After suffering its worst loss in nine years to the Tar Heels last season, the South Carolina baseball team endured a similar fate against them Tuesday night.
With all nine of UNC's starters recording a hit, the No. 8 Gamecocks were routed 20-5 by the No. 4 Tar Heels at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, N.C.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Cody Morris (2-1) made his fifth start for the Gamecocks, but ran into early trouble, as the Tar Heels scored three runs before recording an out.
A fielding error by second baseman LT Tolbert allowed UNC’s leadoff man to get aboard in the first inning. Two Tar Heels hit back-to-back singles, loading the bases, and third baseman Kyle Datres tripled to left-center, plating three. Outfielder Brandon Riley flew out to left field for the Tar Heels’ first out of the game, but the sacrifice long ball scored Datres from third, giving UNC an early 4-0 lead.
Morris didn’t make it out of the first inning and was replaced by freshman right-handed pitcher Colby Lee after two outs.
Jacob Olson opened up the second inning by singling to third. Tolbert, the Gamecocks’ leading hitter, continued his hot streak by blasting a two-run homer to right field. The Gamecocks trailed 4-2, but UNC answered with Warmoth’s two-RBI double. Similar to Morris, Lee was replaced by John Parke after pitching 2/3 of an inning.
Freshman outfielder Carlos Cortes led off the third inning with a double down the left-field line and was brought home on Olson’s two-out RBI single.
After a scoreless third inning -- the first of the game for UNC -- Miller responded with an RBI-single in the fourth. The Gamecocks brought in right-handed pitcher Graham Lawson to replace Parke, who gave up two hits and two earned runs in 2.0 innings pitched.
Lawson loaded the bases by walking two straight UNC batters and was quickly relieved by Reed Scott. The right-hander walked in a run and gave up an RBI-single in the next at-bat, giving UNC a 9-3 edge.
With the bases loaded, UNC added three runs to its lead on Zack Gahagan’s sacrifice groundout and Tyler Lynn’s two-RBI single. Gahagan hit an RBI-double down the left-field line in the sixth, giving every UNC batter a hit and extending the team’s lead to 13-4.
UNC took control by adding seven more runs in the seventh inning to seal the victory. Mike Fox's squad finished with 14 hits, while the Gamecocks totaled 13 and left 11 on-base. TJ Hopkins led South Carolina with three hits in four at-bats, including a double.
The Gamecocks shuffled through 10 different pitchers, who totaled 10 walks collectively. Seven pitchers gave up more than two earned runs each.
Next up:
The Gamecocks (21-11) will continue their SEC-home slate with a three-game series against Mississippi State, beginning at 7 p.m. Friday. Games two and three are scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.