Scorching-hot No. 3 South Carolina baseball cools off against visiting Auburn
Exam week might’ve come at the wrong time for the South Carolina baseball team.
The No. 3 Gamecocks couldn’t have been hotter, coming off an eye-opening sweep of then-No. 3 Florida last weekend. But after not playing a midweek game because of exams, the Gamecock offense came out flat Friday night in Game 1 against visiting Auburn.
Swinging hot bats of their own against USC ace Will Sanders, the Tigers defeated USC 8-3 to take an early edge in the series. The result marked only the second home loss for the Gamecocks (34-7, 13-5 SEC) in 26 games at Founders Park this season. It’s also just the second series-opening loss for USC this season, with the first coming March 3 at Clemson.
“Tip your cap,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “Auburn played really well tonight, swung the bats well and played tremendous defense.”
The Tigers (24-17-1, 8-11) struck early against Sanders and the Gamecocks, scoring in the top of the first with an unconventional two-out steal of home by speedy leadoff man Chris Stanfield. Sanders would regroup to throw 1-2-3 innings in the second and third before he unraveled in the middle innings.
Auburn shortstop Cole Foster dealt the first major blow with a two-run home run to right field in the top of the fourth, then the Tigers teed off on Sanders for three runs on four hits in the fifth inning to take a commanding lead.
Facing crafty Auburn left-hander Tommy Vail, the Gamecocks couldn’t seem to string together any offensive momentum. Freshman slugger Ethan Petry hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game in the first, but Vail kept USC in check from there, allowing just two earned runs on four hits and striking out seven in five innings.
“The plan going in was that (Vail) gets outs because he rides the fastball up and guys chase it,” Kingston said. “And we chased it more than we normally do today, and that’s why he was effective.”
Catcher Cole Messina hit an RBI single in the fifth and veteran outfielder Caleb Denny added an RBI double in the eighth, but in total the Gamecocks batted 3-for-17 with runners on and just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
In a blow to the Gamecocks, starting shortstop Braylen Wimmer injured his hamstring late in the game and was replaced defensively in the top of the eighth. Kingston said he didn’t have an update yet on Wimmer’s status.
Next four USC baseball games
Saturday: vs. Auburn, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Sunday: vs. Auburn, Noon (SEC Network)
Wednesday: at Winthrop, 6 p.m. (ESPN Plus)
Friday: at Kentucky, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published April 28, 2023 at 9:52 PM.
