Bradley Jr., Marzilli out for rubber game win
The No. 2 Gamecocks won their sixth consecutive conference series this weekend, taking their rubber match against the Mississippi State Bulldogs by a score of 13-4 on Sunday afternoon in Starkville, Miss. South Carolina relied on dominant offense to overpower MSU and maintain its spot atop the SEC East.
The Gamecocks are locked in a three-way tie with Vanderbilt and Florida.
USC broke the game open with four runs in the fourth inning and five runs in the fifth to take an 11-3 lead. Carolina collected 18 hits on the day, including three from freshman DeSean Anderson. Sunday's game marked Anderson's first start as a Gamecock, which came due to a continuation of the slew of injuries that has plagued USC of late, as the Gamecocks did not have any of their opening day outfielders on the field Sunday. Anderson was joined in the outfield by Jake Williams, who returned this weekend after a five-game suspension, and converted pitcher Steven Neff.
"I'm very proud of our team," said USC coach Ray Tanner in a release. "Of all the games I have been involved in, this game means a lot to me, by the way we went after it."
In Saturday's 5-3 loss, center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. left the game with an injury to his left wrist. Bradley, who recently recovered from a back injury, was evaluated by MSU team doctors and will be evaluated today by USC medical staff. He is expected to be out for at least the next few days, USC coach Ray Tanner said Saturday. He has yet to have an MRI.
Additionally, outfielder Evan Marzilli missed Sunday's game with an unspecified medical condition. USC said HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) laws prevent it from revealing further details, other than that Marzilli will also be evaluated by team physicians Monday and his ailment is not expected to be a long-term issue. The two losses come on the heels of outfielder Adam Matthews being knocked out indefinitely last weekend against then-No. 1 Vanderbilt with a hamstring injury. Matthews was originally believed to be out for the season by Tanner, but his outlook has improved since then. He did not travel with the team to Starkville, remaining home to continue rehab.
Of the USC players who were available, Christian Walker had a stellar series at the plate, reaching base nine times in 10 appearances through the first two games of the series. He added four more hits, including his eighth home run of the year, in Sunday's rout.
The Gamecocks got off to a strong start in the series with an 8-2 victory Friday night. Junior Michael Roth provided a quality start for his ninth win of the year, surrendering just one earned run and three hits in 6.1 innings of work. John Taylor added 2.1 scoreless innings in relief.
USC didn't take long to get on the board, scoring in the first on an RBI double by senior Adrian Morales and adding two more in the second on a double by Robert Beary. Carolina extended its lead with two runs in the fourth, one in the fifth, one in the sixth and a final run in the ninth.
The second game of the series was a tough one for the Gamecocks, who fell behind in the third inning en route to a loss. After starter Colby Holmes surrendered two runs, USC came back to score three in the fourth inning. Walker scored an unearned run on a fielding error, and Beary added a two-single to left to give the Gamecocks a temporary advantage.
But the Bulldogs reclaimed the lead for good with three runs in the sixth. Holmes started the inning by hitting Mississippi's Jarrod Parks. Taylor was called from the bullpen, but he was unable to contain the damage. After allowing a single to the first hitter he faced, he made a throwing error on a bunt to allow MSU to tie the game. Ryan Collins completed the rally with a two-run single.
The Gamecocks tried to come back in the seventh inning when a base hit, a walk and a wild pitch gave them runners on second and third with one out. But Brady Thomas and Morales failed to deliver a big hit as both struck out to end the USC threat.
USC will play a midweek game against Liberty on Tuesday at 1 p.m. before hosting Auburn this weekend.