Walks, errors doom South Carolina in game three loss to Vanderbilt
Issuing walks and making errors typically find ways to hurt teams and South Carolina found that out the hard way Sunday.
The Gamecocks gave up a go-ahead walk and game-changing error in the sixth inning of Sunday’s rubber match to Vanderbilt.
Those miscues led to a three-run inning in what ultimately became a 6-4 loss and the Gamecocks’ first series loss of the season. It’s the first time South Carolina’s lost back-to-back games all year.
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Like Saturday, things were nip and tuck yet again through the first five innings, a one-run slugfest for most of it.
After South Carolina (30-6, 10-4 SEC) tied things up in the sixth the pitching and defense let the Gamecocks down again.
Eli Jones motored through two quick outs on just four pitches before the wheels fell off. He would walk the nine-hole hitter on a full count before giving up an Enrique Bradfield infield single into the shift.
Jones would hit the next batter, his final batter, before Cade Austin came in and walked in the go-ahead run on just four pitches. Vanderbilt blew things open after that on a two-out error from Talmage LeCroy that allowed two to score.
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Five of Vanderbilt’s six runs came with two outs with just three of those earned, the lone one that didn’t was a solo shot from Bradfield in the eighth inning.
It was an uncharacteristic day for South Carolina’s pitching staff, walking six and hitting three in the first series loss of the year.
Becker threw well in his first weekend start of the season, giving up just two runs over four-plus innings while striking out a whopping eight batters. He did walk three and hit two but gave South Carolina a chance on a Sunday.
Vanderbilt took the lead off of him in the second inning, getting a trio of hits–two of which were doubles–in a laborious inning where both of the Commodores’ runs came with two outs.
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He would labor again through the third and motor through a clean fourth before leaving in the fifth after a leadoff walk. Becker pitched out of trouble a ton on the day and in doing so only went four-plus innings with 87 pitches.
The Gamecocks offense was held down for most of the early part of the game outside of a record-setting Ethan Petry home run. That was home run No. 18 for Petry, who breaks Justin Smoak’s 17-year record set in 2006.
South Carolina tied things back up in the sixth thanks to leadoff knocks from Dylan Brewer and Braylen Wimmer followed by a Petry sac fly.
The top of South Carolina’s order was almost only production, combining for most of the Gamecocks’ runs, hits and RBI. Petry drove in all three of the runs, capping it with an RBI double in the eighth inning.
The lone hit from the bottom of South Carolina’s order came in the ninth, a solo shot from LeCroy.
Up next: South Carolina is back at home in the midweek facing Charleston Southern Tuesday at 7 p.m.
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