Gamecocks top Penn State 4-2 to sweep weekend series

John Jones capped off perhaps the most productive series by a player in South Carolina history by going 3-for-3 with two RBIs to lead USC to a 4-2 win over Penn State on Sunday at Founders Park.

Jones reached base in all 14 plate appearances against the Nittany Lions, going 8-for-8 with two home runs, 10 RBIs and six walks. The sophomore is the first player since at least 1997 to start all three games of a series and reach base every at-bat.

Christian Walker was the previous leader in on-base percentage in a series with a 0.875 mark against Mississippi State in 2011.

“Succeeding feels good, but it’s over now,” Jones said. “I’ll enjoy it later with my team and move on, get ready for the next game.”

For the season, Jones is hitting .593 with three home runs and 19 RBIs. He leads the Gamecocks in hits, home runs, RBIs, total bases, walks, and on-base percentage.

“He’s had an incredible run. He’s just looking at the ball so good, and he’s very, very patient,” Carolina coach Chad Holbrook said. “And he’s a matchup issue with the opponent because he’s a switch hitter. He’s got a great knowledge and a great approach up there. I’m not saying anything to that kid, just let him keep playing, put him in the three-hole and see if he can keep driving in runs for us.”

Taylor Widener got the start for USC and allowed seven hits and two runs in 4 2/3 innings. Widener gave up hits to the first three batters he faced and allowed a solo home run in the fourth, but did a nice job of working out of jams.

Reed Scott earned the win for the Gamecocks, pitching 3 1/3 innings without allowing a hit. Josh Reagan pitched a scoreless ninth to get the save.

“We know that no matter who is coming out of the bullpen, we expect them to put up zeros. That’s our job,” Scott said. “We’ve been good so far. You have to have the mentality that it’s a 0-0 ballgame even though a lot of these games haven’t been that close.”

DC Arendas, who didn’t get a hit the first six games of the season, got two hits for the second straight game, going 2-for-2 with a walk and a run. He has now gotten a hit in four of his last five at-bats.

“I just wanted to get up there, try to get a fastball early in the count and put a good swing on it,” Arendas said. “I’m just trying to be more aggressive.”

THREE POINTS

Star of the game: John Jones was the star of the game and the star of the weekend. It’s hard to come up with adjectives to describe how well he is hitting right now. Through eight games, he’s on pace for 21 home runs and 133 RBIs.

Play of the game: It was only the first inning, but Penn State had already scored once and had two on when Taylor Widener got Tyler Kendall to ground into a double play to third. Penn State sent the runners to avoid hitting into a double play, but the grounder went right to Jonah Bride, who stepped on the bag before throwing to first.

Stat of the game: 1.000: South Carolina has had a ton of really good hitters come through its program, but no one since at least 1997 has started three games in a weekend and had a 1.000 on-base percentage. Jones’ start to his USC career is nothing short of incredible.

OBSERVATIONS

Reagan a solid option at closer: He was brought in during the ninth inning to close out a 4-2 game and earned his second save of the year. He’s pitched 3 2/3 innings while allowing one hit with seven strikeouts so far this year.

Arendas is coming around offensively: After starting the season 0-for-12 he’s now 4-for-5 in his last five at bats. Arendas is so good defensively that if he can bring anything to the plate offensively he’ll get plenty of playing time.

Tolbert’s versatility makes him very valuable: With Marcus Mooney sitting for precautionary reasons because of a tender hamstring, Tolbert moved to shortstop and filled in nicely. He’s now played at first, second, shortstop and DH.

NEXT

What: South Carolina vs. The Citadel

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Riley Park

Probable pitchers: USC – Adam Hill (Fr. RHP); The Citadel - TBD

Radio: 107.5 FM in the Columbia area

This story was originally published February 28, 2016 at 4:10 PM.