South Carolina Baseball: Bats Light Up Opening Day Win over UMass-Lowell

A dreary, overcast sky was illuminated by the fireworks from the Gamecocks’ bats on Friday afternoon as the South Carolina baseball team opened their season at home against the River Hawks of UMass-Lowell. An impressive, 20-run offensive debut was highlighted by five home runs.

The first lineup of the season was full of new faces. Designated hitter Carson Hornung and shortstop Braylen Wimmer, two of the three contributors from last season’s team that were in the lineup today, were placed as the table setters in the first two spots. Caleb Denny hit third in his first start in a Gamecock uniform and played left field, and the preseason’s presumed catching duo hit fourth and fifth as Cole Messina and Talmadge Lecroy slotted in at catcher and third base, respectively. Three transfers were next in the order with first baseman Gavin Casas, second baseman Will McGillis, and right fielder Dylan Brewer penciled in at 6, 7, and 8 in the order. Center fielder Evan Stone manned the ninth spot. Preseason All-American Will Sanders toed the rubber for the 4:00 first pitch.

The game began with a 1-2-3 inning for Sanders in the top of the first, and Braylen Wimmer smacked a hard-hit liner for a single in the bottom of the frame before the bats went quiet. Will Sanders hit one batter, gave up two singles, and walked a man in the second but escaped with only one run scored against him. Starting pitcher LJ Keevan for UMass-Lowell gave the lead right back after surrendering a leadoff triple to Talmadge Lecroy, a sacrifice fly to Gavin Casas that scored Lecroy, and a solo bomb to Will McGillis.

Sanders gave up a run on an RBI double to UMass-Lowell’s Gerry Siracusa, but his offense had his back. A three-run bottom of the third saw Carson Hornung score on an infield grounder, and Cole Messina’s follow-up two-run dinger drove in Braylen Wimmer. The floodgates opened for the YardCocks in the next inning as Carolina plated five, four of those runs coming via a three-run blast from Carson Hornung and a solo shot from Braylen Wimmer in the very next at-bat.

Battling his control and being handed a huge lead, Sanders was relieved by James Hicks who pitched a perfect fifth and sixth. During the bottom half of the fifth inning, McGillis continued his push for player of the game with his second opposite-field homer of the game. As the onslaught continued, however, Wimmer challenged McGillis’ production, finishing 5-5 including his fourth-inning home run. Carson Hornung also had a great day at the plate as he drove in five Gamecock base runners, three of them with one swing in the fourth.

Because of the scoring margin, plenty of reserves saw playing time. Michael Braswell came in for Wimmer, Kevin Madden replaced Lecroy, Ethan Petry was inserted into the game for Gavin Casas, Will Tippett took over second from McGillis, David Cromer relieved Dylan Brewer, Chris Veach ran (and then hit) for Carson Hornung, and Jonathan French donned the mask behind the plate when Messina’s day was done.

While the Gamecock offense continued to tack on some more runs, Wesley Sweatt pitched one-run ball in the seventh, and Austin Williamson went six-up, six-down in the eighth and ninth to finish the game. Final score: Gamecocks, 20, River Hawks, 3.

Box Score