Gamecocks thrash in-state Spartans
Patrick Sullivan had not started a game this season prior to Tuesday's matchup against USC-Upstate. He had pitched 4.1 innings in three relief appearances to earn his place in what coach Ray Tanner described as an unsettled rotation.
But the sophomore delivered a strong start, pitching a career-high five innings and retiring the last 10 batters he faced.
His strong start, combined with an offensive explosion, allowed the Gamecocks to coast to an 18-2 victory.
"It was a great opportunity. I was glad to finally get out there and get a chance," Sullivan said. "I threw well — got behind a lot of hitters, though. I probably could have thrown a lot more strikes,but it was a good experience."
The No. 3 Gamecocks wasted no time in getting on the board with a five-run first inning. Shortstop Peter Mooney led off the game with a four-pitch walk, and second baseman Scott Wingo followed with a two-run home run. After Christian Walker singled and stole second, Adrian Morales drove him in with a single that went off Upstate second baseman Austin Liput's glove.
Jake Williams grounded into a fielder's choice for Carolina's first out of the inning, advancing Morales to second. With consecutive singles from Brady Thomas and Robert Beary and a walk to Evan Marzilli, the Gamecocks scored their fourth run, loaded the bases and ended starter Scott DeCecco's night. Greg Brodzinski drove in a run with a groundout before Mooney flied out to end the first.
"[The run support] definitely makes it a lot easier to go out there and pitch, especially with it being my first time out there," Sullivan said. "We've got a great team, great offense and defense especially. I felt comfortable going out there and trying to pound the zone, throw fastballs ahead and throw a couple of risky sliders."
The Gamecocks (23-5) added two runs in the second on a wild pitch and an RBI single from Williams and two more in the third on an RBI double by Walker. After two scoreless innings, they scored their tenth run in the sixth inning when Thomas singled in Morales.
In the seventh, Carolina saw another offensive burst. After the Gamecocks loaded the bases on a hit batsman and two walks, Walker cleared the bases with a grand slam. A walk and four consecutive singles brought in two more runs to build Carolina's lead to 16-1.
Sophomore Adam Westmoreland surrendered a run on three hits in the eighth inning, but the Gamecocks immediately reclaimed the ground they lost. They scored their final two runs of the night on three straight base hits to start the bottom of the eighth. Will Casey pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close out the Spartans (11-19).
"Will Casey has made some strides," said coach Ray Tanner. "He seems to be better than he's been in a long time. And we wanted to get Adam back out there. So it worked out perfectly as far as our pitching was concerned. I was hoping Patrick would be comfortable maybe three or four innings. He was pretty efficient, giving us five. That was outstanding."