What went wrong as South Carolina drops yet another series opener to Ole Miss
The background changes, but the story stays the same.
South Carolina baseball once more lost a series opener Friday, going on the road to SEC foe Ole Miss and losing 5-1 to the No. 19 Rebels. The No. 13 Gamecocks have now lost Game 1 in seven of their past eight series.
And the manner in which the loss unfolded was frustratingly familiar for USC, with an elite opposing starter completely handcuffing the Gamecock lineup and ace Thomas Farr not quite able to match it.
On Friday, it was Ole Miss’ Gunnar Hoglund who was dominant on the mound. Hoglund, a projected top-15 pick in the MLB Draft, missed his start last week with stiffness but showed few ill effects against Carolina. After giving up a single to senior Andrew Eyster to open the second, he responded by retiring the next 15 Gamecocks.
“There’s a reason why he’s rated as a top-10 prospect in the draft, but we need to do better,” USC coach Mark Kingston told a team spokesman after the game. “His fastball was good, breaking ball was good, but we need to fight more. We need to be able to just be more threatening to the best pitchers in the country.”
The Rebels did seem to be a little cautious with Hoglund, pulling him after just 73 pitches. But he went six shutout innings, striking out nine and giving up just the one hit to Eyster and no other baserunners.
Farr, meanwhile, had to fight his way through five innings, throwing a season-high 112 pitches. And while he wasn’t hammered by the Rebel offense, one of the most productive units in the country, he struggled with command and wasn’t helped by his defense at times.
Those problems started right away — Farr walked the first Ole Miss batter he faced on the night, then gave up back-to-back singles with one out to plate one run.
He then seemed to escape the jam by inducing a ground ball perfectly primed for the double play. But second baseman Braylen Wimmer muffed the play, loading the bases, and a sacrifice fly scored an unearned run to make it 2-0 after one inning.
More issues arose in the fourth — catcher Wes Clarke, starting in place of Colin Burgess, couldn’t corral a wild pitch on a third strike, and Ole Miss’ Kemp Alderman made it to first. Clarke’s throw got by into right field, and Alderman turned for second but stumbled. The throw had him beat, but shortstop George Callil couldn’t hold onto it, and he slid in safely.
The mistakes haunted USC immediately, as the next batter then ripped a single up the middle to make it 3-0. The bases were then reloaded off another wild pitch, a walk, a groundout to advance the runners and an intentional walk. Another grounder then deflected off the glove of third baseman Brennan Milone, allowing two runs to score, and the play was recorded as an RBI single.
“Farr, again, it wasn’t his best, but he didn’t let them game get away from him either and battled and still kept the game close enough that if we swing the bats like we can, we would have had a chance,” Kingston said.
Hoglund’s departure after six innings gave South Carolina a brief spark, as junior Josiah Sightler homered to lead off the seventh against sophomore Derek Diamond. But before the Gamecocks could mount a more sustained rally, Diamond regained control, striking out five of the next six batters, and closer Taylor Broadway slammed the door shut in the ninth.
Because of rain in the forecast for Sunday in Oxford, Mississippi, the two teams were set to play a doubleheader Saturday starting at 2 p.m. It will be the third weekend in a row that the Gamecocks have played a doubleheader because of the weather.
This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 10:20 PM.
