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Eli Jones flirts with perfection, continues to prove why he's the ace on staff

imageby: Jack Veltri03/24/24jacktveltri
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Eli Jones (Katie Dugan/GamecockCentral)

Walking out to the mound for the seventh inning, Eli Jones knew what was at stake. There was no hiding it.

The South Carolina right-hander had his way for his entire outing. 18 up, 18 down. He was just nine outs away from baseball immortality. A perfect game.

“Definitely knew what was going on,” Jones said. “I tried to keep it in the back of my mind and go out there and pitch. But it is what it is.”

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But it’s easier said than done. As each inning passed by, each out became tougher to get. His defense had to be perfect behind him, which they were for the first six innings.

Just when Jones was ready to go after history, it was over in the blink of an eye. On the first pitch of the frame, Vanderbilt’s RJ Austin singled into right center field. Had South Carolina not played with the shift on, maybe the perfect game bid would’ve continued. But that’s baseball.

“It’s tough. If it was a home run, it would be a one thing,” Jones said. “But with the shift here, it might hurt a little bit more.”

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After the first hit of the day, pitching coach Matt Williams came to check on his pitcher. Jones proceeded to give up a walk before getting a groundout, the first out of the frame. But after 77 pitches, his day was at an end. Williams came back out to the mound for a second time, and there was no chance of stopping him from making a switch.

“I tried my hardest. Obviously, that’s a tough situation with a second visit. There’s not much I can say,” Jones said, smiling. “Like I said, I trust the guy that’s coming in behind me. (Chris) Veach is one of the best relief pitchers in the country. We’ve got a lot of trust in him and we always will.”

Despite seeing his day end earlier than he would’ve liked, it was just what South Carolina needed to start an impressive day. The Gamecocks would win two straight games to sweep a doubleheader against No. 3 Vanderbilt on Saturday.

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For Jones, he’s continued to get better with each start he’s made. He’s now 2-0 on the year with a 2.35 ERA and 23 strikeouts to seven walks. And despite pitching one day after his normal rest, he’s proving why he’s the ace of this weekend rotation.

“He’s maybe not the sexiest Friday night starter you’ll see. But he’s mature,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “He’s got good stuff. He managed the game. He’s competitive. His team loves playing behind him, because he’s such a great team guy. And he really set the tone for us today really set the tone. And I think everything kind of fell in line behind his effort.”

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