Xavier thumps South Carolina to deliver Gamecocks fourth straight loss
An idle fan down the left-field line and 18 rows up from the playing surface waved a garnet-and-black flag back and forth. Pitch after pitch, out after out, he maintained his form over the course of two full innings.
The flag waving was, at least in theory, a nod of support to a struggling South Carolina baseball team fresh off losing a trio of contests to arch-rival Clemson.
In practice, it signaled surrender as USC (7-5) was routed 15-7 by Xavier (3-9) at Founders Park on Tuesday night.
“Frustrating day for us, but we’ve got to move on,” head coach Mark Kingston said afterward. “We’ve got to turn the page and get to work tomorrow. That will be our focus.”
Multiple injuries to the South Carolina pitching staff have created a slew of problems this spring. Those were on full display against Xavier as USC employed nine different pitchers, including infielder Jalen Vasquez, to little avail.
Starter Wesley Sweatt cruised through the first inning, striking out the side on just 12 pitches. He added his fourth consecutive strikeout to open the second inning.
That efficiency stopped there.
Sweatt first allowed an RBI double to center off Garrett Schultz’s bat. Xavier scored its second run of the frame on a grounder that scored a runner from third.
The Gamecocks turned to second-year righty Aidan Hunter in relief as Sweatt faded. The Summerville native was promptly tagged for a barrage of Xavier singles over the course of his 1.1 innings pitched.
The Musketeers erupted for seven runs in the fourth inning via five singles and a fielder’s choice. Six of the runs were attributed to Hunter, while Michael Esposito surrendered the seventh run after entering the frame with one out.
“Sometimes baseball is cruel and every ball the opponent hits finds a hole,” Kingston said. “And today was one of those days.”
Xavier found its earliest attempt at a knockout punch when two-hole hitter Jack Housinger slapped a single through the right side of the infield for a pair of runs in the seventh inning.
Talmadge LeCroy gave the Gamecocks a brief gasp with an eighth-inning double to the right-center gap — South Carolina’s first run in over two hours. Brandt Belk added the second and third runs of the frame when he ripped a double down the right-field line.
But even in a year that has already seen South Carolina make late comebacks against UNC-Greensboro and Appalachian State, Tuesday’s deficit proved insurmountable.
Power-hitting No. 3-hitter Luke Franzoni found the uppercut Xavier sought late when he clobbered a 3-2 offering from Cam Tringali off the bottom portion of the upper deck in left field for a 2-run shot in the ninth inning, stretching the Musketeer lead to a touchdown.
“Character will be revealed,” Kingston said of how South Carolina can mitigate its current injury woes. “Clearly that’s the message: Through tough times, character will be revealed.”
South Carolina’s 2022 season, albeit still early, has been inconsistent on its best days. The Gamecocks eked out a series win over UNC-Greensboro on opening weekend. It later wasted a 14-strikeout effort by ace Will Sanders in Game 1 of an eventual Clemson sweep.
USC notched three largely comfortable wins over a 3-7 George Washington squad and added a midweek rout of Winthrop. But those victories are to be expected of a storied Southeastern Conference program. Tuesday’s result was not.
The 2022 season remains young. South Carolina welcomes No. 1 Texas to Founders Park for a three-game set this weekend. It’s a prime chance to flip its early-season script. Kingston made clear the Gamecocks aren’t shying away from that opportunity.
Perhaps the performance against Xavier will be an anomaly by season’s end. It’s far too early to wave a white flag on the 2022 campaign.
Outings like Tuesday, though, can’t become the norm in Columbia.
South Carolina vs Texas baseball series
- Friday: vs. Texas, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Saturday: vs. Texas, 4 p.m. (SEC Network)
- Sunday: vs. Texas, 1:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 6:54 PM.
