Slow Start Ends in Huge Win
South Carolina (31-22) walked past the competition of USC Upstate (15-35) in what seemed a slow game in the beginning but gained momentum by the third inning.
Although delayed by lightning, the Gamecocks fire was only ignited to shut out this team for the last time this season.
Pitching Varied in Teams
USC Upstate was in need of a little help in this game as they had a total of seven different pitches try their hand at the mound. As for South Carolina the pitching rotation was between four players for the duration of the game.
Starting with sophomore Eric Birklund the Spartans decided to relieve him at the bottom of the fourth, which only began the multiple substitutions on the field for the remainder of the game. Birklund took the loss and is now 1-4.
The Gamecocks gave right handed freshman Canaan Cropper a chance who pitched for 3.0 innings and had three strikeouts. South Carolina had nine strikeouts total against the Spartans. Sophomore John Parke took the win and is now 2-0 for the season.
Hits and Homeruns
In the bottom of the fourth, freshman Alex Destino hits a homerun to right field and advanced senior Kyle Martin and sophomore Gene Cone. This gave Destino four RBI’s for the game and now 32 for the season.
Aside from the homerun South Carolina performed well on its home field with having singles and doubles from different players. Both freshman Madison Stokes and Clark Scolamiero had three hits for the Gamecocks.
Up Next
The Gamecocks are 12-15 in the conference and will finish their regular season with a conference series against the LSU Tigers before beginning SEC tournament play next week. The first swing of the bat will begin Thursday at 7 pm at the Carolina Stadium in Columbia.