Gamecocks rally for walk-off, 11-inning win over Mississippi State to salvage series
South Carolina baseball had every reason to give up. Having missed golden opportunity after golden opportunity, staring down the wrong end of a sweep, the Gamecocks seemed fated to drop the series finale to Mississippi State on Sunday.
But with its back against the wall and its chances of hosting an NCAA tournament regional just barely hanging on, No. 19 USC clawed back for a 4-3 walk-off win in 11 innings, getting massive contributions from the bullpen and the bench along the way.
“Some games are just grit and heart, and that was today,” coach Mark Kingston said. “So many guys contributed to that win. So many guys did something that was important to help us win. .... That’s why you got to have grit, that’s why you got to have good attitudes and team attitudes because you never know when your number’s going to be called. And that’s probably the biggest game of the year for us to win right there.”
The weekend-salvaging victory was just two outs from never happening — the Gamecocks came up in the bottom of the ninth down 3-2, having struggled all game with leaving runners on base. Sophomore Colin Burgess led off with an infield single up the middle, and junior Wes Clarke followed with a single to left. With runners on first and second, pinch hitter Michael Robinson popped up what was supposed to be a sacrifice bunt for the first out.
Another pinch hitter, Jeff Heinrich, came to the rescue though, bouncing a grounder down the right field line for an RBI double to tie the game.
Heinrich, who hadn’t been to the plate in two weeks and hadn’t recorded a hit since March 30, came up again in the 11th inning with one out and looped a single to right field. Junior David Mendham followed with a double to the left-center field gap, and the throw home hit Heinrich in the back and ricocheted away, allowing him to score the game-winning run.
“It was kind of funny — right before Jeff’s at-bat, I was like, ‘Come on, me and you, let’s get it started,’” Mendham said. “And it kind of went right as planned. It was kind of weird actually, but it was cool.”
Mendham’s walk-off double capped the scoring after he started it in the second inning with a two-run home run to right field, giving USC its first lead of the entire weekend.
Mendham’s heroics also ensured the Gamecocks weren’t left wondering what could have been after leaving 16 runners on base for the game. In the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth innings, USC put runners in scoring position only to come away empty-handed. In the sixth and ninth innings, it had the bases loaded with one out or fewer but couldn’t push a run across.
Mississippi State managed to take some advantage of those missed opportunities, getting a run back in the top of the third inning off a triple and sacrifice fly, followed by solo home runs to lead off the fifth and sixth innings.
But the Bulldogs also struggled with leaving runners on, stranding 13 of their own on the basepaths. After starter Thomas Farr left after just four innings, junior Brett Kerry came in and went six four-hit frames, giving up just one earned run.
“My fastball was definitely working, command-wise, and also being able to elevate it, and I had pretty good control of my slider. ... I felt like those two pitches were really working well for me,” Kerry said.
Julian Bosnic then came on in the 11th and worked around a one-out walk to pick up the win. The victory snapped a six-game SEC losing streak and also kept Carolina’s hopes for regional hosting duties alive — the NCAA is set to announced 20 potential host sites later this upcoming week.
NEXT USC BASEBALL GAME
Who: No. 19 South Carolina vs. Clemson
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Doug Kingsmore Stadium, Clemson, South Carolina
Watch: Streaming online on ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN
This story was originally published May 9, 2021 at 6:15 PM.
