South Carolina Baseball DOMINAT10N: Gamecocks sweep Georgia with two 10-run rule victories
By Kevin Miller
On Friday, South Carolina baseball’s first SEC contest was rained out as bad weather hit Athens, Georgia. The Gamecocks and Bulldogs agreed to play a full doubleheader on Saturday. Carolina got their SEC season started off the right way as they swept the Bulldogs in dominating fashion.
The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader was a back-and-forth affair. Cole Messina and Ethan Petry hit home runs for the visiting Gamecocks, but the Bulldogs found themselves two outs from victory. With the score 4-3, Georgia native Michael Braswell was called on to pinch hit. The sophomore came through with a two-RBI double to put his team ahead. In the bottom of the ninth, Eli Jerzembeck and James Hicks combined for the save, and Braswell made a nice play in the field to help preserve the lead he earned for his squad.
The Gamecocks rode the momentum from their game 1 win to a blowout in the evening tilt. South Carolina pitcher Noah Hall was dominant yet again, but the bats were the story. Specifically, Ethan Petry was the story. The true freshman went 4-4 and hit two absolute bombs in the second game, bringing his total to three homers on the day. His 5 RBI would have been plenty for the win, but the Bulldogs were victims of the SEC’s new 10-run rule as they fell 12-2 in seven innings.
The finale started well for Carolina. Will McGillis led off the game with a home run, and Braylen Wimmer and Gavin Casas were on second and third with no outs after a double, walk, and wild pitch. Georgia starter Charlie Goldstein was able to escape without further damage. The YardCocks would blow the game open with 5 runs in the 3rd. The Gamecocks would run-rule the Dawgs again 12-1 in game 3. As part of the scoring, Gavin Casas hit a missile over the scoreboard and an oopposite-field blast for his 11th and 12th longballs of the year, which ranks him third nationally.
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One of the best offensive teams in the country all season, Mark Kingston’s club continued to crush baseballs this weekend, including lighting up one of the SEC’s best pitchers in Liam Sullivan. Sullivan had given up just six hits and one run on the entire season coming into Saturday’s game, but the Gamecocks tagged him for six hits and crossed home plate five times against the lefty. Georgia’s bullpen had been very good on the young season, but South Carolina actually scored more of their runs off relievers than starters in the series.
Despite the offensive success, the leadoff spot in the Carolina order has been an issue. Players in the leadoff spot came into the weekend hitting under .200 on the season. After the Georgia sweep, things might be changing in that spot. Will McGillis was re-inserted into the leadoff spot for the second and third games of the series, and he delivered with a double, three walks, and two home runs across the two games.
The three starters (Will Sanders, Noah Hall, and Jack Mahoney) were all very good in their starts. However, in game 1 Chris Veach ended up with the victory. James Hicks picked up the only save of the series when he relieved a jammed-up Eli Jerzembeck with one out remaining in the ninth of game 1.
South Carolina baseball will play a rare road tilt in the mid-week at Charlotte on Tuesday before returning home for a series with Missouri. The Charlotte matchup will be aired only on ESPN+, while games 1 and 3 of the Mizzou series will be on the SECNetwork, and game 2 will be on the SECNetwork+. All three will be able to be found on the ESPN App.