The No. 6 Gamecock baseball team picked up the win on Sunday with some timely hitting and a patchwork performance from the pitching staff to complete the three game sweep of the Tennessee Volunteers. With the victory, the Gamecocks stand alone atop the SEC with a record of 28-5 (10-2 in conference).
Sophomore outfielder Alex Destino had a pinch hit RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Gamecocks a 4-3 lead with a great piece of hitting. Destino’s hit scored Dom Thompson-Williams from second base after Thompson-Williams had reached on a fielder’s choice followed by stealing a bag. It was Destino’s first at bat since last weekend when he suffered an injury while catching a ball running into the outfield fence at Vanderbilt.
Junior closer Josh Reagan entered in the ninth inning and miraculously worked out of a bases-loaded-with-no-out jam. He forced a grounder back to the mound and struck out two Tennessee batters, double the amount of Tennessee batters who had struck out previously in the game. It was Reagan’s 10th save of the year.
“I try to keep the emotions out of it because when I start thinking too much, that’s when I start throwing balls,” Reagan said.
Holbrook complemented whole team’s ability to perform in the clutch.
Freshman Adam Hill made his eighth start of the season on Sunday for the Gamecocks and pitched well over 5 1/3 innings. Despite not having his best command — only 1 K, 4 HBPs — Hill worked out of several sticky situations and allowed just three runs. Junior reliever Reed Scott came in with the bases loaded in the sixth inning and worked out of the jam without a runner crossing home plate. Tyler Johnson entered in the seventh and pitched two scoreless innings before yielding to Reagan.
The Gamecocks have depended heavily so far this season on their three weekend starters, Clark Schmidt, Braden Webb and Hill with an average ERA of 2.27, and closer Josh Reagan who has a 0.31 ERA. The Gamecocks likely cannot travel the road to Omaha successfully unless they find more than four pitchers they can trust. Today’s game was a step in the right direction for the Gamecock staff, but still expect some younger Gamecock pitchers to see action in midweek games in the coming weeks as Chad Holbrook continues to search for more capable arms out of the bullpen.
Another possible area of improvement for Carolina is at catcher. Despite being hot at the plate this season, the catchers have been lax defensively. Chris Cullen, the primary catcher for the Gamecocks, has allowed 17 stolen bases on 24 attempts, and backup catcher John Jones has allowed 4 runners to steal on 6 attempts.
At 28-5, the Gamecocks have a winning formula, but relief pitching and defense behind the plate are two things that could hold this team back later in the season if solutions cannot be found.
The Gamecocks will now prepare for a big matchup on Tuesday against the No. 10 UNC Tarheels in Charlotte.