South Carolina baseball explodes for 11-run inning in NCAA regional blowout over CCSU
For weeks, an injured Will McGillis was powerless to do anything to help his South Carolina teammates. Nursing a fracture in his right arm, the veteran infielder could only watch as the Gamecocks slumped through the final month of the season.
Head coach Mark Kingston hinted the day before USC’s NCAA regional opener against Central Connecticut State on Friday that the Gamecocks had a “few tricks” up their sleeve. As it would turn out, a healthy McGillis was USC’s trump card.
Batting leadoff as USC’s DH, McGillis made an instant impact for the No. 1 seeded Gamecocks in their 19-1 win over the No. 4 seeded Blue Devils, helping to jumpstart an explosive offensive performance for USC. With the win, USC (40-19) will play No. 3 seed N.C. State — which defeated No. 2 seed Campbell — at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Before the game turned lopsided, McGillis hit a three-run home run to left field in the third inning — his first homer since a pitch fractured his arm on March 24 — and gave the Gamecocks a 5-0 lead. McGillis’ teammates spilled out of the Founders Park dugout in celebration, splashing water in his face after he crossed home plate.
“That was really cool,” McGillis said. “Off the bat, I didn’t think it was getting out. I didn’t realize it was even that close until I watched the replay. But it was really cool running home from third and seeing all my teammates there, squirting water in my face.”
The celebratory vibes only continued for the Gamecocks, who — after battling a slew of injuries — played with their full complement of offensive weapons for the first time in weeks. Though McGillis took a starring role early, hitting would prove contagious for the Gamecocks.
The explosion came in the fourth inning, when USC chased CCSU starter Jake Neuman from the game and chewed through two more Blue Devil pitchers in a whopping 11-run inning. Nearly every batter contributed to the offensive outpouring, as the Gamecocks sent 17 hitters to the plate in that half inning alone. Gavin Casas and Dylan Brewer opened the scoring by each hitting two-run singles, then Cole Messina hit a two-run double and Michael Braswell hit a three-run double to put a crooked number on the scoreboard.
Getting the offense clicking was an important storyline for the Gamecocks after USC tallied just one hit in its SEC Tournament elimination game loss to Texas A&M last week. Kingston said the Gamecocks used the week layoff between games to focus on fundamentals, letting the ball travel deep in the zone and focusing on driving the ball through the middle of the field and the other way.
Results of that work were apparent in USC’s 16 hits for the game, including a pair of opposite-field hits for the struggling Casas. Ethan Petry hit the team’s only other homer, a 434-foot moonshot that nearly landed in the parking lot behind left field. It helped that the CCSU pitching staff, who entered the game with a 5.02 staff ERA, struggled to throw strikes for most of the contest, walking 14 Gamecocks and hitting three others with pitches.
“It felt like the beginning of the season,” McGillis said. “(Hitting coach) Monte Lee always preaches we have nine guys against one pitcher, and throughout today we just kind of fed off each other. We took our walks we took her hit by pitches. We got some big hits.”j
Though starter James Hicks didn’t have to sweat much on the mound, the veteran right-hander turned in a second straight scoreless performance for the Gamecocks after throwing 6.2 scoreless against Georgia in the SEC Tournament. Using a sinker that touched 93 miles per hour and pairing it with a sharp slider, Hicks struck out six, allowed one hit and walked none in his five innings. He threw just 62 pitches, leaving the possibility open that he could return later in the regional.
The win is USC’s first NCAA regional win since 2021, when the Gamecocks served as a No. 2 seed at Founders Park and Old Dominion served as a rare host at a road stadium. USC missed the postseason last year with its first losing season since 1996.
The competition will ramp up against the No. 3 seed Wolfpack on Saturday as the Gamecocks look to carry their offensive momentum deeper into the regional.
“You saw what the Gamecocks were for two-thirds of the season before injuries decimated us,” Kingston said of the performance. “That’s what you saw. You saw a team that could pitch really well, could swing the bats and play great defense. You just saw who we are when we’re not decimated by injuries.”
Columbia Regional Schedule
Friday, June 2
Game 1 – (3) N.C. State 5, (2) Campbell 1
Game 2 – (1) South Carolina 19, (4) Central Connecticut State 1
Saturday, June 3
Game 3 – Campbell vs. Central Connecticut State, Noon (TV: ESPN plus)
Game 4 – South Carolina vs. NC State, 6 p.m. (TV: ESPN plus)
Sunday, June 4
Game 5 – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, Noon (TV TBA)
Game 6 – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 6 p.m. (TV TBA)
Monday, June 5
Game 7 – If necessary, TBD (TV TBA)
This story was originally published June 2, 2023 at 10:18 PM.
