South Carolina baseball edges UNC Greensboro on Opening Day. What we learned
Baseball is back.
The first-pitch temperature hovered around 70 degrees, the sky was bright blue and the South Carolina baseball team delivered an Opening Day performance worthy of a gorgeous Friday in Columbia.
Hosting UNC Greensboro at Founders Park for a season-opening series, the Gamecocks defeated the Spartans 9-7, riding a strong outing from sophomore ace Will Sanders and peppering UNCG pitchers for 13 hits.
Much of the conversation around USC at the end of last season centered on the team’s offensive woes and excessive strikeouts, something that head coach Mark Kingston vowed to address during the offseason. Though the Gamecocks will face pitches with higher velocity in SEC play than what they saw Friday, USC’s start at the plate was promising.
“We’ve worked really hard on that,” Kingston said. “Both in terms of how we’re practicing, but also the kind of players we’re trying to bring in with bat-to-ball skills. And so you saw tonight: four walks and four strikeouts. That’s a good night for an offense that scores nine runs on 13 hits.”
The Gamecocks chased UNCG starter Austin Koehn from the game after just 2.2 innings, saddling him with five runs on seven hits, two walks and zero strikeouts. Veteran outfielder Andrew Eyster, a “super senior” and the team’s top returning hitter, did the bulk of the damage, hitting an RBI double off the wall in the first inning and breaking the game open with a two-run home run to right center in the third.
The homer was one of three for the Gamecocks. Vanderbilt transfer and starting center fielder Matt Hogan hit a solo shot in the second and added an RBI triple in the eighth inning, and he was one of several newcomers to contribute for USC on Opening Day.
Missouri transfer Brandt Belk hit leadoff and reached base three times, driving in a run on a sacrifice fly. Freshman Michael Braswell started at shortstop and hit in the No. 2 hole, showcasing his arm defensively while also picking up his first collegiate hit and a solo home run in the eighth.
“That was one of the best moments of my life right there by far,” Hogan said after the game. “I was just so excited to be able to come play and do what I love with guys that are around me that I just love so much. I was just overjoyed. I was just overcome with emotions the entire day.”
Those contributions were more than enough for Sanders and the USC pitching staff. Coming off a 6-3, 3.54 ERA freshman season, Sanders made just one mistake Friday, giving up a homer to outfielder Pres Cavenaugh — the second batter of the game.
But Sanders settled down from there and finished the game retiring 12 of his last 13 hitters. Not wanting to push him too far on Opening Day, the Gamecocks pulled Sanders after five innings and 73 pitches. He allowed three hits, walked none and struck out three.
The Spartans made a late push against the USC bullpen, with second baseman Hogan Windish drilling a two-run home run off of reliever Cade Austin in the eighth inning, and the Spartans tagged Austin for four more runs with two outs in the ninth. But senior reliever Wesley Sweatt entered the game to record the final out on three pitches.
“It got a little hairy there at the end,” Kingston said. “But I think if you look at everything as a whole, we did really well.”
Next USC baseball game
Who: South Carolina vs. UNC Greensboro
When: 12:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Founders Park in Columbia
Watch: Streaming on SEC Network Plus
This story was originally published February 18, 2022 at 7:06 PM.
