Adam Hill's gem powers South Carolina past Mizzou to tie series
Just in time for South Carolina baseball, staff ace Adam Hill has regained his elite form.
The junior righty turned in his second consecutive quality start Saturday, throwing seven shutout innings to power the Gamecocks to a 6-3 victory against Missouri at Founders Park.
"He put us on his back, and we won because of him today, no doubt," coach Mark Kingston said.
Hill entered the season as a highly rated MLB prospect, expected to dominate every Friday night. Instead, he has struggled at times, including seven starts in which he did not make it past the fifth inning, and was moved to Saturday games.
Against Mizzou (31-19, 10-16 SEC), however, Hill looked dominant, maintaining a velocity of 92 miles per hour past 100 pitches, striking out eight and allowing just two walks and four hits to lead USC (29-21, 14-12 SEC) on senior day.
"Kinda got back to the basics, threw a lot of fastballs, stuff that's made me successful in the past," Hill said of his approach.
He also got early support from his offense, as the Gamecocks struck for two runs in the first inning, with both RBIs coming from senior veterans.
Freshman left fielder Noah Campbell led off with a single off Mizzou lefty starter Michael Plassmeyer , and sophomore right fielder Carlos Cortes pulled a pitch to the right field corner for a double. Consecutive groundouts from senior designated hitter Madison Stokes and senior third baseman Jonah Bride plated both baserunners.
Senior second baseman Justin Row increased the lead in the fourth inning with a curling blast shot to left field that just stayed fair. He went 3-3 at the plate with a walk on the day.
"Lefties are tough to hit, and (Plassmeyer) left a few balls up early that we were able to capitalize on," Kingston said.
Two batters after Row's long ball, senior catcher Hunter Taylor walked with one out, and junior center fielder Jacob Olson followed with a bunt down the third base line and beat the throw, which was muffed by the first baseman, allowing Taylor to move to third base.
Senior first baseman Matt Williams then laid down a squeeze bunt, dropping the ball just far enough in front of home plate to draw the catcher out, allowing Taylor to score.
With two outs in the fourth, however, play was stopped because of lightning in the area, though the skies above Founders Park remained mostly clear for the hourlong delay.
Still, both starters returned to the mound after the stoppage, and it was the offense that looked rusty from the brief layoff, as the two teams combined for no runs and just two hits in the fifth and sixth innings.
"In the break, I threw a few times, moved my body around, just tried to stay loose anyway I could," Hill said. "And when I came back out, I had to dial it back in, because I felt really good, but you gotta lock it back in and get in the strike zone."
In the bottom of the seventh, Carolina padded its lead, as Cortes reached on an error at first base by the pitcher to lead things off, then stole second on a play that was reviewed and overturned. Stokes singled, putting Cortes on third, and Row loaded the bases with a walk. A double from junior shortstop LT Tolbert scored two.
Missouri rallied to make things interesting against relievers Ridge Chapman and Sawyer Bridges with a three-run eighth inning, but Bridges held on and recorded the final five outs to preserve the win, a victory Kingston said is especially meaningful given that the team honored its five seniors pregame with an on-field ceremony.
"I don't think our team was going to let them lose today," Kingston said. "The quality of those kids — they've meant so much to this program, they're such good people — I really felt in that dugout that our team wanted to win very badly for those guys."
The seniors certainly helped their own cause in that regard — the quintet combined for five hits, four RBIs, three runs and three walks.
THREE POINTS
Star of the game: Adam Hill, who put together, arguably, the best performance by a USC starter all year. The only competition would be his seven no-hit innings against Charleston Southern, but that was against a less-potent offense and not interrupted by an hourlong weather delay.
Play of the game: The lone spot of trouble Hill ran into all game came in the third with USC up 2-0. A hit, walk and hit, consecutively, loaded the bases with no outs, but Hill pitched his way out of it, with the help of some strong defensive play, as Matt Williams threw home for a force out, then formed one-third of a 4-6-3 double play that ended the threat.
"That was key. Getting out of that really energized us and could (have been) the difference in the ballgame," Kingston said. "They get ahead there, they have a big inning? Who knows how that game would have turned out.
Stat of the game: 1-9 two-out hitting for Mizzou, wasting the four leadoff hitters the Tigers managed to get against Gamecock pitching.
NEXT
Who: South Carolina (29-21, 14-12 SEC) vs. Missouri (31-19, 10-16 SEC)
When: 1:30 p.m. Sunday, May 13
Where: Founders Park, Columbia, South Carolina
Watch: Streaming online on SEC Network Plus via WatchESPN
Listen: 107.5 FM
Probable pitchers:South Carolina — So. RHP Cody Morris (6-3, 4.74 ERA); Missouri — TBA
This story was originally published May 12, 2018 at 8:21 PM with the headline "Adam Hill's gem powers South Carolina past Mizzou to tie series."