Tolbert, Cortes power South Carolina past Furman

South Carolina played well this past weekend but still lost two of three on the road at Auburn, with Sunday’s setback coming on a 3-run walk-off home run.

South Carolina coach Chad Holbrook was eager to get his team back on the diamond and, thanks to the offensive efforts of LT Tolbert and Carlos Cortes, the Gamecocks defeated Furman 6-1 Tuesday night at the halfway point of the season.

Tolbert matched his career high with 3 RBIs and extended his hitting streak to seven games. He’s 13-of-27 during that time with seven runs batted in and raised his average from .272 to a team-best .333. He got the Gamecocks on the board with an RBI single to score Chris Cullen in the second inning. He later added a two-run double in the fifth that helped break open a close game.

“He’s attacking the ball and not on his heels,” Holbrook said. “He’s getting a good pitch and putting a good swing on it. He’s in attack-mode right now.”

Tolbert has seen the difference lately as well.

“I’m trying to have quality at-bats and not focusing on the results – just the approach and swings I’m putting on balls,” Tolbert said. “I’m playing with more confidence because I know I’m doing more to help the team.”

Cortes has been nearly as impressive over his past five games. He’s 7-of-16 during that span with eight of his 10 RBIs on the season. His two-run double in the fourth inning gave the Gamecocks the lead for good.

Cody Morris improved to 2-0 in making his fourth straight effective start. The freshman has yet to pitch more than five innings, but hasn’t allowed more than a one earned run in any of his outings.

Morris allowed the only run in the first inning. He threw two wild pitches that allowed Landon Kay to score after leading off the game with a single. But he allowed two base runners and faced one over the minimum over the next four innings.

“He’s coming off of Tommy John (surgery) so we’re going to be careful with him,” Holbrook said. “He kind of gets settled in and pitches a little bit better after his first inning or so. He’s got something going now.”

Colby Lee pitched 3 1/3 innings and allowed one hit with a strikeout and no walks. He retired 10 in a row after allowing a single to the first batter he faced.

South Carolina (20-8, 6-3) will host Vanderbilt (18-11, 4-5) in a three-game SEC series beginning Thursday at 7 p.m.

This story was originally published April 4, 2017 at 9:44 PM with the headline "Tolbert, Cortes power South Carolina past Furman."