Gamecocks fall in extras to Northwestern for first loss of the season
Up early in a pitchers’ duel on a cold evening at Founders Park, South Carolina baseball couldn’t hold on to a slim lead late against Northwestern on Friday, went to extras and fell 5-2 to the Wildcats in the series opener for their first loss of the young season.
“We had many chances in the first nine innings of that game to put the game away and it should have never gone to extra innings,” coach Mark Kingston said. “But we didn’t and ... that 10th inning, we just gave them too many free passes.
Key inning
In the first extra innings game of the season and with the score tied at 1-1, South Carolina immediately fell behind as sophomore Daniel Lloyd gave up back-to-back walks to start the 10th inning, then surrendered a single up the middle to give the Wildcats their first lead of the game.
“I really don’t know (what happened),” Lloyd said. “I mean, I was relaxed, I was calm. It just got away from me.”
Things quickly worsened as junior Parker Coyne came in for Lloyd and, after striking out a batter, walked consecutive Wildcats to force in a run, then gave up an RBI single to score two more.
An RBI double from pinch hitter Anthony Amicangelo got a run back for the Gamecocks in the bottom half of the inning, but they stranded runners on first and third to end the game.
Statistical eye-opener
The Gamecock offense, after averaging 11 runs per game in three complete contests this season, had its lowest scoring performance of the year, including a rain-shortened five-inning game, and left a season-high 11 runners on base with temperatures dipping below 40 degrees.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely cold, but it shouldn’t affect us that much,” junior outfielder Andrew Eyster said. “I’m not gonna say that’s what caused the offense not to go off today. But (Northwestern’s pitchers) were ... consistent with off-speed, you know, just pounding change-ups, curveballs, sliders, just pounding it one after another in there, accurately and consistent, and I think that kept us off-balance.”
USC, as it has in every game so far this season, did take an early lead, as senior catcher Dallas Beaver lined a double down the right field line in the second inning to score senior shortstop George Callil from first.
But South Carolina had chances to extend the lead and didn’t — in the sixth, a walk from sophomore Wes Clarke and a double from sophomore Brady Allen putting runners on second and third with one out. A shallow flyout to left, however, prevented Clarke from tagging up, and another flyout ended the inning.
And to lead off the ninth, senior Dallas Beaver roped a line drive single just fair down the right field line. But the ball took a favorable bounce for Northwestern, and Beaver was easily caught trying to make it to second base. Right after him, Eyster made solid contact and drove a ball to the warning track, where it died just short of a home run.
“The way the ball was carrying all night, it felt like you couldn’t hit it twice and get it out,” Kingston said of Eyster’s bomb. “There’s no doubt on most nights that ball was gone.”
Star of the game
South Carolina’s struggles on offense meant a strong outing from redshirt sophomore ace Carmen Mlodzinski went to waste. After throwing seven shutout innings in his first start of the year, Mlodzinski retired the first 13 batters he faced Friday, striking out four.
The Wildcats broke up his perfect game with a single in the fifth, but he held them scoreless until the seventh, when a leadoff double came around to score on a single through the right side of the infield. Still, three hits, one walk and one run in seven innings is a solid performance overall.
“He was as good as you could ask him to be,” Kingston said. “Tough luck loser, we should have won that game for him. If he pitches like that, we’ll have a chance every time he pitches.”
WHEN DO THE GAMECOCKS PLAY NEXT?
Who: South Carolina (4-1) vs. Northwestern (2-2)
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Founders Park
TV: Streaming online on SEC Network Plus via WatchESPN
Radio: 107.5 FM in Columbia area
This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 7:26 PM.
