Late home run magic pushes South Carolina to midweek win
South Carolina wasn’t going to hit the panic button. That’s not how it had gotten to this point. Instead of drowning on its sorrows after a tough series loss in SEC play, it just moved on to what’s next.
What lied ahead was a Tuesday night matchup with an under .500 team before playing in yet another top-10 matchup this weekend. But to say it would be a piece of cake for the No. 6 Gamecocks would be an overstatement.
Instead, they had to fight tooth and nail for any shot at victory. But time and time again, they got the big hit when they needed it.
With a runner on and one out in the sixth, Dylan Brewer annihilated an 0-2 pitch that traveled 435 feet to give South Carolina a 6-4 lead. It would be the nudge it needed to pull out an 10-4 win over Charleston Southern.
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Things got off to a pretty interesting start from an offensive standpoint. The Gamecocks (31-6, 10-4 SEC) scored four runs in the first two innings before being kept in check for most of the night.
However, Charleston Southern came to play as well. The Buccaneers tagged starter Eli Jerzembeck for four runs on six hits in two innings. It was a tough night for the freshman right-hander, who hadn’t given up a run since March 21.
With Jerzembeck out of the game heading into the third, it looked like the bullpen was in for a long night. And it was. But they did their job in picking up the slack and preserving the big arms for the weekend.
Dylan Eskew, who hadn’t pitched since Feb. 21, was first up in relief and shined. He only allowed one hit over 3.1 innings and struck out three.
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Eskew’s night came to an end after throwing 56 pitches, more than a good enough outing. Nick Proctor came on with one out in the sixth and didn’t skip a beat. He got two quick outs in the sixth before taking it to another level.
Proctor made it through his outing by retiring the next six batters he faced, which included striking out the side in the seventh.
After South Carolina regained the lead on the Brewer homer, the offense came to life again. Cole Messina opened the seventh with a double down the left field line, followed by a long homer off the bat of Gavin Casas.
Leading by six heading into the ninth, Cade Austin came in and slammed the door on the Buccaneers. He retired the side in order to cap off a tremendous night for the bullpen.
Overall, it was not only a bounce back effort for the pitching but the offense as well. South Carolina finished with 10 hits and six walks while also hitting 5-for-18 (.273) with runners in scoring position.
Once again, the top of the batting order proved to be in sync on Tuesday. Outside of Ethan Petry, who had a rare hitless night, five of the first six batters had at least one hit. Braylen Wimmer, Messina and Talmadge LeCroy each had two hits.
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The same production couldn’t be found near the bottom of the lineup, though. The Gamecocks’ 7-9 hitters went a combined 0-for-10 with seven strikeouts.
Up next: South Carolina begins a massive series with No. 3 Florida starting Thursday night at Founders Park. First pitch is at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
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