USC stumbles, drops heartbreaker to Rhode Island in NCAA opener
South Carolina’s return to the NCAA tournament is in danger of being short-lived.
Rhode Island rallied for a 5-4 win over the Gamecocks Friday night at Founders Park to send USC into the loser’s bracket in the Columbia Regional. Carolina will face Duke Saturday at noon looking to avoid elimination.
The Gamecocks will have to win four games in three days to advance to the Super Regionals after losing their opening game in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1983.
“Obviously a very disappointing effort tonight in terms of how it ended up,” USC associated head coach Jerry Meyers said. “It’s a quick turnaround. We’ve got to try to keep our season going.”
Meyers answered questions after the game for Carolina head coach Chad Holbrook, who was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing balls and strikes. It was the second ejection of Holbrook’s career.
The Gamecocks got off to a quick start as Gene Cone opened the bottom of the first inning with a solo homer to right, and Alex Destino hit a two-run homer later in the inning to give USC an early 3-0 lead.
But Carolina managed only one run the rest of the way on an RBI single by Jonah Bride in third inning off Rhode Island ace Tyler Wilson, who entered the postseason 12-1 with a 2.08 ERA.
The Rams began cutting into the lead in the top of the fourth as Ryan Olmo and Brett McManus hit back-to-back solo homers off USC ace Clarke Schmidt. Rhode Island followed with three runs in the fifth with Jordan Powell hitting an RBI single and McManus scoring two on an unusual play on a ball hit to center with the bases loaded.
Dom Thompson-Williams made a diving attempt, but was unable to make the grab. The two runners in scoring position scored, but the runner on first thought the ball was caught and USC got the force out at second.
Schmidt allowed five runs on six hits and three walks in four innings. He struck out eight but failed to make it out of the fifth inning for his third straight start.
“I was executing pitches really well early on,” Schmidt said. “I feel like towards the fourth inning I didn’t make the pitches I needed to make in big situations. I let a few get away from me, and it came back to bite me.”
Reed Scott, Taylor Widener and Josh Reagan combined for five innings pitched without allowing a run, but the Gamecocks managed only six hits against the Rams and struck out 14 times with Thompson-Williams being the only USC player to record double-digit hits.
“It was probably the biggest win in our program’s history,” Rhode Island coach Raphael Cerrato said. “It’s our first NCAA tournament win. We’ve only been here twice. We showed a lot of toughness in that game.”
USC had chances to come back after falling behind 5-4 but was unable to capitalize. TJ Hopkins led off the fifth with a double but was stranded, reached second with one out in the seventh but was again stranded. Carolina had the leadoff man on in the eighth and ninth but didn’t score.
In the eighth inning, Madison Stokes, perhaps USC’s hottest hitter, attempted a sac bunt with a runner on first and no outs but was unsuccessful and struck out on a bunt foul with two strikes.
In the ninth, Carolina’s best hitter all season, Cone, got down a sac bunt to move Marcus Mooney into scoring position, but Hopkins struck out and Thompson-Williams grounded out to end the game.
Meyers said he spoke with fellow coaches Brian Buscher and Sammy Esposito and they agreed the sac bunt was the correct call.
“We all talked about it together, Coach Busch and Espo and I,” he said. “You’ve got to get a guy in scoring position to get a chance to score, and there wasn’t any hesitation on any of our parts, all three of us.”
Holbrook’s ejection was building up as he was unhappy with several calls made by home plate umpire Skip Deitz early on in the game.
He sprinted from the dugout to the mound to talk with Widener after a ball was called in the seventh inning and bought time until Deitz approached him. Holbrook then went on a rant aimed at Deitz and kicked dirt on top of home plate after being ejected before heading to the locker room.
“I was surprised, but he’s sticking up for our team. He’s always got our team’s back. He’s going to fight for all of our guys,” Meyers said. “I think everybody can appreciate what he was trying to do from our team standpoint, within our team, and I think they respect him for that even more.”
THREE POINTS
Star of the game: Tyler Wilson: Rhode Island’s ace got off to a rough start early on, but in the final six innings he allowed one run on three hits and had 10 strikeouts.
Play of the game: The Rams scored two runs on an unusual fielder’s choice in the fifth inning as Thompson-Williams was unable to make a tough catch with the bases loaded and one out and confusion ensued with two runners scoring and the runner on first believing the ball was caught.
Stat of the game: 14: Holbrook stressed the importance of being a tough out and putting the ball in play leading up to the NCAA tournament, but the Gamecocks struck out 14 times Friday night.
OBSERVATIONS
Schmidt didn’t have his best stuff: Rhode Island entered Friday night hitting .263 as a team but chased Schmidt after five runs in four-plus innings. USC’s ace has an ERA of 6.91 over his past five starts.
Sac bunt moves were questionable: It’s easy to say now, but in the eighth and ninth innings USC took the bat out of two of its hottest hitters hands with a runner on base and no outs.
Gamecocks can still win the regional: USC’s weekend rotation is easily the best in Columbia, and Carolina has the talent to win four straight games. The Gamecocks will have to flush Friday night’s debacle in a hurry, though.
NEXT
What: South Carolina vs. Duke
When: Noon Saturday
Where: Founders Park
Probable pitchers: USC – Braden Webb (Fr. RHP); Duke – Trent Swart (Gr. LHP)
Watch: ESPN3/Watch ESPN
Radio: 107.5 FM
This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 11:51 PM with the headline "USC stumbles, drops heartbreaker to Rhode Island in NCAA opener."