Freshman Logan Chapman dazzles as South Carolina routs LSU in series opener
The bats are back for South Carolina baseball, but Logan Chapman seemed to overshadow that development and everything else Friday night. The freshman right-hander was dominant across 6 2/3 innings at Founders Park, leading USC to a crucial bounceback 11-0 win against No. 19 LSU.
Coach Mark Kingston made the surprise decision to start Chapman on Friday after the young hurler pitched well to lead the Gamecocks (21-17, 7-9 SEC) in the series-opener against Arkansas last Thursday. He responded with nearly seven innings of two-hit ball that tamed the Tigers (24-15, 9-7 SEC), who feature one of the SEC's top offenses.
“Fastball velocity was good, had good command, kept the ball down, did not fall behind many hitters,” Kingston said. “And he also threw his offspeed pitches for strikes enough to keep them off-balance.”
Chapman said he knew he was going to have his best stuff throwing in the bullpen before the game, and he shook off a rough first pitch — he hit the leadoff LSU batter — to retire 20 of the next 24 hitters he faced.
Chapman's dominant outing was supported by South Carolina's biggest offensive performance in two weeks, as every batter reached base and looked comfortable after a road slump Kingston attributed to lack of high-velocity batting practice with pitching machines.
All told, junior center fielder TJ Hopkins said, it added up to the best win he's been a part of in three years at South Carolina. Kingston, who is in his first season with the program, agreed that it was the most complete effort the squad has put together in 2018, especially coming off a 7-4 loss this past Tuesday to lowly Presbyterian.
"“With everything that’s happened with us this year, at the end of the day you can’t question the heart that this team has,” Kingston said. "Tuesday was a real gut punch for everybody, so to bounce back like this with two really good practices and preparation, to see us come out like that, it was real good."
Sophomore left fielder Carlos Cortes gave USC the lead right away in the bottom of the first inning with a home run that just cleared the right field wall. The Gamecocks tacked on another pair of scores in the bottom of the fourth after senior second baseman Justin Row hit into a double play with the bases loaded to score one, and Hopkins followed with an RBI double to the left field gap.
With the 3-0 lead, Chapman surrendered a walk and single to put runners on the corners with two outs in the top of the seventh before he was pulled in favor of sophomore reliever Sawyer Bridges, who induced a grounder up the middle that he managed to snag and throw to first, saving a run and ending the inning.
Bridges would add a scoreless eighth for his third straight quality outing, Kingston said.
"He's our best competitor, without question," Kingston said. " ... He's not at full health right now but he's finding ways to be successful. That kid has as big a heart as you'll see in college baseball. He competes as hard as anybody."
On offense, Cortes came around to score in the bottom of the seventh on a single to left-center field from senior third baseman Jonah Bride. Row then executed a squeeze bunt to plate another run.
The next inning, junior right fielder Jacob Olson led off with a double, then scored on a single from senior catcher Hunter Taylor. Cortes then drove in Taylor with a single down the right field line, and junior shortstop LT Tolbert added an RBI with a sacrifice fly.
Hopkins then capped the scoring with a bases-loaded triple, finishing the night with four RBIs and two hits after missing the team's previous 16 games with a hand injury. In his first at-bat, he struck out looking, and he admitted later to feeling a little bit lost at first, but as the game wore on, his confidence grew, and that translated to the rest of the team as well, Kingston said.
"We've looked back at all the box scores from this year — it's amazing, everytime we've had double-digit scoring, TJ's been right in the middle of it," Kingston said. " ... With him being back in there, that does give us a lift, it stretches our lineup."
THREE POINTS
Star of the game: Logan Chapman, of course, who set a career high in innings pitched and tied his career high in strikeouts.
Play of the game: Carlos Cortes' home run in the bottom of the first not only gave South Carolina all the offense it would need for the night, it also marked the beginning of a strong game for him, as he went 3-4 with two RBIs and two runs.
Stat of the game: 0-13 hitting for LSU with runners on, as Chapman and the bullpen effectively limited what little damage there was.
NEXT
Who: South Carolina (21-17, 7-9 SEC) vs. LSU (24-15, 9-7 SEC), Game 2
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: Founders Park
Watch: Streaming online on SEC Network Plus via WatchESPN
Listen: 107.5 FM
Probable pitchers: South Carolina — Jr. RHP Adam Hill (3-4, 4.65 ERA); LSU — Fr. RHP Ma'Khail Hilliard (7-2, 1.75 ERA)
This story was originally published April 20, 2018 at 10:04 PM with the headline "Freshman Logan Chapman dazzles as South Carolina routs LSU in series opener."