve, and I think we really did a good job of that tonight."
Appalachian State's pitchers recorded just one strikeout, whereas the Gamecocks' staff combined for 15.
Tyler Johnson came on for a six-out save, notching five punch outs to close out the win.
Next up
The Gamecocks are scheduled for a three-game rivalry series with No. 15 Clemson over the weekend. South Carolina will go on the road Friday for the first time this season. Saturday's contest will be played on the neutral confines of Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina and the series will conclude back at Founders Park on Sunday.