South Carolina Baseball: Gamecocks win road series over 2021 National Champs
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina baseball entered their road series against Mississippi State off to one of their two best starts in program history. The 25-2 Gamecocks were ranked #9 in the nation and led all of college baseball in home runs. The series against the Bulldogs was a Thursday through Saturday affair rather than the typical Friday through Sunday format.
It was announced shortly before the series began that Head Coach Mark Kingston and Pitching Coach Justin Parker were making a change to their starting rotation. Eli Jones would get the ball on Thursday for his first weekend start of the year, Noah Hall would make his customary game 2 start (albeit on Friday night), and Jack Mahoney would pitch the finale on Saturday. It was unclear whether Will Sanders would be available to pitch out of the bullpen or if he was being given the entire weekend off in an effort to shake himself out of his rut.
But first, a trip to Charleston was on the schedule as South Carolina baseball took on The Citadel for the second time this season. Much like the first matchup, this one was all Gamecocks from start to finish. In a “Johnny Wholestaff” effort, the Carolina pitching staff held the Bulldogs to just 2 runs as the bats scored 13, enacting the 10-run rule in the seventh inning. Gavin Casas and Caleb Denny each went deep in the rout.
The Thursday contest against Mississippi State was a competitive one. Eli Jones, James Hicks, Chris Veach, and Cade Austin combined to pitch all nine frames, giving up 4 runs. The offense struck out a whopping 17 times but got enough extra-base hits to win. Ethan Petry continued his assault on baseball with two hits, including his 13th long ball of the year. Cole Messina launched his 10th, and Will McGillis’ (broken arm) replacement at second base, Michael Braswell, hit two doubles. The Gamecocks pulled off the 6-4 victory to take game 1.
Game 2 was a drastically different scene. The YardCocks struck out just 6 times on Friday but still couldn’t get anything going offensively. Braylen Wimmer hit a home run and an RBI double, but 3 runs were all Mark Kingston’s squad could muster. The normally lights-out Noah Hall couldn’t find it on the mound, either. Last week’s SEC Pitcher of the Week couldn’t make it out of the third inning as he took the loss in what would become a 10-run rule shellacking for the Gamecocks.
Game 3 was back and forth most of the way. Jack Mahoney took a no-hitter into the fourth inning, and Braylen Wimmer and Gavin Casas led off the game with back-to-back jacks. Later, Dylan Brewer added a bomb to center field. The game was tight until the ninth when the Gamecock offense exploded for seven runs. James Hicks and Chris Veach pitched in relief for the second time each this series, and the visitors came out on top by a score of 14-5.
After the dust settled, Carolina went 3-1 on the week, including an SEC road series win. Maybe more importantly, they potentially found the right combination to fill the spots vacated by the injured Will McGillis and Carson Hornung. Ethan Petry slid to the DH slot all weekend, Michael Braswell played 2B, Evan Stone played CF, and Dylan Brewer played RF. Stone and Braswell continued to produce just enough at the plate to complement their defensive prowess, and Brewer had four hits, including a home run.
The Gamecocks did what needed to be done and took the series from Mississippi State despite playing a desperate team on the road. The 2021 national championship-winning Bulldogs have not played well this season, but they still have a talented roster. Carolina suffered their first conference loss (and third loss overall) along the way this weekend, but any road series win in the SEC is a positive outcome, and an 8-1 record in-conference is a great start to a regional or super regional host type of season.
South Carolina baseball has a massive week ahead as they take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in Charlotte for a Tuesday mid-week contest. The Gamecocks will return home to Founders Park for a weekend (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) showdown with top-ranked LSU that will put their perfect home record to the test. The winner of that series will find themselves in the driver’s seat for a national seed. Nothing will get any easier after next weekend as South Carolina has to play top-10 teams Vanderbilt and Florida the following two weekends.
The Tuesday game with North Carolina and the first two games of the LSU series will all begin at 7:00 and be viewable on the SECNetwork+ and the ESPN App. Saturday’s game 3 will be broadcast on the SECNetwork and ESPN App.