All-Around Performance Lifts Baseball Past UMass Lowell

COLUMBIA  – The University of South Carolina baseball team’s offense erupted for the second straight day and the pitching staff did not allow a hit after the first inning as the Gamecocks bested UMass Lowell, 17-1, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 18) at Founders Park.

Braylen Wimmer tied a career high with five RBI, including a grand slam in the fourth inning. Caleb Denny, Gavin Casas and Will McGillis all homered in a 14-hit contest. Talmadge LeCroy went a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Casas had three RBI and Evan Stone scored three runs.

Carolina scored all of its runs in the first five innings, including five in the second and four each in the fourth and fifth frames.

Noah Hall earned the win on the mound, going 5.1 innings and allowing two hits and a run with four strikeouts. The quartet of Trey Wheeler, Chris Veach, Jackson Phipps and Brett Thomas did not allow a hit and struck out five in the final 3.2 innings.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Carolina wins a season-opening series for the 25^th straight season.
• The Gamecocks have hit back-to-back home runs in each of the team’s first two games after Casas and McGillis did the trick in the fifth.
• The 37 runs scored in the first two games of the season are the most since the 2004 season when Carolina scored 41 runs in a pair of games against Charleston Southern.
• Hall now has four wins in a Gamecock uniform and 11 in his collegiate career.
• Carolina is hitting .405 after two games with nine home runs and a .811 slugging percentage.
• Trey Wheeler and Chris Veach each made their first appearances in a Gamecock uniform in Saturday’s game.
• Through the first two games, Talmadge LeCroy is 5-for-6 with four runs scored and three RBI.

UP NEXT
Carolina and UMass Lowell wrap up the three-game series on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 19) at 1:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.