South Carolina baseball whips Winthrop 16-4

South Carolina continued its hot start to the season Wednesday evening, blasting Winthrop 16-4 at Founders Park to improve to 5-0 on the year.

The Gamecocks fell 7-5 to Winthrop last season as the Eagles went on to win 40 games. USC had no problem with the instate opponent from Rock Hill on Wednesday.

“It was a good win for us. That win will hopefully mean something later in the year from an RPI standpoint,” Carolina coach Chad Holbrook said. “Winthrop won 40 games a year ago and brought a lot of guys back. ... All in all it certainly was nice to see some of our guys perform at a high level, and it was good to get a win against a good Winthrop team.”

The Gamecocks scored six runs in the first inning, with the big blow being a three-run home run by freshman TJ Hopkins, the first of his career. USC cruised from that point forward, adding two runs in the second, three in the sixth and five in the seventh.

Carolina pounded out 15 hits on the breezy day, led by sophomore Alex Destino, who finished 3-for-4. The first baseman entered the day hitting .118 before putting together his best offensive performance of the year.

“Baseball is a really hard sport. We all know that. The whole supporting cast has just been saying ‘Keep hitting it. Keep hitting it. It’s going to drop.’ That was kind of my mentality,” Destino said. “It was good to see those balls fall today.”

Dom Thompson-Williams, John Jones, LT Tolbert and Hopkins each added two hits. Hopkins and Destino both finished with four RBIs.

Tyler Haswell earned the win for the Gamecocks, allowing two hits and one unearned run in three innings of relief. Canaan Cropper was the starter for USC, and he pitched well, striking out eight batters in 3 2/3 innings. He allowed three hits and one earned run.

“Canaan was terrific. He exceeded my expectations,” Holbrook said. “I just wanted him to get us off to a good start.”

THREE POINTS

Star of the game: Alex Destino: The sophomore entered Wednesday batting .118 but went 3-for-4 at the plate and tied a career high with four RBIs. Destino also walked and scored two runs.

Play of the game: Hopkins’ home run: It was the first of his career and came with two outs. The three-run shot gave South Carolina a comfortable margin early on in the game.

Stat of the game: 27: USC had 27 batters reach base with 15 hits, eight walks and four batters hit by a pitch.

OBSERVATIONS

USC continues to show its depth: The Gamecocks had 12 different batters reach base, and LT Tolbert and TJ Hopkins, hitting seventh and eighth, combined for four hits, three runs and seven RBIs.

No leadoff hitter yet: Marcus Mooney got another chance to bat leadoff Wednesday and went 0-for-4. Danny Blair and Tolbert have also hit at the top of the Gamecocks’ order this year. Holbrook is expected to keep plugging in guys to bat leadoff until someone steps up and earns the job.

Newcomers keep shining: They recorded nine hits, 12 runs and nine RBIs and continue to lead the way.

NEXT

What: South Carolina vs. Penn State, Game 1

When: 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26

Where: Founders Park

Probable pitchers: USC – Clarke Schmidt (Soph. RHP); Penn State – Taylor Lehman (Soph. LHP)

Watch: SEC Network Plus (Digital)

Radio: 107.5 FM in the Columbia area

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 7:24 PM.