South Carolina starts homestand with midweek win over The Citadel

South Carolina’s five-game homestand got off to a good start Tuesday night at Founders Park.

The No. 25 Gamecocks (13-6) defeated The Citadel 8-3 behind a strong outing by freshman starting pitcher Will Sanders (3-1). The right-hander allowed no hits through four innings before giving up a solo home run in the fifth. He struck out 10 and allowed the one hit in five innings of work.

“It all started with him. ... That was his best outing,” USC head coach Mark Kingston said. “He had command. He only threw 67 pitches through five innings.”

It was Sanders’ third midweek start of the season but the first where an extended outing was planned.

Sanders started against Davidson last week and pitched a scoreless inning. The Gamecocks ended up throwing nine pitchers in last week’s 9-4 midweek loss.

The team had scored 19 and 11 runs in its previous two midweek wins while allowing eight and seven runs.

“I didn’t like that we were giving up as many runs as we had been on Tuesdays,” Kingston said. “There had been a trend where we were scoring a lot but also giving up more than we wanted to. ... On weekends we’ve pitched really well, but Tuesdays of late have not been quite as sharp. I wanted to make a statement that we expect that on Tuesday as well.”

USC designated hitter Wes Clarke connected for his nation’s best 11th home run in the first inning, a two-run shot that scored Brady Allen. Third baseman Jeff Heinrich drove in three runs with a third-inning double. The Gamecocks finished with nine hits.

“I thought it was a solid offensive night for us — more we can build on,” Kingston said. “I thought our guys gave pretty good at-bats up and down the lineup.”

The Gamecocks open a three-game home series against No. 5 Florida on Friday.

Game notes

▪ South Carolina has defeated The Citadel twice this season in midweek games. The teams meet again April 27 in Columbia. The Gamecocks now lead the all-time series 138-49-1.

▪ Junior right-hander Daniel Lloyd struck out four in two innings of relief.

▪ South Carolina freshman Josh Shuler has entered the transfer portal and was removed from the team’s roster online. The outfielder from Georgia was part of the Gamecocks’ touted 2020 recruiting class.

▪ USC’s Mark Kingston appears on the Carolina Calls radio show from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday on the Gamecock Radio Network (107.5 FM in the Columbia area).

Upcoming South Carolina baseball schedule

USC vs. Florida this weekend at Founders Park in Columbia

• 7 p.m. Friday (SEC Network Plus)
• 4 pm Saturday (SEC Network Plus)
• Noon Sunday (SEC Network)

This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 10:03 PM.