South Carolina to face Clemson in Saturday's rivalry match
[cincopa AULAs5qy3prd]
After watching Clemson take care of business in the first game of the Columbia Regional, South Carolina set up the matchup everyone wanted to see.
The Gamecocks knocked off the Manhattan Jaspers 7-0, sending USC to the winners' bracket to tangle with the Tigers Saturday at 4 p.m.
South Carolina rode the arm of junior Colby Holmes, who turned in one of the finest outings of his Gamecock career. The Conway, S.C., native threw 7.2 innings of no-hit ball and finished the evening with a career-high nine strikeouts in eight innings of work. Holmes improved to 7-1 on the season, allowing just two Jaspers to reach base.
After a rough outing in the SEC tournament, Holmes was happy to have a strong showing.
"It was great to come out and be effective and be on top of my game. The outing in Hoover was definitely disappointing to me, but coming out tonight and doing what I did put a lot of confidence in me," Holmes said.
The Gamecocks needed a strong outing from Holmes, as USC started off silent against Manhattan ace Taylor Sewitt. Sewitt did not give up a base hit until the sixth inning, when shortstop Joey Pankake laced a double into the left center gap to start the action. Evan Marzilli singled and Christian Walker was walked to load the bases with no outs. Sewitt would nearly escape the jam, but with two outs, Adam Matthews blasted a single to score Pankake and Marzilli.
"I figured he was going to come after me," said Matthews. "I got my hands inside of it and put it right into centerfield."
Matthews accounted for five of the Gamecock's seven runs, with three RBIs and two runs scored. The RBI single broke Sewitt's streak of 39 1/3 scoreless innings. South Carolina tacked on two more runs in the inning and put the game out of reach in the eighth, plating three more runs, led by Christian Walker's solo home run.
South Carolina would have to wait to finish off the Jaspers, as thunderstorms halted play in the bottom of the eighth inning. After a 1 hour and 24 minute rain delay, play resumed and Patrick Sullivan pitched a scoreless ninth inning to preserve the shutout for the Gamecocks.
After losing starting catcher Grayson Greiner for the regional with a knee injury earlier in the week, South Carolina turned to Dante Rosenburg, who took over behind the plate. The junior allowed just one passed ball in the ninth inning.
The win sets up the showdown with archrival Clemson, as the Tigers dispatched Coastal Carolina earlier in the afternoon by a score of 11-3. South Carolina will send Michael Roth, the pitcher that Ray Tanner called "our best guy," to the mound. The senior faced Clemson earlier in the year, earning a no-decision in South Carolina's extra-inning win over the Tigers in Charleston.
Tanner said that he will not shy away from admitting that the matchup with Clemson brings an extra layer of intensity to the regional.
"Who are we kidding? It's big, it's a rivalry situation. It's more than just the second round of the NCAAs," he said.
Christian Walker also acknowledged the importance that the meeting will have throughout the state.
"Every baseball fan in the state of South Carolina is going to get what they wanted."
The winner of the rivalry game will put themselves one win away from advancing to the Super Regionals.