New names emerge to lift South Carolina past Milwaukee in weekend series opener

The South Carolina baseball team keeps finding someone new to be the hero.

It turned out to be pitcher Tyler Pitzer and designated hitter Jase Woita on Friday in a 5-2 victory over Milwaukee at Founders Park.

Pitzer pitched four solid innings to pick up his first win of the season, while Woita hit his first home run in a Gamecock uniform, a grand slam in the sixth inning that proved to be the difference.

“That was a hard-fought win tonight against a team that beat Mercer last Friday night,” USC coach Paul Mainieri said. “Those two pitchers we faced carved up Mercer pretty well and they were tough on us as well.

“There were a couple of keys to the game, obviously. Dylan (Eskew) wasn’t himself tonight. Tyler Pitzer came into a tough situation and after walking the first guy, pitched out of a jam and later pitched out of another jam. He gave us a chance to win. Then we had that great inning where one swing of the bat was the difference in the game.”

Eskew exits early

Eskew looked off from the beginning on Friday.

Pitching coach Terry Rooney even noticed something different in pregame warmups, according to Mainieri. But Eskew pitched four batters into the third inning and, during that time, walked four, hit two batters and had another reach by catcher’s interference. Milwaukee loaded the bases in the third inning on a hit-by-pitch, catcher’s interference and then a walk. Eskew then hit cleanup hitter Charlie Marion to tie the game at one.

That brought out Mainieri and the trainer for a visit to the mound. After several minutes, Eskew left with the trainer and went straight down the tunnel to the clubhouse. A strain in Eskew’s back was affecting his delivery, Mainieri said.

If Eskew is lost for an extended period, that could be impactful for the Gamecocks staff in the long run. It was announced on Thursday that sophomore right-hander Eli Jerzembeck would be lost for the season because of a stress fracture in his right elbow. This is the second year in a row Jerzembeck will have to sit out, as he had Tommy John surgery in the spring of 2023.

Eddie Copper has yet to throw off the mound this spring, and that’s another player who was expected to contribute a lot of innings.

Pitzer showed off his stuff

The Gamecocks (6-0) flirted with disaster in the first five innings.

Milwaukee (1-3) loaded the bases in the first, third and fifth innings and scored twice, but left the bases loaded each of those frames. The Panthers also had a runner thrown out at the plate on a fielder’s choice and left runners on second and third in the sixth inning. They left 14 men on base.

A lot of that had to do with the efforts of Pitzer. The sophomore right-hander pitched into and out of trouble but didn’t allow a run in four innings. He scattered four hits with eight strikeouts and two walks on 68 pitches. He struck out three in a row to end the threat in the second, then added two more strikeouts with the bases loaded in the fifth inning. He didn’t always have his best stuff, but he showed a competitive edge.

“I had the mentality of filling the strike zone and doing the best to your capabilities and knowing your defense is behind you,” Pitzer said. “In the end, it worked out.”

Hitting starting to make strides

Four of the runs Friday came on one big swing from Woita, but South Carolina collected seven hits and put the ball in play. They struck out five times with just two walks but pieced things together enough to win a sixth game in a row to start the season.

Woita grounded out in his previous at-bat and he knew he was going to see that pitch again.

“I got a mistake and was able to get a good swing on it,” the Kansas City Kansas Community College transfer said.

Mainieri has often said he wants his players to be aggressive and make the offensive brand exciting to watch.

“We’ve got to get some guys going,” Mainieri said. “We can’t depend on Superman Nathan Hall and Captain America Ethan Petry every game. Jones has a lot of big hits. But it was nice to see somebody else step up. I feel like we will swing the bats better as the season progresses.”

USC baseball schedule: Upcoming games

• Saturday vs. Milwaukee, 2 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
• Sunday vs. Milwaukee, 1:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
• Tuesday vs. Gardner-Webb, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
• Feb. 28: at Clemson, 7 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
• March 1: vs. Clemson at Greenville, 1:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
• March 2: vs. Clemson, 5 p.m. (SEC Network Plus

This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 7:56 PM.