No. 7 South Carolina (17-3) had already won its first two games against Kentucky (13-6) this weekend, but senior first baseman Kyle Martin’s late-game heroics on Sunday clinched a sweep of the Wildcats as the lefty hit a walk-off two-run home run in the tenth inning of the Gamecocks’ 6-4 win.
Although Martin quickly fell behind in the count, he kept his composure and was able to get a good look at Kentucky senior pitcher Andrew Nelson’s offering.
“I got down 0-2 and at that point I was just thinking about putting a good swing on the ball,” Martin said. “He left a fastball up and in and I just put a good swing on it and got all of it.”
South Carolina led for most of the afternoon, but a two-run ninth inning put Kentucky ahead 4-3 heading to the bottom of the inning. With the Gamecocks now trailing, senior left fielder Elliott Caldwell opened the frame with a solo home run to tie the game and send it to extra innings.
Caldwell’s hot start to the season continued Sunday. He leads the team with a .411 batting average and his 23 hits are only second behind Martin, who has 25.
Freshman pitcher Clarke Schmidt started his second game of the season on the mound and the right-hander from Acworth, Georgia pitched well for the Gamecocks, giving up just four hits and two earned runs in 6.2 innings of work. Schmidt also struck out seven and walked two. His ERA stands at a respectable 2.45.
After Schmidt’s day was over, South Carolina bullpen coach Jerry Meyers called on southpaw Vince Fiori. The junior continued his early season dominance by giving up just his sixth hit of the season in 15 innings. He lowered his ERA to 0.64.
Senior relief pitcher Cody Mincey entered the game in the eighth, hoping to earn a four-out save, but a double with two outs in the ninth inning ended his day.
Sophomore pitcher Taylor Widener relieved Mincey with two outs in the ninth. Widener allowed back-to-back singles that put Kentucky ahead 4-3.
After Caldwell’s home run sent the game to extra innings, Widener gave up a walk and a single to put runners on the corners with no outs to start the 10th inning. After a pop up, another walk loaded the bases with one out. However, the hard-throwing righty induced a strikeout and a flyout to end the inning with no harm done.
In the end, Widener earned his first win of the season to go along with his team-leading six saves.
In the bottom of the tenth, sophomore center fielder Gene Conegot on base with one out after being hit by a pitch. After a strikeout, Cone stole second and advanced to third base on a throwing error with senior first baseman Kyle Martin at the plate. Martin entered the at-bat already having one hit, but his next was by far the most important of the day as he lifted a fastball deep over the right-field fence to win the game.
Afterwards, South Carolina head coach Chad Holbrook reflected on what the moment must have meant for Martin, who passed up a chance to go pro and instead returned for one last year in Columbia.
“Kyle turned down a fair amount of money to come back to school to experience moments like that,” Holbrook said. “It was neat to be in the dugout when that happened. I think the world of Kyle Martin.”
The win moves the Gamecocks to 3-0 in SEC play, South Carolina’s best start in conference play since 2009-2010. South Carolina will host Winthrop at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The Gamecocks will then travel to Columbia, Missouri for a weekend series against Missouri, a team that’s coming off a weekend sweep of Georgia.