South Carolina baseball: Gamecocks take down Winthrop
By Jacob Elsey
South Carolina baseball stayed unbeaten with a win over Winthrop.
The South Carolina baseball team took down Winthrop 19-8 Tuesday night to stay undefeated on the young season and earn their seventh win of the year. The win was the second in a week over the Eagles, after the Gamecocks took down the instate foe 12-4 in midweek action last Tuesday.
The Gamecocks belted seven home runs in that first meeting, and the bats stayed hot in the second matchup between the two teams last night. The 19 run output was a season high, as Mark Kingston’s crew jumped out to a 16-1 lead through four innings before letting off the gas a bit.
South Carolina didn’t need to rely on the long ball so much in this one, though leadoff man Brady Allen and left fielder Andrew Eyster added to their home run totals. The two combined for four hits, seven runs batted in, and four runs scored.
Outside of that, the Gamecocks used small ball to build a big league, knocking 12 singles in the game, and capitalizing on four Winthrop defensive miscues.
Pitching was a strength for the majority of the game, particularly the performance from starter Josiah Sighter. The lefty allowed just a single run over three innings of work, striking out four and avoiding giving Winthrop hitters any free passes. Sighter also helped out with the bat, going 3-for-3 at the plate, and scoring three runs.
There is a bit of concern with the bullpen, after seeing the Gamecocks blow back-to-back saves in the Clemson series, and allow five runs over the game’s final two innings last night. Some of that can be attributed to youth, and the fact that the staff still trying to shuffle through the top options in the backend of the pen, but it will be something to keep an eye on as the team prepares for the upcoming SEC slate.
Following the blowout win, the Gamecocks will look to stay unbeaten as they prepare for a weekend series with Mercer in Columbia. The going will then get much tougher with South Carolina facing off in consecutive weekend series against No. 19 Texas, No. 2 Vanderbilt, and No. 6 Florida.