Destino, Widener power Gamecocks past Presbyterian

One Alex Destino home run wasn’t enough Tuesday night at Founders Park.

So he hit another.

The pair lifted South Carolina to a 3-1 victory over Presbyterian. Up next for the No. 8 Gamecocks (37-11) is No. 2 Texas A&M (37-10), which visits Columbia starting Friday night.

Destino’s two home runs, both solo shots, give him a team-leading eight for the season. His first cleared the right-field wall in the fourth inning and was the Gamecocks’ first hit of the night. His second went out in straightaway center in the sixth, a half inning after Presbyterian’s Weston Jackson had tied the game at 1-1 with a home run to the same spot. The Gamecocks, who had five hits, added their third run on a balk in the bottom of the seventh inning.

“He’s been the most consistent guy in our lineup all year long,” South Carolina coach Chad Holbrook said of Destino. “He’s a threat every time. He swings the bat to hit the ball out of the park, as you saw tonight. If we can get just one more guy or two that are hitting around him, we’ll score some runs and we’ll score some runs in bunches. But right now, we don’t have that guy around him that is just wearing it out. We have to step up.”

Holbrook suspects his team will hit better this weekend against the Aggies’ talented staff than against the collection of unorthodox arms the Gamecocks saw Tuesday. Presbyterian starter Ethan Wortkoetter, a sidearm pitcher, routinely threw his breaking ball in the mid- to low-60s, and his fastball rarely reached the high 80s.

“They were very difficult in the way they pitched to us. It’s not the stuff you see in the SEC, but it was very, very effective,” Holbrook said. “I don’t put much stock in how (the Gamecocks) performed today, because we’re not going to see 63 mph off-speed pitches this weekend. We’re going to see elite, first-round arms and when we’ve seen those guys we’ve hung in there and competed pretty good.”

South Carolina junior right-hander Taylor Widener (3-2) got the win on the strength of a career-high 12 strikeouts. His 7 2/3-inning outing was the longest of his career, and he didn’t walk a batter.

“He’s been here three years, and that was as good as I’ve seen him throw,” Holbrook said. “That certainly makes us eager to put him back in the game at the next opportunity. I hope that gives him a lot of confidence. It should because that was impressive.”

South Carolina ran its midweek record to 11-2 and avenged last year’s 7-4 loss to Blue Hose. The Gamecocks have now won 11 of the last 12 against Presbyterian.

“I’m just glad to get through the game with a win,” Holbrook said. “They were very difficult to score against.”

This story was originally published May 10, 2016 at 9:45 PM.