Wynkoop, Martin key Gamecocks vs. Auburn
South Carolina left-hander Jack Wynkoop knew he needed to step up in a big way when staff ace Wil Crowe went down with a season-ending elbow injury three weekends ago.
It’s safe to say there’s a new Friday night guy in town after Wynkoop and his teammates mowed down Auburn 10-1 at Carolina Stadium.
The 6-foot-5 junior tossed eight strong innings, as he allowed one unearned run on eight hits and no walks to go with 10 strikeouts, for his third consecutive victory.
“Jack Wynkoop was special once again,” USC coach Chad Holbrook said. “That’s three outings in a row, starting back to Vanderbilt, where he has been simply terrific.”
Wynkoop (7-4), who threw 110 pitches and lowered his ERA to 2.45, has defeated Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Auburn in those three starts, allowing two earned runs and striking out 27 in 251/3 innings.
“This is a big part of our season right here, so I’m just trying to do everything I can to put us in a position to win, just like everybody else is,” Wynkoop said.
Holbrook believes it’s that mental toughness that makes Wynkoop a leader.
“With what he’s done the last three starts, I can’t tell you how much it means to me as a coach,” Holbrook said. “Obviously, there have been some difficult moments around here, moments we’re not used to, and he wanted the responsibility of the outcome of our season on his shoulders. It says a lot about the makeup of that kid. He hasn’t shied away from the troubles we’ve had. With our backs against the wall, he has been at his best.”
The Gamecocks improved to 27-19 overall and 10-12 in the SEC, while the Tigers, who had a six-game winning streak snapped, dropped to 30-17 and 10-12. The teams play the second game of the series Saturday at 3:30 p.m. It will be televised on the SEC Network. USC right-hander Taylor Widener will get the start.
Leaders also stepped up on the offensive side. USC senior first baseman Kyle Martin led the nine-hit attack with a huge game. He hit a pair of home runs, a two-run shot in the fifth inning and a grand slam in the eighth. He also had a sacrifice fly in the seventh for a total of seven RBIs, which upped his team-leading totals to 11 home runs and 48 RBIs to go with a .352 average.
“To go out there and get 10 runs against a good team like Auburn is very strong,” Martin said. “It sets the demeanor for the rest of the weekend.”
Max Schrock, Elliott Caldwell and Logan Koch added two hits each. Schrock, who missed the previous two games with a sore Achilles tendon, also had an MRI on Friday to check for a possible broken hamate bone, but the test was negative.
Caldwell supplied an RBI single in the third and an RBI triple in the seventh. He leads the SEC with eight triples, a figure that’s also a school single-season record. Koch added an RBI single in the eighth and did a solid job of handling Wynkoop’s breaking ball behind the plate.
“The kids had the right mentality. They were going – win, lose or draw – to play with some juice and some emotion and enjoy being here,” Holbrook said. “They felt some of the pressure and walked around with some weights around their necks, so to speak, because we hadn’t accumulated wins like we’re used to (doing). But they had some juice today and some energy.”
It all started and ended with the performance by Wynkoop.
“We’re a pretty confident team, especially when Wynkoop’s on the mound, because he’s going to give us a chance to win,” Holbrook said.
Martin saluted his teammate, as well.
“He’s been outstanding. He has really kept us in the ballgames,” Martin said.
This story was originally published May 1, 2015 at 11:22 PM with the headline "Wynkoop, Martin key Gamecocks vs. Auburn."