South Carolina makes late comeback to win series opener over Morehead State

Already trailing by four runs in the second inning and with Morehead State’s leading hitter Hunter Thomas due up, Paul Mainieri made the tough decision that he thought would be best. Not wanting the game to get out of hand, the Gamecocks’ head coach took out starter Matthew Becker and brought in reliever Brandon Stone.

Just like Mainieri did last Friday at Clemson when Becker didn’t have his best outing, he called on Stone to get South Carolina out of a jam. And on a 1-2 pitch, the right-hander struck Thomas out looking to keep the deficit where it was.

“I thought that was a key moment in the game,” Mainieri said. “And you hate taking your starting pitcher out so early in the game, but I just thought the game was somewhat in the balance that early.”

Behind a strong performance from Stone that kept the Gamecocks (12-3) in the game, they made an eventual late-inning rally to earn an 11-7 win over Morehead State on Friday.

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Stone was solid for most of the night as he gave up one run through his first 5.1 innings of work. He went into the eighth with just 71 pitches and had full confidence he could finish the game if the offense could recapture the lead for good.

“When I come to the game, I mean, my goal is to finish the game,” Stone said. “I actually told (Mainieri) I was gonna hand the ball back (after the ninth inning).”

But that would be where his night started to come to an end. After Morehead State had loaded the bases with one out, two-hole hitter Griffin Olson hit a long flyball into centerfield that went off Nathan Hall’s glove as he tried to make a leaping catch. The Eagles, who led for most of the night, were now back in front by a run after South Carolina tied the game in the seventh.

It was a sour finish to Stone’s outing as he went 5.2 innings of two-run ball with nine strikeouts and two walks. Fortunately for him, though, his offense picked him up in the bottom of the inning.

After Jordan Carrion tied the game with an RBI single, Blake Jackson, who came in earlier to pinch-hit for Jase Woita, ripped an RBI single to plate the go-ahead run with the bases loaded. Then, with two runners on, Ethan Petry demolished a three-run homer to give South Carolina the insurance runs it needed.

For Petry, this was the 49th of his career, which moves him into sole possession of second place on the Gamecocks’ all-time home run list. Petry, who began the night 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, finished with two hits and four RBI by the end. He also started an inning-ending double play on a catch and throw to home plate, which led right into the five-run rally.

“A lesser person would hang their head and feel sorry for themselves and think they’re having a bad night, but you have to be able to separate your at-bats,” Mainieri said. “… But the guy that’s got the character to not feel sorry for himself and loses confidence, you can win with those guys. And Ethan Petry is that kind of person.”

Up next: South Carolina will go for the series win over Morehead State on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is at 4 p.m. on SEC Network Plus. Jake McCoy (1-1, 3.00 ERA) will make the start on the mound.

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