A solid outing by sophomore pitcher Josh Reagan and a go-ahead two-run home run by freshman designated hitter Alex Destino helped No. 5 South Carolina (2-1) defeat No. 25 College of Charleston (1-2) 8-3 in Saturday evening’s rubber match between the two teams.
After College of Charleston opened up the series with a win on Friday, the Gamecocks responded with two victories in Saturday’s doubleheader.
South Carolina has now won its season opening series in each of Chad Holbrook’s three seasons as head coach.
With the score tied at 3-3, Destino stood at the plate with junior second baseman Max Schrock on second base, looking to drive his teammate in. He did just that. Destino, a 2014 Louisville Slugger High School All-American, took College of Charleston sophomore pitcher Hayden McCutcheon’s 2-2 offering well over the right field fence to give South Carolina a 5-3 lead.
The home run was the first of Destino’s career and just his third hit collegiately.
South Carolina would tack on a few more insurance runs late in the game with an RBI single by Schrock and a two-RBI base hit by sophomore left fielder Jordan Gore.
College of Charleston took an early lead when sophomore first baseman Nick Pappas hit a two-run home run off of Reagan in the first inning. The homer was the first for either team in the three game series.
Reagan would compose himself after his rough start and would only surrender one more earned run in 5 ⅔ innings of work.
South Carolina struggled for the first three innings at the plate against College of Charleston junior starting pitcher Eric Bauer, but was able to even things up after a two-RBI single by freshman third baseman Madison Stokes in the fourth inning. The single was the first hit of Stokes’ career.
South Carolina took a 3-2 lead later on in the inning on a solo home run by south Carolina senior right fielder Connor Bright.
The Cougars would tie the game when South Carolina freshman relief pitcher Tyler Haswell walked in a run in the fifth frame, which he inherited when Reagan left the game, but the Gamecocks would outscore College of Charleston 5-0 from that point on.
For the second straight game, the South Carolina bullpen held College of Charleston scoreless. Haswell, freshman Brandon Murray and sophomore Taylor Widener combined to pitch the final 3 ⅓ innings after Reagan exited. Over the course of the three game series, Gamecock relievers gave up just two earned runs over 10 innings.
Contrarily, South Carolina found success against the Cougar bullpen, posting six runs over the weekend against College of Charleston’s relievers.
The Gamecocks return to Carolina Stadium on Tuesday, February 17 against Furman.