Noah Hall, Gamecocks bounce back to tie series vs. Ole Miss
With the South Carolina infield gathered on the pitcher’s mound Friday, shortstop Michael Braswell stepped over to Noah Hall and gave his starting pitcher a hug.
Then, the rest of the Gamecocks dugout emptied to greet him as he exited his third straight sterling start with two outs in the eighth and a man on first.
With a pitching staff decimated by injuries, a young offense struggling to find consistency and a record hovering around .500, the Gamecocks (17-17, 5-9 SEC) have had a little to no room for error in recent weeks. They’ve needed players to step up to keep them afloat, and Hall — a junior transfer from Appalachian State — has been one of those players.
One day after losing to visiting No. 25 Ole Miss in a blowout, Hall pitched the Gamecocks past the Rebels on Friday night in a 4-2 win to even the series.
“We’ve said a lot of times about what guys were recruited to do and what they’re actually being asked to do: Noah Hall was the guy we thought would come in and maybe be a Sunday or Tuesday guy, but most likely be a really key bullpen guy,” head coach Mark Kingston said after the game. “But his development has been crucial for our team. I think the hard work he’s put in and what coach (Justin) Parker has done with him, his development has been as impressive as anybody on our ball club.”
After throwing seven innings and allowing just one earned run in each of his last two starts against Missouri and Georgia, Hall pitched even deeper into Friday’s game, pairing his low-90s fastball with his signature changeup to keep the Rebels off balance all game long. Only slugger Tim Elko seemed to figure out Hall, homering twice — both solo shots — and hitting the single with two outs in the eighth that knocked Hall out of the game.
Hall finished with the night with 96 pitches, allowing just two runs on six hits and striking out five in 7.2 innings.
The right-hander got all the run support he needed in the third inning, when USC outfielder Josiah Sightler drove a fly ball that just kept carrying into the whipping wind in left field. An official replay review would show that the baseball scraped the yellow stripe at very the top of the Founders Park left-field wall — just enough for a home run.
By the slimmest of margins, Sightler’s drive left the yard and put three South Carolina runs on the board, and the Gamecocks would tack on one more run in the next inning on a two-out wild pitch by starter Derek Diamond. Sightler later exited the game after rolling his ankle attempting a catch in the seventh inning, but he said he expected to play Saturday and Kingston called the injury a high-ankle sprain and a game-time decision.
Though the Gamecocks tallied just five hits on the night, that offensive production was enough for Hall and freshman lefty Matthew Becker — who recorded the final four outs from the USC bullpen.
Next USC baseball game
Who: South Carolina vs. No. 25 Ole Miss
When: 3 p.m. Saturday (game time changed because of weather forecast)
Where: Founders Park in Columbia
Watch: Streaming on SEC Network Plus
This story was originally published April 15, 2022 at 9:32 PM.
