Gamecocks’ hitting woes continue as Texas A&M clinches series
South Carolina’s ineptness on offense continued Saturday night as the Gamecocks managed only three hits in a 5-2 loss to No. 2 Texas A&M at Founders Park.
USC entered the weekend tied atop the SEC standings with Florida but is now 1.5 games back of the first-place Aggies (39-10, 18-8).
South Carolina has managed only two runs and eight hits in two games this weekend. The eighth-ranked Gamecocks (37-13, 16-9) will try to avoid being swept and falling out of the conference race Sunday at 4 p.m.
“It was the same story tonight as it was last night. Their pitchers pretty much manhandled, dominated our hitters,” Carolina coach Chad Holbrook said. “We’re forcing our pitchers to be perfect against maybe the best offensive team in the country. We’re asking too much from our pitching staff.”
For the second straight night USC had opportunities early but was unable to take advantage.
Carolina stranded two in scoring position to end the first inning and had two in scoring position with one out in the third but only scored one on an Alex Destino groundout to take a 1-0 lead.
The Gamecocks finished 0-for-10 with runners on base and 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
In the past five games USC is 8-for-76 with runners on and 3-for-40 when they are in scoring position.
“You might go 3-for-40 if you get up there and get blindfolded and swing,” Holbrook said. “It’s disappointing. Hitting a baseball is very hard and sometimes it’s very frustrating. We’re at a very frustrating point right now because I have very good players in our lineup that are struggling.”
The Aggies bounced right back with three runs in the top of the fourth inning as USC second baseman Madison Stokes had a ball go between his legs to allow a run to score and Ryne Birk hit a two-run homer later in the inning.
Stokes hit his first career homer in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to 3-2, but the Gamecocks would not score again.
“I hope they’re upset. I hope they’re ticked off. ... Obviously they don’t feel very good about themselves right now,” Holbrook said of his team. “They need to look in the mirror because we don’t have any other players. They’ve got to go out there and play.”
Texas A&M extended its lead to 4-2 in the sixth inning on a single to left by Nick Banks, and Ronnie Gideon pushed across another run on a sac fly in the eighth.
Braden Webb suffered the loss, allowing four runs, three earned, in 5 2/3 innings. Webb struck out seven to reach 100 strikeouts on the year but gave up seven hits and walked two.
Stokes, Chris Cullen and TJ Hopkins had the only three hits for USC.
“We’ve been hitting early BP every single day. Maybe we should stop that. It’s not working,” Holbrook said. “Ultimately it’s not what you do in practice. You’ve got to get up there and do it between the white lines when the chips are down. Right now we’re struggling to get that done.”
Birk went 3-for-4 with a home run, double, three runs scored and two RBIs to lead Texas A&M.
THREE POINTS
Star of the game: Ryne Birk: The second baseman finished a triple shy of the cycle and hit a two-run homer that was clearly out of the park as soon as it left the bat.
Play of the game: USC was unable to capitalize but stayed in the game thanks to a 1-3-2 double play in the fifth inning. With runners on the corners the Aggies tried a safety squeeze. Webb looked the runner on third back and fired to first for out number one before Matt Williams threw home to Cullen to complete the double play.
Stat of the game: .075: South Carolina is batting .075 with runners on base in the past five games.
OBSERVATIONS
It’s becoming mental: South Carolina’s players have no confidence at the plate. USC is swinging at too many bad pitches and watching too many good ones go by.
Hopkins provides a spark: TJ Hopkins was inserted into the lineup in place of John Jones and went 1-for-3 with a run scored. He singled in the third, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout. The other new addition to the lineup, Matt Williams, did not fare as well, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout. He also grounded into a double play.
Pitching staff is doing enough: Braden Webb was far from his best, but for the second straight night USC’s starting pitcher kept the Gamecocks in the game with a solid outing against perhaps the best hitting team in the country.
NEXT
What: South Carolina vs. Texas A&M
When: 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Founders Park
Probable pitchers: USC – Adam Hill (Fr. RHP); A&M – Kyle Simonds (Sr. RHP)
Watch: SEC Network
Radio: 107.5 FM
This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 10:50 PM with the headline "Gamecocks’ hitting woes continue as Texas A&M clinches series."