South Carolina storms back from 7-0 deficit to stun Vanderbilt, take series opener
This past Sunday, South Carolina rallied from six runs down to defeat LSU for its biggest come-from-behind win of the year.
On Friday, the Gamecocks outdid themselves, erasing a seven-run deficit to shock No. 17 Vanderbilt, 8-7, for the series-opening victory on the road in Nashville. With the victory, USC (25-17, 10-9 SEC) is above .500 in conference play for the first time this season.
After two successful Game 1 starts against SEC foes recently, USC freshman right-hander Logan Chapman struggled from the start Friday. Vanderbilt sprinted to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first with back-to-back home runs, then added another in the second with a double and two wild pitches from Chapman.
In the third, the Commodores tacked on three more runs with a leadoff bunt single, a walk, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI groundout, followed by a run-scoring triple and single. At that point, Chapman was pulled after making it through just 2 2/3 innings.
In his place, redshirt freshman TJ Shook came on and stopped the bleeding, hold Vandy scoreless for 3 1/3 innings.
As it turned out, that was just what South Carolina's offense needed.
In the top of the fifth inning, coach Mark Kingston's squad began to chip away at the deficit, using singles from senior first baseman Matt Williams, junior right fielder Jacob Olson, junior center fielder TJ Hopkins and sophomore left fielder Carlos Cortes to push two runs across the plate.
The Gamecocks completed their rally in the sixth inning, sending a parade of 11 batters to the plate for a six-run deluge.
"It was just one good at-bat after another," Kingston told John Whittle of The Big Spur. "And they made a mistake here or there and we capitalized and it just took a lot of great at-bats and a lot of guys contributing."
Things started with a hit-by-pitch for senior third baseman Jonah Bride, his team-leading ninth time on the season. He then advanced to third on a double to left from senior second baseman Justin Row.
Williams loaded the bases on a catcher's interference call, and with the bases loaded and no outs, Olson walked in a run. Senior catcher Hunter Taylor then lofted a sacrifice fly to right field to make the score 7-4.
Hopkins followed with an RBI single, which knocked Vanderbilt starter Drake Fellows out of the game, and Cortes re-loaded the bases after getting hit by a pitch. Junior shortstop LT Tolbert worked a 2-2 count before singling just past Vandy's diving second baseman, scoring two and tying the game.
With Cortes on third, Tolbert then executed a delayed steal in the next at-bat and was caught in a run-down. While he managed to elude the tag and made it back to first, Cortes raced home to give South Carolina the lead.
Relievers TJ Shook, Eddy Demurias and Sawyer Bridges all entered the game in tough situations — Shook with the team trailing 7-0, Demurias with a one-run lead and the leadoff runner on first, no outs, and Bridges in the ninth to close out the game. None of them allowed a hit.
"They were just so good," Kingston told Collyn Taylor of Gamecock Central. "They each did what you asked them to do, and that's what good teams do. Guys know what their role is and they execute their role and give you a chance to win. So proud of that bullpen.
THREE POINTS
Star of the game: LT Tolbert, who was just 1-5 from the plate but drove in the game-tying runs and was instrumental in producing the game-winning score (see below). The shortstop also made several clutch plays on defense to preserve the lead once USC had it.
Play of the game: The go-ahead run in the sixth inning was the result of a crafty bit of baserunning from South Carolina, who had Tolbert aggressively bait Vanderbilt into a run-down that allowed Carlos Cortes to race home from third. If it had failed, Kingston surely would have been questioned for his strategy with No. 5 batter Jonah Bride at the plate. Instead, he looked brilliant, though he slyly declined to confirm it was a designed play.
"It's not textbook, but sometimes you just need to find a way to try to score a run," Kingston said.
Stat of the game: Three doubles for Justin Row, who entered Friday's game with four doubles in 35 games all season. He was the only Gamecock with an extra base hit against the Commodores.
NEXT
Who: South Carolina (25-17, 10-9 SEC) vs. Vanderbilt (24-17, 10-9 SEC)
When: 3 p.m. Saturday, April 28
Where: Hawkins Field, Nashville, Tennessee
Watch: Streaming online on SEC Network Plus via WatchESPN
Listen: 107.5 FM
Probable pitchers: South Carolina — Jr. RHP Adam Hill (4-4, 4.05 ERA); Vanderbilt — Jr. RHP Patrick Raby (2-4, 2.47 ERA)
This story was originally published April 27, 2018 at 10:56 PM with the headline "South Carolina storms back from 7-0 deficit to stun Vanderbilt, take series opener."