Pike drives in game-winning run Wednesday
After sweeping rival Clemson over the weekend, the Gamecock baseball team fought through the cold to win both meetings of a two-game homestand against Stetson on Tuesday and Wednesday.
It was not until the seventh inning of No. 1/3 South Carolina’s 4-2 Wednesday victory that the South Carolina bats came alive.
Head Coach Chad Holbrook said the emotional series over the Tigers might have factored into the slow start on Wednesday.
“The game was certainly in doubt until late,” he said. “I don’t know if we didn’t have the energy we normally have when we came into the stadium today.”
Junior centerfielder Tanner English led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a single followed by a walk earned by sophomore Marcus Mooney.
Sophomore second baseman Max Schrock grounded into a fielder’s choice that left runners on first and third, but Schrock injured his left ankle on the play after rolling it on first base.
After Schrock, junior Joey Pankake may have broken out of his struggles with an RBI single to push the Gamecock deficit to 2-1. With two outs, Junior Connor Bright tied the game at two when he hustled out an infield single on a ground ball to short. With the single, Bright has hit safely in all 12 games this season so far and has a 13-game hitting streak dating back to last season.
Bright stole second, putting runners on second and third for redshirt freshman Weber Pike who came into the game earlier for junior Elliott Caldwell. Stetson reliever Tyler Warmoth got ahead in the count, but Pike managed what turned out to be the game-winning single to score Pankake and Bright to give the Gamecocks a 4-2 lead.
“I got down 0-2 pretty early and was just trying to fight it off at that point,” Pike said. “And it got over the shortstop’s head.”
The bullpen stepped up in a big way on Wednesday, allowing no earned runs after sophomore right-handed starter Curt Britt went 2.1 innings, allowing three hits, two walks and two earned runs.
Sophomore Vince Fiori came in and pitched 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and striking out three batters.
Senior Hunter Privette pitched the seventh inning and ended up earning the win while junior Cody Mincey retired all three batters he faced in the eighth inning.
Facing Stetson’s heart of the lineup in the top of the ninth frame, junior closer Joel Seddon retired them in order to earn his fourth save of the season.
“I think the bullpen’s the strength of our team and they continue to show that,” Holbrook said.
In Tuesday’s game, the Gamecocks managed six runs in the first two innings on their way to a 7-1 victory.
Junior catcher Grayson Greiner went 2-for-4 with three RBI. Schrock had two hits and an RBI while Pankake added two RBI to help pace the South Carolina offense.
Freshman left-hander Josh Reagan threw five innings, allowing one unearned run on six hits to go along with six strikeouts to pick up the win and move to 2-0 on the year.
With the two wins, the Gamecocks remain undefeated at 12-0, while Stetson drops to 2-11 on the year.
Schrock’s injury on Wednesday means he is unlikely to play this weekend’s series against Brown according to Holbrook, but he hopes to return next week.
Still in his young career of being a Gamecock, Pike got his first taste of playing the hero. Holbrook called him “one of the best” kids he’s ever coached. He added that he had a good feeling Pike was going to get it done at the plate, which is why the redshirt freshman entered the game.
“That sucker, I have the utmost confidence in him swinging the bat,” Holbrook said. “I think he’s going to put the ball in play hard somewhere all the time.”