South Carolina's comeback bid thwarted as Alabama blows it open late
It would’ve been easy for South Carolina to roll over after trailing by a wide margin in the early going. But time and time again, the Gamecocks fought back to make it a ballgame.
However, it wouldn’t be enough as No. 16 Alabama picked up a 13-6 win over No. 18 South Carolina on Friday night. That’s the Gamecocks’ fifth road loss of the year, four of which have come in SEC play.
“We’ve just got to keep looking for the right recipe. It’s still first half of the season and there’s still some things we need to continue to figure out,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “It was a tie game in the eighth inning. So we’ve just got to get over the hump there late in the game. … On the road in these close games, we’ve got to get over the hump.”
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Dylan Eskew got the start on the mound for the Gamecocks (20-7, 4-4 SEC) and worked cleanly through two innings. But when he put two runners on in the third, things started to get dicey.
Pitching coach Matt Williams walked out to the mound to try to calm his pitcher down. It might’ve helped calm Eskew’s nerves for a moment but it couldn’t stop what was to come.
With the bases now loaded, Eskew traded an out for a run as he got a groundout to first. But one batter later, he gave up a two-run single. Then the knockout blow came, a two-run homer off the bat of Alabama’s Evan Sleight.
In a matter of moments, Eskew’s day was over as he looked up at the scoreboard to see South Carolina trailing 5-0 in the third.
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This was the third straight start in which the right-hander couldn’t provide much length. Over his last three outings, he hasn’t been able to get through five innings. And on Friday, he only lasted 2.2 innings on 44 pitches.
“He gave us everything he had. The third inning just got away from him,” Kingston said. “Left a couple pitches in the middle of the plate and they made him pay.”
Just when it looked like the Gamecocks were dead in the water, they slowly started to turn a corner. With two men in scoring position and one out, Parker Noland hit a single into center, scoring both runners.
“He’s doing a really nice job, doing exactly what we hoped he would do in that spot,” Kingston said. “No reason to move him from there.”
Then, with Cole Messina up, he crushed a 2-1 pitch over the left field wall for a two-run shot. His 10th homer of the year made it a one-run game.
“Cole had a tough day yesterday, but he had a really good day today,” Kingston said. “Really good day defensively, really good day at the plate. That’s what good players do. This game is too tough to be good every single day. But the good ones really bounce back quickly and he did today.”
South Carolina had a chance to tie or take the lead with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth. But Gavin Casas and Talmadge LeCroy both struck out swinging to end the threat. However, the bats had finally come back to life and turned it into a brand-new ballgame.
Alabama would get a run back in the fifth as Matthew Becker, who came in to relieve Eskew in the third, gave up an RBI double.
To open the sixth, South Carolina quickly put two runners on. Then, Noland laid a bunt down the third base line to move both into scoring position. One batter later, Messina brought a run home on an RBI groundout to short.
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With Kennedy Jones at the plate, Aidan Moza’s 1-1 pitch got away from the catcher and rolled to the backstop. Will Tippett was able to score standing up from third to tie the game at six.
After both sides traded a few zeroes on the scoreboard, Alabama managed to break the ice in the eighth. After a visit to the mound, Becker served up a two-run double to Kade Snell. Then, Will Hodo followed with an RBI double of his own. The Tide added one more run with a sacrifice fly. Just like that, Alabama now led 10-6.
“Becker gave us a really good outing til the end there,” Kingston said. “They had lefties coming up and he was pitching very well. And his pitch count was low. So it was the right move to have him go out there. He just made a few pitches that they could hit.”
With Parker Marlatt now in the game, Ian Petrutz crushed a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth to extend the lead to 13-6.
Up next: South Carolina will look to avoid the series sweep on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is at 2 p.m. on SEC Network Plus. Freshman right-hander Tyler Pitzer (4-0, 0.48 ERA) will make his second start of the year.
