In the series opener, No. 1 Tennessee continues the Gamecocks’ Friday night struggles.
The Friday night pitching woes for South Carolina will continue for at least another week. Jake McCoy became the fourth Gamecocks pitcher to start a weekend series Friday, and he fell victim to a crucial defensive miscue and No. 1 Tennessee in an 11-7 setback at Founders Park.
The Vols ran their record to 24-2 (6-1 SEC). South Carolina dropped to 17-10 (1-6 SEC) and 1-10 against teams from a Power 4 conference. This came despite the fact USC held a 13-10 advantage in hits Friday and each team hit two home runs. Ethan Petry and Jordan Carrion collected four hits to lead the USC offense. It’s the Gamecocks’ fifth straight defeat.
They’ve allowed double-digit scoring in each of the losses. “It’s been a long time since I coached a game where we lost by four runs but it didn’t feel like we lost by four runs. I thought we played our hearts out,” South Carolina coach Paul Mainieri said. McCoy certainly could have been dealt a better fate, but one key misstep led to five unearned runs in the second inning. The sophomore left-hander allowed a leadoff single but got a tailor-made double play ball to second that was mishandled by Carrion.
The Vols took a 2-1 deficit after one inning and quickly turned it into a 6-2 lead on a sacrifice fly, two run-scoring singles and a two-run home run from Hunter Ensley. In total, McCoy pitched four innings and allowed eight runs but had only three earned runs on six hits. Tennessee scored nine of their 11 runs in two innings. “We turn that double play, and you don’t know if they’re going to score there,” Mainieri said. “It’s hard to make mistakes against a team of this caliber. When you make those mistakes, good teams will pounce on it.”
South Carolina has used Dylan Eskew, Matthew Becker and Brandon Stone in starting roles on Friday night. None of those starters got out of the fifth inning and they moved to 3-4 in Friday night contests. The bright spot on the mound came from senior Caleb Jones. He pitched the final four innings and allowed one run on one hit. He retired the first 10 batters he faced.
Jones had only pitched two innings prior to Friday night, and it was his second strong outing of the week. “(Jones) came in and gave us a big boost,” Mainieri said. “He hadn’t been getting a lot of opportunities and now two times in a row, he’s pitched great and given us a chance.”
Pitching coach Terry Rooney kept the entire pitching staff in right field for a long discussion after the game. Jones was mostly non-committal on what was but did share a small piece of information. “I hate to do this to you, but I think that should stay within the pitching circle,” Jones said when asked of the message being delivered. “But I will tell you this. You have to get ahead and you have to stay ahead.”
Petry staked the Gamecocks to the 2-1 lead in the first inning with his seventh home of the season and 51st of his career. That moves him within 11 of Justin Smoak for the school’s all-time home run record. Henry Kaczmar added a two-run home run in the ninth. Injury Notes: Catcher Talmadge LeCroy missed the game due to a hip injury. Mainieri said he was going to rehab for a week to 10 days to see if it improves. If it doesn’t, the senior catcher might be out for the season. … On Thursday, it was reported Eskew had an oblique strain and would be out an extended period of time. … Infielder Nolan Nawrocki is dealing with a knee issue that might end his season early.
USC baseball schedule: Upcoming games
Saturday vs. Tennessee, 4 p.m.
Sunday vs. Tennessee, 5 p.m.
Tuesday vs. Presbyterian, 7 p.m.
April 4 at Mississippi State, 7 p.m.
April 5 at Mississippi State, 3 p.m.
April 6 at Mississippi State, 2 p.m.