South Carolina baseball opened its five-game homestand with two midweek wins over USC Upstate on Tuesday and Charleston Southern on Wednesday.
The Gamecocks dominated USC Upstate late in the game to claim a 12-3 win, then later closed out the midweek with a 4-1 win over Charleston Southern. The offense combined for 23 hits in the two games, with the pitching staff following suit with 23 combined strikeouts as well.
Sixteen-hit evening pushes South Carolina past USC Upstate 12-3 on Tuesday
The Gamecocks defeated USC Upstate 12-3 Tuesday night after dropping their first series of the season to Clemson. After a rough series against the Tigers, which saw only 12 hits for the team the entire weekend, the Gamecocks responded with 16 hits, three home runs and five doubles in the win.
Sophomore left-hander Logan Prisco made his first-ever start for the Gamecocks and delivered with four innings with five strikeouts, one walk and one run in the dominant win.
South Carolina saw multiple bullpen arms after Prisco’s day ended, with six additional arms being utilized. The bullpen had an additional nine strikeouts, four walks and two runs.
The Gamecocks took an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after singles from junior outfielder Patrick Evans and senior outfielder Ethan Lizama put runners on to lead off the inning. An RBI single from sophomore shortstop KJ Scobey scored Evans and Lizama, with fifth-year second baseman Logan Sutter trading places with Scobey at second to push South Carolina out 3-0.
South Carolina shut out the Spartans until the fifth inning, where they responded to cut the deficit to one. A leadoff walk and a passed ball put the first two batters on base for USC Upstate. An RBI groundout and balk would score the first two runs of the evening to stay down 3-2.
A single and a walk opened the top of the sixth inning, with USC Upstate tying the game 3-3 on an RBI single from junior infielder Clayton Campidilli.
The Gamecock offense exploded in the bottom of the sixth to take a commanding 8-3 lead. Scobey reached first on a throwing error by the shortstop, later advancing to third on a failed pickoff attempt by the pitcher. Senior designated hitter Luke Yuhasz doubled to score Scobey, with an RBI single from junior outfielder Aaron Jamison scoring Yuhasz.
Junior third baseman Dawson Harman continued the dominant inning with an RBI double of his own. Evans homered to left field to give South Carolina an 8-3 lead after six innings.
The seventh inning saw more Gamecock offense, with Scobey singling to start the inning. Sutter homered to center field to add two more runs. Yuhasz doubled for the second time and reached third on a throwing error, with Harman scoring Yuhasz on an RBI groundout to give South Carolina an 11-3 lead.
Evans homered for the second time in the game in the eighth inning to cap off South Carolina’s 12-3 win against USC Upstate.
"After kind of a little bit of a slow start, we're not scared or nothing," Evans said. "I think we're actually kind of hungry and excited to face some good competition."
South Carolina earns second midweek 4-1 win against Charleston Southern
The Gamecocks claimed their second midweek win over an in-state opponent as they defeated Charleston Southern 4-1 on March 4. The Gamecock offense slowed after a hot Tuesday night but still managed seven hits and three hit-by-pitches.
Sophomore right-hander Connor Chicoli made his third start of the season against the Buccaneers Wednesday and had two strikeouts and two walks in 4.1 innings of work.
A leadoff walk from freshman first baseman Will Craddock opened the bottom of the first inning for the Gamecocks. Evans doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Craddock scored off a sacrifice fly from fifth-year catcher Talmadge LeCroy to go up 1-0 in the first.
The Gamecocks took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second after Jamison blasted his second home run of the season.
South Carolina looked to grow its lead in the bottom of the third after Craddock was hit by a pitch to start the inning. After a two-out double by Scobey later on in the inning, Craddock was tagged out on his way to home plate, stalling the Gamecocks' scoring chance to keep it 2-0.
Charleston Southern threatened at the top of the fifth inning after a walk and two singles loaded the bases with no outs. Junior right-hander Brandon Stone made the first bullpen appearance of the night for the Gamecocks and entered with the bases loaded with one out.
Stone was able to escape the jam with a fly out and ground out to protect South Carolina’s 2-0 lead at the top of the fifth.
After being shut out for five innings, the Buccaneers got on the board in the sixth inning after redshirt sophomore designated hitter Tyler Wright singled and advanced to second on a passed ball. Redshirt junior infielder Gavin Speirs recorded an RBI single to cut the South Carolina lead to 2-1.
The rally continued with a single from senior outfielder Kain Collins, putting runners at first and second with two outs. Stone was once again able to escape without giving up any more runs in the sixth.
Junior outfielder Tyler Bak had a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the sixth, giving South Carolina an opportunity to break open the game. After LeCroy walked, senior outfielder Ethan Lizama had a two-RBI double and advanced to third on the throw, giving the Gamecocks a 4-1 advantage.
Junior left-hander Alex Valentin entered the game in the eighth inning and had four strikeouts and no walks to earn his third save of the season.
Charleston Southern looked to make a comeback in the ninth inning, with sophomore outfielder Alex Marot doubling with one out to lead the charge. Despite the threat, the Gamecocks were able to secure the 4-1 win against the Buccaneers.
What's next?
South Carolina baseball will continue its homestead with a three-game series against the Princeton Tigers. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. on March 7, and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+.