For eight innings, Saturday's contest between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Duke Blue Devils looked a lot like the Gamecocks' loss to Rhode Island the night before. However, clutch hitting gave the story a different ending — a happier one for South Carolina fans — as the Gamecocks won 4-2.
For the second straight game, the South Carolina baseball team got out to a hot start, this time jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning. However, just like Friday's loss to Rhode Island, the offense stagnated for the majority of the game, allowing the three-seed Duke to tie the game at two.
Unlike Friday's contest, the Gamecocks were able to come up with a hit when they needed it most. After Dom Thompson-Williams singled to lead off the ninth inning, Madison Stokes bunted him over to second. Head coach Chad Holbrook decided to leave catcher Hunter Taylor at the plate to try to break the tie rather than opting for a pinch hitter. Taylor proved Holbrook right, doubling down the left field line to bring in Thompson-Williams, putting South Carolina up 3-2.
The SEC East champs had a chance to tack on some insurance after Taylor's double, but faltered at first. Clark Scolamiero entered as a pinch runner, and LT Tolbert was hit by a pitch, giving the Gamecocks runners at first and second with one out. Marcus Mooney then put a bunt single down the third base line, and Scolamiero was thrown out at home after Jack Labosky bobbled the ball.
A Gene Cone walk loaded the bases for TJ Hopkins, who would ground out to end the inning. However, Hopkins didn't need to provide his team with another run as Mitch Stallings threw a wild pitch to score Tolbert from third.
Tyler Johnson, who got the final out of the eighth, would slam the door shut in the ninth to earn his 10th save of the season.
Earlier in the game, Holbrook made it clear that he would take no chances in this game as South Carolina needed to win to stay alive in the postseason. Starter Braden Webb, the SEC's strikeout leader, was pulled in the fourth inning after loading the bases with no outs, despite allowing just an unearned run and two hits while throwing 54 pitches.
Closer Josh Reagan, a starter last season, found himself on the mound considerably earlier than normal, but he embraced the opportunity. Reagan got out of the jam with a strikeout, a fielder's choice and an infield pop-up, keeping Duke at bay.
Reagan would continue to shut down the Blue Devils, making just one mistake in his 4.2 innings. To lead off the bottom of the sixth, the left-hander served up a mammoth home run to Justin Bellinger to tie the game.
Offensively, the Gamecocks pounded out 10 hits, led by Cone, Tolbert and Mooney, who each had a pair.
With the win, South Carolina will move on to play an elimination game against the loser of Saturday's nightcap between UNCW and Rhode Island on Sunday at noon. If the Gamecocks are able to win that game, they will then play the winner of tonight's game at 6 p.m. Sunday, where they will need to win to force a winner-take-all rematch Monday. For Holbrook and his club, it's one down, three to go.