Strong Vandy pitching, including Saturday no-hitter, lifts Commodores to series win
In a battle of Friday night aces in the SEC, South Carolina baseball just couldn’t keep pace with one of the top prospects in the country, falling 3-2 to Vanderbilt in Nashville for its fifth consecutive defeat.
Vandy ace Kumar Rocker, long considered one of the favorites to go first overall in the 2021 MLB Draft, out-dueled Gamecock starter Thomas Farr and kept USC’s lineup mostly off-balance at at Hawkins Field to claim the win in both teams’ conference opener.
Over eight innings, Rocker struck out 14 Gamecocks, giving up just three hits and two walks for two earned runs. He reached 116 pitches in the outing but finished strong, striking out the side in the eighth.
Farr, however, was no slouch himself, going six-plus innings and striking out nine Commodores. Neither he nor Rocker allowed a hit through the game’s first four innings.
Vanderbilt finally got to Farr in the fifth inning, breaking up his no-hitter with a one-out single to right field. Sophomore catcher Colin Burgess then gave up a passed ball to move the runner to second, setting him up to score when sophomore CJ Rodriguez laced a double to left field. Back-to-back singles scored another.
The Gamecocks got right back into it in the top of the sixth inning, though, with their only offensive outburst of the evening. Sophomore second baseman Braylen Wimmer legged out an infield single, then beat out the throw on a fielder’s choice to make it to second base. Junior left fielder Josiah Sightler ripped a double off the left field wall, scoring Wimmer. Junior DH Wes Clarke then tied the game with an RBI groundout.
From there, USC didn’t get another hit, striking out seven times in the final three innings. The Gamecocks, who struggled last weekend to get timely hits against Texas, went 1 for 12 with runners on base Friday.
Farr, meanwhile, came back in for the seventh inning at 95 pitches and walked the first batter he faced. That ended his outing, as he was replaced by freshman Jack Mahoney. After a flyout and fielder’s choice, though, Mahoney walked another batter and was pulled for Andrew Peters. Peters battled, but senior Cooper Davis poked a 2-2 offering just past shortstop George Callil’s glove into left-center field for an RBI single that wound up being the game-winner.
Saturday no-hitter
South Carolina was on the wrong side of a no-hitter Saturday for the first time since Feb. 24, 1990.
Vanderbilt starting pitcher Jack Leiter threw a complete-game no-hitter in a 5-0 win that sealed the series for the Commodores. Leiter walked the opening batter of the game and then retired the next 27 batters.
“That was a special outing,” USC coach Mark Kingston said. He was “95 to 98 mph all game long.”
The last time USC was no-hit was in 1990 against Northwestern.
Leiter struck out 16 for Vanderbilt (15-2). USC starter Brannon Jordan had nine strikeouts in five innings, allowing three hits and two runs with three walks.
The Gamecocks (11-6) have lost six straight games after the 11-0 start.
USC-Vanderbilt series finale
Who: No. 16 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Vanderbilt
When: 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Nashville, Tennessee
Watch: SEC Network Plus (streaming)
This story was originally published March 19, 2021 at 10:16 PM.
