Print
E-Mail
If there were any questions surrounding the South Carolina pitching staff, they answered them — at least during the opening week sweep of VMI.
The third-ranked Gamecocks received stellar performances in a 3-2 and 13-1 doubleheader sweep against the Keydets on Saturday afternoon at Carolina Stadium.
“I’m very happy we were able to win these three games,” South Carolina coach Ray Tanner said. “Two of them could have gone a different way for us, but we were able to hang in and win a couple of close ones. I like our pitching staff a little bit. I think we have a chance as we move forward, to do a good job on the mound.”
In the first game, Matt Price was making his second career start after being a dominant closer during the Gamecocks’ run to back-to-back national championships. He pitched five solid innings before losing control in the sixth.
He opened that frame by walking three batters and hitting another that trimmed the USC lead to 2-1.
“I felt good but got a little tired at the end,” Price said. “I’m in pretty good shape but need to work a little bit harder. My arm was tired, and my mechanics went awry when I was trying to find my location.”
Price was electric working with four pitches in the opening five innings. The first two batters he faced reached on an error and a hit by pitch, but he retired 15 of the next 16. He pitched five innings and didn’t allow a hit but walked three and hit three more. He struck out seven and threw 89 pitches.
Tanner was encouraged by his outing despite the late trouble.
“He hit a couple of guys, but his stuff was good,” Tanner said. “He overpowered a couple of their hitters then all of a sudden he lost control or hit a wall. You have to be a little concerned, but I’ve been around Matt Price for a while and he usually gets things straightened out.”
Ethan Carter bailed Price out of the bases-loaded, no out jam in the sixth.
The lanky right-hander struck out the first batter he faced but allowed an RBI single to left by Cody Holder to tie the game. But USC freshman Tanner English threw out the potential go-ahead runner at the plate before Carter retired the side.
Carter pitched four innings to earn his first win since the Super Regional victory against Coastal Carolina in 2010. He allowed two hits and didn’t allow a run with six strike outs and no walks in the longest stint of his USC career.
“I felt pretty good for the first time out,” Carter said. “It was nice to be back out there.”
Carter was making his first appearance for USC since he was dismissed from the team in January of 2011 for a violation of team rules. He transferred to Louisburg College for one season before returning to South Carolina and earning his way back into Tanner’s good graces.
“He’s a veteran guy that has been around the block a little bit with pretty good stuff,” Tanner said. “We decided things didn’t go as we wanted to when he was here the first time. He wanted to get back in the program, and hopefully he will take advantage of it. It’s nice to have him out there. He’s a guy that can pitch and pitch a lot of innings and give you a lot of appearances. Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.”
The Gamecocks (3-0) got the game-winning RBI double from Dante Rosenberg in the bottom of the sixth. Joey Pankake reached on a two-out single before Rosenberg drove him home with a ball that hit high on the wall in left field.
The South Carolina offense broke out in the second game after scoring five runs combined in the first two games of the series. The Gamecocks had a seven-run fourth inning to take control with the big blows coming off the bats of Walker and LB Dantzler. Walker delivered a two-run single to right before Dantzler hit a monster home run that nearly cleared the iron fence along Williams Street. Kyle Martin opened the inning with an RBI single and freshman Connor Bright drew a bases-loaded walk for the other run.
Evan Marzilli added a two-run triple in the seventh, and TJ Costen hit a two-run homer in the eighth.
“Coach (Tanner) took us aside and talked about our approaches,” Bright said. “We needed to be more aggressive and score more runs, and that’s what we did.”
Colby Holmes pitched five strong innings before giving way to five pitchers that made their USC debuts. The junior right-hander from Conway allowed no runs and one hit with six strikeouts, no walks and one hit batter as he faced one over the minimum.
Evan Beal, Hunter Privette, Jordan Montgomery, Drake Thomason and Joel Seddon finished out the weekend as USC’s staff held VMI (0-3) to 11 hits and four runs in the series.
GAME 1 BOX SCORE
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | - | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VMI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| South Carolina | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | - | 3 | 10 | 1 |
| VMI | ab | r | h | rbi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TARSOVICH, Jordan lf | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| MORLEY, Jacob dh | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| PICCIRILLI, George 1b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DICKINSON, Rob rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| LECLAIR, Gary cf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| HOLDER, Cody 3b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| WORTHINGTON, Chase 3b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MAYERS, Eric ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BRYAN, Drew ss | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WINN, Matt c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DWYER, Nick 2b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HENKEL, Campbell p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GARRETT, Reed p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 29 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| USC | ab | r | h | rbi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evan Marzilli cf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Tanner English lf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Christian Walker 1b | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Grayson Greiner dh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LB Dantzler 3b | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| TJ Costen 2b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chase Vergason ph/2b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adam Matthews rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joey Pankake ss | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Dante Rosenberg c | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Matt Price p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ethan Carter p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 33 | 3 | 10 | 2 |
E - PICCIRILLI(1); Costen. DP - VMI 2. LOB - VMI 6; S. Carolina 9. 2B - Dantzler(1); Rosenberg 2. HBP - MORLEY, J. 2; DWYER, N.. SB - TARSOVICH, J(1); DWYER, N.(1); Marzilli(1).
| VMI | ip | h | r | er | bb | so | wp | bk | hbp | ibb | ab | bf | fo | go | np |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HENKEL, Campbell | 4.0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 69 |
| GARRETT, Reed L,0-1 | 4.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 57 |
| South Carolina | ip | h | r | er | bb | so | wp | bk | hbp | ibb | ab | bf | fo | go | np |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Price | 5.0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 89 |
| Ethan Carter W,1-0 | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 42 |
WP - GARRETT, R.. HBP - by Price (MORLEY, J.); by Price (DWYER, N.); by Price (MORLEY, J.). Pitches/strikes: HENKEL, C. 69/37; GARRETT, R. 57/32; Price 89/47; Carter 42/32. Strikeouts - TARSOVICH, J; MORLEY, J. 2; PICCIRILLI 2; DICKINSON, R 2; LECLAIR, G.; HOLDER, C.; MAYERS, E.; BRYAN, D. 3; Dantzler; Costen; Matthews. Walks - TARSOVICH, J; PICCIRILLI; DICKINSON, R; Walker; Greiner; Matthews.
Umpires - HP: Barry Chambers 1B: Mike Guerry 2B: Richie Tallent 3B: Randy Hoback
Start: 11:59 am
Time: 2:12
Attendance: 7,675
Price faced 4 batters in the 6th.
--------------------
GAME 2 BOX SCORE
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | - | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VMI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | - | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| South Carolina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | X | - | 13 | 16 | 0 |
| VMI | ab | r | h | rbi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TARSOVICH, Jordan lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MORLEY, Jacob dh | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WALTER, Cameron ph | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| PICCIRILLI, George 1b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WORTHINGTON, Chase 3b | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| DICKINSON, Rob cf | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| LECLAIR, Gary cf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| HOLDER, Cody 3b/1b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MAYERS, Eric ph | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BRYAN, Drew ss | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MONTAGUE, Andrew c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| HAWKINS, Berkley ph/c | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| ANGUS, Brandon rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DWYER, Nick 2b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STALLINGS, Thomas ph/2b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BROWN, Jeremy p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| BACH, Connor p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| THOMAS, Travis p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GARRETT, John p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DEAL, Andrew p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DEVINE, Michael p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 30 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| USC | ab | r | h | rbi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evan Marzilli cf | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Chase Vergason 2b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tanner English lf/cf | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Christian Walker dh | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Brison Celek ph/dh | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| LB Dantzler 3b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Erik Payne ph/3b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grayson Greiner c | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Kyle Martin 1b | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Joey Pankake ss | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sean Sullivan rf | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Adam Matthews rf | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| TJ Costen 2b/lf | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Connor Bright 2b/ss | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Colby Holmes p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Evan Beal p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hunter Privette p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Montgomery p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Drake Thomason p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joel Seddon p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 38 | 13 | 16 | 13 |
E - BACH, C.. DP - S. Carolina 1. LOB - VMI 5; S. Carolina 8. 2B - WORTHINGTON(1); Greiner(1); Martin(1); Matthews(1). 3B - Marzilli(1). HR - Dantzler(1); Costen(1). HBP - MORLEY, J.; BRYAN, D.. SH - Pankake(1). SF - English(1); Dantzler(1).
| VMI | ip | h | r | er | bb | so | wp | bk | hbp | ibb | ab | bf | fo | go | np |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BROWN, Jeremy L,0-1 | 3.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 38 |
| BACH, Connor | 0.1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| THOMAS, Travis | 1.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 30 |
| GARRETT, John | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| DEAL, Andrew | 1.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 23 |
| DEVINE, Michael | 1.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| South Carolina | ip | h | r | er | bb | so | wp | bk | hbp | ibb | ab | bf | fo | go | np |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colby Holmes W,1-0 | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 62 |
| Evan Beal | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| Hunter Privette | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Jordan Montgomery | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Drake Thomason | 0.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| Joel Seddon | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
WP - BACH, C.. HBP - by Holmes (BRYAN, D.); by Privette (MORLEY, J.). Pitches/strikes: BROWN, J. 38/25; BACH, C. 24/12; THOMAS, T. 30/17; GARRETT, J. 18/9; DEAL, A. 23/11; DEVINE, M. 10/8; Holmes 62/41; Beal 13/9; Privette 16/12; Montgomery 10/8; Thomason 13/7; Seddon 3/2.
Strikeouts - MORLEY, J.; PICCIRILLI 2; HOLDER, C. 2; MAYERS, E.; BRYAN, D. 2; MONTAGUE, A.; ANGUS, B.; DWYER, N.; STALLINGS, T; Marzilli; Martin 2; Pankake; Bright 2. Walks - WALTER, C.; Marzilli; Greiner; Costen; Bright.
Umpires - HP: Mike Guerry 1B: Richie Tallent 2B: Randy Hoback 3B: Barry Chambers
Start: 2:49 pm
Time: 2:22
Attendance: 7,336
