South Carolina baseball won two of the three matchups in the Salute the Troops Weekend series, losing 9-5 to Army and winning 8-0 to Navy and 4-2 over Air Force.
Despite giving up five runs to start against Army, South Carolina cleaned up its pitching and only gave up a combined 2 runs against Navy and Air Force.
Gamecocks drop contest against Army
South Carolina baseball dropped its first game of the weekend, 9-5, against Army Friday afternoon.
"Army totally outplayed us today, and I give a lot of credit to them," head coach Paul Mainieri said. "We just got to keep working and get better and come out tomorrow and play a much better game."
Redshirt freshman Riley Goodman made his second start of the season and did not find similar success to last week. Goodman finished with three strikeouts, four walks and three earned runs in 3.2 innings of work.
The Black Knights took the first lead of the afternoon in the third inning after senior shortstop Thomas Schreck singled and later advanced to third base after a wild pitch and a passed ball. Schreck scored on the third wild pitch of the day.
An RBI single from senior outfielder Addison Ainsworth pushed Army up 2-0 in the third inning.
Junior right-hander Josh Gunther entered in the fourth inning for South Carolina and immediately gave up a two-run home run to senior infielder Chris Barr.
A chance to cut into the Army lead arose in the fifth inning for the South Carolina offense following another hit from junior infielder Patrick Evans. An RBI double from fifth-year infielder Logan Sutter finally put the Gamecocks on the board 4-1.
The Black Knight offense added another run to its lead in the seventh inning after an RBI double from Ainsworth.
Gunther immediately gave up his second home run of the day to freshman designated hitter Josiah Overbeek, giving Army an 8-1 advantage in the seventh inning.
"It's not the greatest feeling because these guys, they have trust in me," Gunther said. "I got trust in them, and I want to come out there and fight for them, and I feel like, you know, I threw away the game."
Army continued to stay hot at the plate, with Barr crushing his second home run of the day, this time off junior right-hander Josh Gregoire, who entered in the eighth inning.
The Gamecocks finally responded to Army’s hot offensive day in the bottom of the eighth, with freshman first baseman Will Craddock knocking his first RBI hit of the day.
South Carolina loaded the bases in the eighth inning with hopes of making a late-game comeback. Back-to-back bases-loaded walks scored two, but a strikeout with the bases still loaded ended the inning. Fifth-year catcher Talmadge LeCroy capped off the evening with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth.
South Carolina pitching shuts out Navy
The Gamecocks bounced back Saturday afternoon against Navy, earning the 8-0 shutout win against the Midshipmen at Founders Park.
Junior right-hander Amp Phillips made his second start of the season following a two-hour rain delay Saturday afternoon, and he delivered a very productive outing that the pitching staff desperately needed. Phillips pitched six innings, finishing the day with three strikeouts, two walks and no earned runs.
South Carolina took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning after Craddock blasted his first collegiate home run.
Craddock continued his impressive play with an RBI double, scoring senior outfielder Lizama and Sutter to give South Carolina a 3-0 advantage. LeCroy traded places with Craddock after smoking his own RBI double, giving the Gamecocks a 4-0 lead after three innings.
South Carolina added two runs in the fifth inning after LeCroy hit his second RBI double of the day to score senior pinch hitter Luke Yuhasz. Sophomore shortstop KJ Scobey then doubled to left field, scoring LeCroy to go up 6-0.
The first three Gamecock batters reached in the bottom of the sixth to load the bases with no outs. Craddock delivered once again, scoring junior third baseman Dawson Harman on a sacrifice fly.
A walk from LeCroy and a single from Scobey started the bottom of the seventh for South Carolina. Harman doubled to give the Gamecocks a dominant 8-0 advantage.
Sophomore right-hander Cooper Parks and junior left-hander Hudson Lee finished out the evening with three innings of work, with Lee striking out the side in the top of the ninth to secure the 8-0 shutout win against Navy.
Craddock finished the day 2-4 with four RBI for the Gamecocks.
"He's a young kid, you know, trying to get his feet wet in college baseball," Mainieri said. "He's a unique kid; you can see why I've said that so many times. I think he's a very gifted player."
South Carolina closes weekend with win over Air Force
South Carolina defeated Air Force 4-2 Sunday afternoon to close out the Salute the Troops Weekend.
Junior right-handed pitcher Brandon Stone made his start on the mound Sunday evening and pitched a total of three innings, striking out five batters.
Air Force took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, where Stone got into trouble with loaded bases and allowed a batter to score.
South Carolina quickly tied up the game, and Craddock led off the bottom of the first with a home run. Craddock finished up the game two for four with one RBI.
Harman led off the second inning with a double, and immediately following, sophomore first-baseman Beau Hollins hit a single, allowing Harman to gain a run from second and put himself at third with zero outs.
Craddock continued his impressive offensive work with a double then scored on Evan's double with the score of 4-1 for the Gamecocks at the end of the second inning.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Logan Prisco entered in the fourth inning and issued only one walk in the frame. Prisco allowed multiple singles and one run for Air Force in the fifth inning, making the score 4-2.
Relief pitching made the difference in the game tonight, as the Gamecocks and the Falcons went scoreless in the final four innings.
Russell ended his inning appearance with just one hit and two strikeouts, earning the win. He credited recent changes for his strong start to the year.
“Just attacking the zone, getting ahead. It’s a problem I kind of had last year, walks, not getting ahead,” Russell said. “And I’ve been throwing a new cutter that’s been working pretty good.”
Junior left-handed pitcher Alex Valentin entered in the seventh inning and had three strikeouts to close out the last three innings and secure the win.
What's Next?
The Gamecocks stay at home at Founders Park to host Queens University on Wednesday Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m.. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.