Second baseman Max Schrock swipes 3 of USC’s 5 stolen bases
South Carolina pulled away from Ball State for a 14-4 win Wednesday night, but things did not start out well for the Gamecocks.
After USC had shut out its opponent the past two games, the Cardinals’ Blake Beemer sent Curt Britt’s first pitch of the game over the fence in right field to give Ball State an early 1-0 lead.
That was the beginning of a so-so day for Britt, who lasted just 3.1 innings and gave up two runs on four hits.
“He did OK,” coach Chad Holbrook said. “He was much better in his last outing than he was tonight. He is much better than he showed today. He is important to us so we are going to have to get him back out there.”
The Gamecocks quickly responded in the bottom of the first after Ball State starting pitcher Clay Manering walked Chase Vergason, Joey Pankake and LB Dantzler to set up second baseman Max Schrock.
The freshman responded with an RBI single into center field that knotted the game up at 1.
USC jumped ahead in the bottom of the second thanks to shortstop Joey Pankake’s second three-run home run in as many days that gave the Gamecocks a 4-1 lead. Graham Saiko singled to right and Vergason drew another walk to set up Pankake’s long ball.
Pankake finished the game going 2-3 with two runs and three RBI to go along with two walks.
As a team, USC finished the game with 10 walks drawn, something they also did Tuesday night against the Cardinals.
Vergason led the Gamecocks with three walks and a base hit. In addition, USC stole five bases on the night, three of them courtesy of Schrock, who finished the game 3-5 with two RBI and two runs. Schrock drew a walk in the sixth inning and then stole both second and third base, eventually scoring on a Grayson Greiner single to right field.
“The first (Ball State) pitcher just had a huge leg kick, so I just took advantage of that,” Schrock said. “Then my legs felt good for the second (steal), so I just took off.”
The Gamecocks extended their lead to 6-2 in the third inning thanks to a sacrifice fly by Saiko and an RBI single from Vergason.
Ball State made things interesting late in the game with runs in the seventh and eighth innings that pulled the Cardinals to within three at 7-4.
However, USC broke it open with a seven-run eighth inning where it sent 12 batters to the plate. Greiner and right fielder Sean Sullivan highlighted the inning with two-run doubles that helped the Gamecocks extend the lead to 14-4. That was more than enough run support to help USC sweep the two-game series with Ball State.
Sullivan came into the game to replace sophomore outfielder Tanner English, who left the game with an apparent shoulder injury. Holbrook said he planned to evaluate English Wednesday night.
Despite the injury, the first-year coach said he was relatively happy with his team’s performance. The Gamecocks have scored a combined 32 runs over the past three games.
“It was a good challenge for us, and we swung the bat well,” Holbrook said. “It’s been many a days here where we have had five, six or seven hits and still win the game, so it was nice to get 14 hits.”