South Carolina bats wake up in win over USC Upstate

A couple of unlikely candidates helped power South Carolina to a 12-6 road win over USC Upstate Tuesday night at Fluor Field in Greenville.

LT Tolbert hit his first career home run and Marcus Mooney hit the second homer of his career as the Gamecocks pounded out 16 hits in the victory.

Tolbert’s home run was a two-run shot to right field in the third inning, while Mooney’s was a solo homer over the left field wall in the fifth.

Carolina trailed Upstate 3-2 after four innings but outscored the Spartans 10-3 the rest of the way.

Five Gamecocks finished with multiple hits, led by Mooney with four. Gene Cone, Tolbert, John Jones and Alex Destino each added two hits.

Jones, Arendas, Tolbert, Chris Cullen and Jonah Bride had two RBIs, while Mooney and Dom Thompson-Williams each had one.

Brandon Murray earned the win for South Carolina, pitching 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. He allowed one hit and walked one with two strikeouts.

Taylor Widener got the start for Carolina and pitched 3 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and three runs. Only two of the runs were earned.

THREE POINTS

Star of the game: Marcus Mooney: The senior went 4-for-5 with his first homer of the year and made a couple of nice plays defensively. The three hits were a season high.

Play of the game: DC Arendas did not get the start on Tuesday, but he made his presence felt once he entered the game. With USC leading only 4-3 in the sixth, Arendas hit an opposite-field two-RBI double off the wall in left field to push the lead to 6-3.

Stat of the game: 18: Dom Thompson-Williams went 1-for-2 with three walks and has now reached base in all 18 games this season.

OBSERVATIONS

Middle of the lineup is dangerous: John Jones, Alex Destino and Dom Thompson-Williams are becoming a force in the middle of the lineup. The three combined to reach base eight times.

Destino’s defense a work in progress: After opening the season at first base, Destino started in left field again Tuesday night and made an error on a hard hit ball that he bobbled. It led to a run.

Tyler Johnson settling in: The reliever threw as hard as 96 while working a perfect 1 1/3 innings. Johnson entered with a 5.40 ERA, but he has the potential to be a major contributor in the bullpen.

NEXT

What: South Carolina vs. Davidson

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Founders Park

Watch: SEC Network Plus (Digital)

Radio: 107.5 FM in the Columbia area

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 10:41 PM.