South Carolina dropped their first SEC series of the year after losing Saturday's rubber game to No. 3 Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks are now 7-2 in SEC play and 24-5 overall. Vanderbilt's depth and collection of power pitchers ultimately gave the Commodores an advantage in this matchup between SEC powerhouses.
Thursday: Vanderbilt 6, South Carolina 3
The electric right-arm of Vanderbilt's Jordan Sheffield overpowered South Carolina in the series opener. Sheffield generated nine strikeouts in seven innings with premium fastball velocity and two effective off-speed pitches. His opponent, Clarke Schmidt, struggled in the first inning as the Commodores grabbed an early 4-0 lead that South Carolina could never recover from.
Schmidt settled down and ended up working eight innings despite his inauspicious start. The right-hander struck out nine batters and allowed just one walk, but was still charged with his first loss of the season.
The Gamecocks struggled to make contact against Vanderbilt's power arms, striking out 12 times and getting just two extra base hits.
Friday: South Carolina 4, Vanderbilt 0
Freshman Braden Webb shined in eight scoreless innings of work, striking out eleven batters. Webb carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and walked three batters. The right-hander appears to have turned a corner in the last two starts, having shown much-improved fastball command. He struck out 14 batters in his previous start against Ole Miss.
Left fielder Alex Destino made a spectacular catch in the fifth inning, crashing up against the left field wall to save an extra base hit. However, Destino sprained the AC joint in his left shoulder on the play, and had to exit Friday's game and was out of the lineup on Saturday. At the time the injury looked like it could have been a lot a worse, as Destino remained on the ground until being assisted by the team's training staff. The left fielder also had a good day at the plate before his early departure, collecting two hits, including an RBI-single in the third inning.
After scoring two runs in the third inning, the Gamecocks were unable to score until the ninth inning. In the top half of the inning South Carolina extended its lead to 4-0. Closer Josh Reagan relieved Webb to secure the victory in the bottom of the ninth.
Saturday: Vanderbilt 10, South Carolina 6
Freshman starter Adam Hill labored in four-plus innings of work, frequently falling behind in counts and walking five batters. Hill did his best Harry Houdini impersonation, using his swing-and-miss stuff to get out of multiple jams in the early innings.
Hill's luck ran out of the fifth when the right-hander departed after allowing consecutive doubles to start the inning. The Commodores would take advantage of two defensive miscues by South Carolina's outfield to score five runs in the inning.
Second Baseman DC Arendas tied the game with a two-run home run to right field in the sixth inning. That marked the second home run of the game for the Gamecocks after third baseman Jonah Bride homered in the first inning.
Vanderbilt's star right fielder Jeren Kendall broke the tie with a home run in the bottom half of the inning. The Gamecocks were unable to rally against reliever Ben Bowden, who notched six strikeouts in 2.1 innings of work.