Gamecocks get past App State with rivalry series vs. Clemson on deck
Easy wasn’t in the cards for the South Carolina baseball team Tuesday night.
Appalachian State hasn’t been the strongest program historically, but the Mountaineers dropped the Gamecocks into a four-run hole before the first frame was complete at Truist Field. Mark Kingston’s squad seemed to then build its energy as a late-arriving crowd filed in.
South Carolina’s offense rallied, broke through and carried the team to a 9-6 win to lead into the annual rivalry series with Clemson.
“I used the word resilient with this team,” Kingston said. “We’re gonna have to be resilient with what we’re going through right now. We’re gonna need a lot of team efforts, a lot of guys to step up, and I thought we got that tonight.
“We’re gonna have to have the entire roster help us win games.”
On a day where the play wasn’t exactly crisp, the game-winning run came home as Gamecocks shortstop Michael Braswell took advantage in the top of the seventh when App State’s Eli Ellington threw a pitch high over his catcher. That came not long after hits from Andrew Eyster and Braylen Wimmer powered a five-run burst to erase a 6-1 deficit.
The win moved USC (7-1) to 3-4 overall in Charlotte since 2016. They’ll return to the home of the Charlotte Knights on April 5 to face UNC.
One thing that stood out in the shadow of Charlotte’s skyline was a Gamecocks dugout that seemed intent on making its own energy. The group was noisy throughout, fired up and seeming to lead the way as fans trickled in after the 6 p.m. start. The crowd was never big, an announced 2,345, but it stayed boisterous as the game rolled well past three hours.
“You want guys to enjoy playing,” Kingston said. “You want the team to be together in the dugout and they were that. We fell behind early. And I think at one point, what was (it)? 6-1? Very similar to when it was 7-1 (against UNC Greensboro). This team has shown that they’re going to keep fighting.
“They’re not going to panic in the dugout. We’re going to stay calm and just hope the game comes back to us.”
It was not a night for starting pitchers, as neither registered more than 10 outs. South Carolina’s CJ Weins managed five strikeouts but allowed five of six baserunners to score — including a first-inning grand slam. Wildness ended Mountaineers (3-5) starter Jason Cornatzer’s night after 3.1 innings, but he kept things cleaner, allowing a single run.
One arm of note in the late going was Shane Roberts, a fifth-year right-hander who started his career as a Gamecock in 2018 before transferring. He was pulled after loading the bases, and got charged with one earned run.
In short, it had all the trappings of an early-season, drawn-out midweek game.
The Gamecocks now turn their eyes toward the Tigers, who are undefeated off Tuesday night’s win against USC Upstate. South Carolina won last year’s rivalry series in unusual fashion, taking the Saturday and Sunday games after a Friday postponement, which was made up in the middle of a week in May.
NEXT SOUTH CAROLINA BASEBALL GAME
Who: South Carolina vs. Clemson
When: 7 p.m. Friday at Founders Park in Columbia, S.C.
TV: SEC Network Plus
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 10:10 PM.