No. 1 Commodores get revenge
Vanderbilt isn't going to relinquish its top ranking without a fight.
After being held to one run on three hits on Friday, the No. 1 Commodores got the offense they needed, evening their three-game set with No. 3 South Carolina on the strength of a 6-4 victory Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 8,242 at Carolina Stadium.
The much-hyped series will now be decided in a rubber game Sunday, with the winner leaving the weekend in both sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference and, in all likelihood, the top spot in the updated Baseball America Top 25 poll when it is released Monday.
Trailing USC 3-2 after three innings of play, the Commodores, who entered the weekend as the SEC's leading offensive club, finally got their bats going.
"They're a great team," said catcher Brady Thomas. "You've got to give them credit."
Grayson Garvin got the win for Vandy via six strong innings and improved to 7-1 on the season, while USC starter Colby Holmes fell to 3-1 after yielding six runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings of work.
After Jason Esposito eked a solo home run just over the right field wall in the fourth to tie the game at 3, Vanderbilt got to Holmes in the fifth.
With the bases loaded and one out in the frame, Anthony Gomez singled home Conrad Gregor to give Vandy a 4-3 lead and knock Holmes, the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, out of the game.
Bryan Harper entered the game in relief and was greeted by Aaron Westlake, who came up with an RBI single of his own to make it 5-3. Harper would recover and get Esposito to foul out to third for the second out of the inning, but he then walked Mike Yaztrzemski on four pitches to force in another run and make it 6-3 Vanderbilt.
Harper was then relieved by Jose Mata, who struck out Curt Casali to end the threat. But that was all Vanderbilt (32-4, 11-3 SEC) would need. Thomas would pull the Gamecocks (27-7, 11-3) a bit closer with a solo shot in the sixth, but from there it was a story of missed opportunities late for USC, as five Vanderbilt relievers combined to allow no runs and one hit over the last three innings, striking out five.
"They have great arms, they mix it up well," Thomas said. "All their guys I think are probably 90-plus [miles per hour] with good off speed. It's always a battle when you get in the box with them."
In the seventh, the Gamecocks got two runners on with no outs and came away with nothing. Tanner elected not to bunt the runners into scoring position and let Jackie Bradley Jr., who has struggled mightily of late, hit away. It backfired, as Bradley struck out for the second time in what was a 0-5 night for the All-American. Walker then followed with a strikeout of his own before Adrian Morales lined out to left to end the inning.
Tanner said after the game he had no regrets about the decision.
"I said to him, 'You feel fine?' He said, 'I feel great,'" Tanner said. "I said, 'OK, let's go. Be aggressive. It's one of those things where bunting crossed my mind, but I'd probably do the same thing again."
USC again got the leadoff man on in the eighth, only to make three straight outs. It then got the tying run to the plate after Scott Wingo walked with one out in the ninth, but Bradley flew out to right and Walker struck out to end the game.
"We tried to get into position to sneak back in and win that thing," Tanner said, "but they did a great job out of the bullpen getting big outs when they needed to."
Now, the series of the year in the SEC boils down to one game, which happens to be broadcast to a national television audience, on ESPN2 at 1 p.m.
Despite the fact they'll enter the deciding game with a loss, the Gamecocks say they won't dwell on it.
"Just flush it and go," said second baseman Scott Wingo of his team's mindset. "Get ready to play tomorrow."
His coach echoed that sentiment.
"We got a quick turnaround," Tanner said. "I said [to the team], 'I'll make a deal with you: I'll go back and I'll wrestle this one until 2, 3 in the morning. You guys flush it right now. Forget about it. Let's go. Have fun tomorrow, look forward to it and let this one go.'
"That's the way it's got to be."