South Carolina baseball could not hold on to an early lead as North Carolina fought back late and scored 10 unanswered runs to get the 11-3 win at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, NC on Tuesday night.
This was a huge loss for the Gamecocks, crushing their momentum to snap their four-game winning streak, and came at a critical time as they now have to prepare to enter a top-10 environment this weekend.
The Gamecocks got off to a solid start but were silenced by North Carolina's bullpen for the second half of the game. South Carolina scored in the first, second and third innings, but only one run each, to take a 3-1 lead through three. Chris Cullen hit his third home run of the year in the second, a monster solo shot to left field. That was the most production the Gamecocks could muster up.
Logan Chapman got the starting nod for the Gamecocks and started off strong. He gave up a leadoff single which was plated a few batters later. Chapman rebounded nicely in the second by retiring the next seven batters. He pitched a new career-high six and a third inning, but the struggles started when he got to the sixth.
The sixth inning was 51 minutes and featured a total of two runs without either team registering a hit. Those two Tar Heel runs came in the top half of the inning and were plated off of a bases loaded walk and a wild pitch. That tied the game at three, but that score wouldn't hold for long.
LT Tolbert, who went 1-2 with a hit and a run scored, said the biggest issue in the loss was that the Gamecocks weren't able to hold on to that early lead and went cold towards the end.
"We outplayed them for seven innings, eight innings," he said. "The walks started to pile up, and then we also had chances to score runs where we didn't. I thought we outplayed them for the first seven, and we should have won that game."
The Tar Heels found themselves in a similar position in the eighth, loading the bases again without registering a hit. They scored their first run of that inning off of a sacrifice fly to center, then got an RBI from a hit. Next batter up, UNC hit a two-RBI single to take a 7-3 lead, and that would basically seal the game. The Tar Heels tacked on four more runs in the ninth to secure their third straight win over the Gamecocks.
South Carolina used eight pitchers, who struck out eight in the contest. One-hundred and twelve of their 204 pitches were strikes, but they weren't coming through during the big moments. They also walked eight batters, which led to a few runs being scored.
"There's no excuse, we need to come in and throw strikes," head coach Mark Kingston said. "The guys that walked guys tonight usually throw strikes, they didn't tonight. So it just can't happen."
This is the third straight year South Carolina and North Carolina have met at Charlotte's BB&T Ballpark. The Tar Heels won 15-0 in 2016 and 20-5 in 2017, outscoring the Gamecocks 46-8 during this series in Charlotte. Despite the recent struggles in Charlotte, Kingston still felt like it was a great atmosphere to play in.
"It's a great event, we just need to win it," Kingston said. "Really great stadium, great city, great fan support on both sides, two really storied programs. It's a great thing but I'd like to win the thing."
The Gamecocks fall to 17-12 on the season but don't have much time to reflect in the loss. They now travel to No. 9 Kentucky for a three-game series against the Wildcats starting on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The series is a little up in the air now as it shows a 80 percent chance of snow in Lexington on Saturday. If the weather comes through, this would definitely be a challenge for the Gamecocks to battle through.