South Carolina loses game one to Ole Miss
The South Carolina Gamecocks started SEC play off on a tough foot in game one against the Ole Miss Rebels. South Carolina dropped the series opener by a score 5-4 in a close battle in Oxford.
The cold and rainy elements posed a challenge for veteran arm Eli Jones who started on the mound for the Gamecocks.
Jones pitched five innings, tallying two strikeouts and two earned runs.
“I thought Eli looked like a nice Friday night guy in the SEC, no question about it. The stuff was there, the poise was there, he got out of some tough spots,” said head coach Mark Kingston. “He pitched more than well enough for us to win that game, so that’s what you want on the road.”
Chris Veach came in to relieve Jones and pitched just one inning, allowing two runs with one strikeout and three hits, also taking the loss on the night.
The two runs gave Ole Miss a 4-3 lead.
“Just left a couple balls up, they took some of his change ups down and then he elevated a couple and then they got one out in the outfield,” Kingston said. “That was the difference.”
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In his first SEC appearance, Parker Marlatt pitched 1.2 innings, only giving up only one hit and no runs with no strikeouts.
“It’s really good to see that, he’s a quiet kid, he keeps his head down and gets his work done,” Jones said. “Really proud of him and seeing what he’s doing and he’s going to give us a lot more of that.”
Cole Messina, a usual batting powerhouse, struggled at the plate, going 0-for-4.
Ethan Petry also struck out four times during the game.
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“The last three losses we’ve had have been 5-4. And it’s been one swing that just swung the outcome,” Kingston said. “So we just have to do a better job ourselves at getting more quality at bats in big situations.”
Will Tippett found a way to get under the ball hitting it to the center field wall to send two runs home and give Carolina a 2-0 lead early in the second. However, South Carolina batters struggled with making contact throughout the game.
After Ole Miss answered back with a run to make it 2-1, momentum shifted again as starting Ole Miss pitcher Gunnar Dennis got into a high pitch count.
To start the fourth, Parker Noland scored on a Dylan Brewer RBI to put Carolina up 3-1. Noland was responsible for two of South Carolina’s four runs.
Ole Miss again answered with a run in the fifth before taking the lead in the next inning.
During the sixth, Ole Miss gained momentum and the lead when Luke Hill brought in a pair of runs with a double to left before tacking on a fifth run in the seventh to go up 5-3.
In the eighth, Kennedy Jones hit one deep to right field in a late game effort to regain the lead and eventually scored on a fielder’s choice and throwing error but it wasn’t enough. On the night, Jones went 2-for-2 at the plate.
The Gamecocks return to Swayze Field for game two of the series Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
