Gamecocks drop series opener to Texas for first loss of season
On the road and facing one of the top pitchers in college baseball, No. 12 South Carolina got the pitching performance it needed Friday night from ace Thomas Farr to hang tough with No. 19 Texas.
In the end though, the Gamecock bullpen cracked first and the offense couldn’t mount a late rally as USC lost its first game of the season, 4-1, to the Longhorns
For most of Friday night, it was a pitchers’ duel between Farr and UT starter Ty Madden, one of the top prospects for the 2021 MLB Draft. Madden came into the series opener having thrown a complete game shutout against Houston last weekend, allowing just two hits and two walks, and he was impressive once more against South Carolina (11-1), going seven innings and and allowing just three hits and one run while striking out five.
Yet Farr was equally sharp, going six innings and striking out a career-high 10, consistently fooling the Longhorns with his slider and pounding the zone with velocity in the mid-90s.
“Both pitchers were outstanding, both defenses were outstanding,” coach Mark Kingston told reporters after the game. “I thought both teams swung the bat pretty well considering who was on the mound, and every time we hit the ball hard, their defense was pretty incredible.”
Both pitchers slipped just once. The Gamecocks took an early 1-0 lead in the second after Madden walked the bases loaded, then gave up a sacrifice fly to sophomore second baseman Braylen Wimmer, but the Longhorns came right back in the bottom half of the inning.
Farr started the frame by giving up a double and a walk, then surrendered an RBI single to Mitchell Daly to tie things up. His defense did help him to limit the damage one batter later, though, as senior right fielder Andrew Eyster gunned down a runner trying to tag from third.
After that second inning, neither team was able to get a runner to third base for the next five innings. Finally in the eighth inning, Texas nabbed the lead. USC freshman right-hander Will Sanders, coming in to pitch, needed a mound visit from his catcher before the frame even started, and that set the tone for a trying outing.
Longhorns redshirt sophomore outfielder Eric Kennedy took the first pitch from Sanders he saw down the right field line for a triple. That was followed by a walk, then a double from redshirt junior Zach Zubia, also down the right field line, to score two runs. Another single scored another run, and the Gamecocks couldn’t challenge in the ninth to rally.
NEXT USC BASEBALL GAME
Who: No. 12 South Carolina vs. No. 19 Texas
When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: UFCU Disch-Falk Field
Watch: Longhorn Network
This story was originally published March 12, 2021 at 10:39 PM.
