Gamecocks swept in first SEC series with near-perfect Tennessee pitching in finale
The South Carolina baseball team will be glad to get away from Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Gamecocks were limited to one hit and dropped their third straight game to No. 7 Tennessee in a 10-0 setback Sunday afternoon in Knoxville.
South Carolina (10-9, 0-3 SEC) last opened conference play with three straight losses in 2019 when they were swept at home by Georgia. The Gamecocks finished that season with a 28-28 overall record and were 8-22 in the SEC, missing out on the postseason in Mark Kingston’s second season.
In this weekend’s sweep, the Gamecocks were limited to five runs and 11 hits in the three games.
Tennessee starter Drew Beam was masterful in his 7.2 innings. The freshman right-hander retired the first 18 batters he faced in allowing just one hit with three strikeouts and no walks. He threw 67 strikes in 86 pitches. The only South Carolina baserunner came when Brandt Belk doubled to lead-off the seventh inning. The ball glanced off the glove of the Tennessee center fielder but was ruled a hit.
Exactly one year ago, South Carolina was no-hit by Vanderbilt’s Jack Leiter.
Freshman Matthew Becker made a quality start, but two home runs turned out to be the difference. The only runs he allowed came on back-to-back solo home runs to Christian Moore and Evan Russell in the third inning. That was the only two hits the Vols could muster against Becker. He added seven strikeouts and one walk in five innings of work. It’s the second straight quality start for the former Chapin standout. He only allowed one hit and one run in six innings last Sunday against Texas.
Tennessee (19-1, 3-0) added insurance runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings off the USC bullpen. Russell hit his second home of the game and third of the weekend to cap the scoring. The Volunteers, the leading home run hitting team in the country, hit eight home runs on the weekend to give them 54 this season.
Injury news: South Carolina outfielder Andrew Eyster was a late scratch from the starting lineup. The Gamecocks’ leading run producer with 23 RBIs tweaked his hamstring in pregame warmups.
Next SEC series: The Gamecocks will host No. 4 Vanderbilt in a series that starts Thursday at Founders Park.
Next South Carolina baseball game
Where: at The Citadel
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
How to Watch: ESPN Plus