Late power surge leads Gamecocks to series sweep over Penn, keeps perfect start intact
South Carolina’s bats had seemingly gone cold.
Through seven innings in Sunday’s series finale against Penn, the No. 23 Gamecocks stranded baserunner after baserunner, searching in vain for a game-changing hit that just wouldn’t seem to come. Through seven frames, USC left 16 men on base and batted 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
Then, with two seismic eighth-inning swings, the Gamecock offense finally broke through.
Back-to-back home runs by veteran transfers Gavin Casas and Will McGillis put USC ahead for good in a topsy-turvy finale, sealing a sweep and a 6-5 win over the Quakers.
“It was not our prettiest game — probably our ugliest game,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “But when you come back and win, sometimes those games are even more important than when they’re pretty. So I’m real happy with the grit we show today.”
South Carolina (8-0) has gotten off to a near-flawless start to the season, leading the nation in home runs heading into Sunday’s action. But after scoring double-digit runs in their first five games and outscoring opponents 80-8 in that stretch, USC lost some steam at the plate against a Penn pitching staff that featured several arms sitting in the low 90-mph range.
The Gamecocks scored seven runs in Friday’s opener — buoyed by a five-run second inning — but scratched across just one run in Saturday’s pitcher’s duel and battled through much of Sunday’s affair.
Despite Penn pitchers walking 11 Gamecocks and hitting seven others with pitches, USC couldn’t capitalize on the free baserunners. The Gamecocks stranded the bases loaded on four separate occasions Sunday, stranding 19 men on base for the game and hitting just 3-for-22 as a team with runners on base. Kingston joked after the game that the Gamecocks “left a small village” on the bases.
USC scored on two well-struck balls — an RBI triple by Caleb Denny and solo home run by Braylen Wimmer — but otherwise seemed flummoxed by the Quakers at the plate until the eighth inning, striking out 13 times as a team against six different Penn pitchers.
For the Gamecocks, Sunday starter Jack Mahoney delivered another crisp outing after missing all of last season on the mound due to Tommy John surgery. Touching 96 mph on the stadium radar gun, Mahoney cruised through the Quakers lineup until they started squaring him up in the fifth and sixth innings.
Mahoney walked two and allowed a single to load the bases with one out in the sixth, giving way to prized freshman right-hander Eli Jerzembeck. Making just his second career appearance, Jerzembeck was unable to handle the moment, walking the first batter he faced on four pitches for a free RBI, then allowing a go-ahead RBI single.
The Gamecocks managed to tie the game with one run apiece in the sixth and seventh, but Jerzembeck allowed a no-doubt solo home run to Penn second baseman Cole McGonigal in the top of the eighth to give the lead right back.
Thankfully for USC, Casas and McGillis had two big swings up their sleeves. Casas hit a no-doubter to right field to start the bottom of the eighth, holding his bat as he walked down the line, then flipping it toward the home dugout. McGillis followed up by ripping a homer over the left-field wall.
Just two non-conference weekends remain before USC opens SEC play at Georgia, but the difficulty is about to ramp up with the always competitive Clemson rivalry series on deck.
“We have a lot to work on,” Casas said. “I think we can see that from this weekend. We grinded it out this weekend, and luckily we came out with three wins. So that’s the most important part.”
Next four USC baseball games
Tuesday: vs. North Carolina A&T, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Friday: at Clemson, 6 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
Saturday: vs. Clemson, 1 p.m., Fluor Field in Greenville (SEC Network Plus)
Sunday: vs. Clemson, 1:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published February 26, 2023 at 5:08 PM.
