No. 18 South Carolina takes down PC on rainy, high-scoring night
The bats were hot on a rainy Tuesday night at Founders Park as South Carolina baseball defeated Presbyterian 19-14. Former Blue Hose Dalton Reeves, who transferred to Carolina this offseason, led the charge at the plate with six RBIs and two home runs in the high-scoring affair.
Freshman Eddie Copper started the game off on the mound for the Gamecocks (20-5). The young arm pitched five strikeouts giving up three hits and three earned runs in 2.2 innings.
After a 15-minute rain delay, Copper produced two strikeouts facing four batters in the second inning.
Roman Kimball relieved Copper and quickly got a strikeout to end the inning but couldn’t find the zone when he stayed in for the fourth, walking the bases loaded. Ty Good replaced Kimball on the mound and got the next three batters with two sacrifice flies and a groundout, the two earned runs being credited to Kimball.
Good also worked the fifth, giving up a run on two hits with a strikeout, and was credited with the win.
Next, Connor McCreery took the mound for one inning pitching one strikeout with no hits and no runs.
“The weather conditions sure didn’t help you know. It was raining, it was damp, a little slippery, some times it just happens,” Head Coach Mark Kingston said. “On those nights where it feels like nothings really going right on the pitching side, it’s up to the hitter so pick up the slack and they did that.”
Related: South Carolina-Presbyterian Box Score
Following McCreery, Georgia transfer Michael Polk made his South Carolina debut on the mound in the fifth after missing all of last season due to Tommy John surgery. He faced three batters and collected a strikeout with a hit and two walks. However, freshman Jake McCoy struggled, giving up three runs off one hit and two walks and also allowing the two runners he inherited from Polk to score.
Despite having explosive bats, the Gamecocks sent nine pitchers to the mound. Freshman Parker Marlatt saw three batters pitching one strikeout giving up one hit and no runs.
Sam Simpson couldn’t finish the job for the Gamecocks in the ninth, with two runs and two hits scored against him. Lastly to end the game, former Blue Hose Chris Veach got it done after facing just one batter.
[On3 App: Get South Carolina push notifications from GamecockCentral]
Presbyterian struggled on the mound to stop the Gamecocks’ explosive offense. To start, freshman Tristan McGregor struggled giving up seven runs against 10 batters in the first inning.
Presbyterian tried multiple arms on the mound but none could overcome the Gamecocks’ power.
The Gamecocks’ first batter of the night, Parker Noland sent one into Presbyterian’s bullpen for a solo run homer.
Powerhouse Ethan Petry hit a 393-foot two-run home run at 109 MPH early in the first. In the second Petry did it again, this time 391 feet over the left field wall for his 100th career RBI.
“I just feel like I go up there and just try to get on base every game like you said,” Petry said. “It’s just a process that you just got to stick to and fight for your team and hit for everybody behind you.”
The homers didn’t stop there, Reeves had a standout game with two three-run home runs. The first one sent over the right field wall 390 feet at 107 MPH in the first inning. And in the bottom of the fourth Reeves did it again sending one 387 feet over the right field wall at 101 MPH on the first pitch.
“Reeves had been doing really good in practice, has had a great attitude, we were playing his former team and just though it was the right move and he took advantage of it,” Kingston said.
[Newsletters: Get breaking news and analysis from GamecockCentral]
The momentum continued as Kennedy Jones scored five runs and drove home two on three hits including a two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the sixth, one of six home runs for the Gamecocks. Jones took a hard hit to the head on a hit-by-pitch in the bottom of the eighth but was able to walk himself to the dugout.
In addition, Blake Jackson drove home two runs on three hits and scored two runs.
Up next: The Gamecocks will travel to Tuscaloosa to face the No. 16 Alabama Crimson Tide (19-6, 2-4 SEC) in a three-game SEC series. First pitch on Thursday is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
