Baseball Bests Wolfpack in Rain-Shortened Scrimmage
Columbia, S.C. – The University of South Carolina baseball team had its fall scrimmage cut short due to severe weather, but left Founders Park with a 2-1 win over visiting N.C. State Saturday afternoon (Sept. 29).
The Gamecocks launched a pair of solo home runs and held N.C. State to just two hits in the four and a half innings that were played. Hayden Lehman highlighted the Gamecocks on the mound, pitching two innings and allowing no hits and striking out a pair while facing the minimum.
“Hayden did a really nice job today,” South Carolina head coach Mark Kingston said after the game. “He is a guy we looked at as a potential starter or a back of the bullpen guy. His fastball was 90-92 and had a good breaking ball and threw strikes. That’ll give him a lot of options, now it is just a matter of finding where he fits with us.”
N.C. State scored the game’s opening run in the top of the first inning. After a hit by pitch and a walk, the Wolfpack used a single to score a run on South Carolina’s starting pitcher, Julian Bosnic.
The Gamecocks answered quickly as sophomore Noah Campbell crushed the first pitch he saw in the bottom half of the first inning. Campbell sent the ball to left field where it cleared the wall and tied the game up.
“That’s what we want him to do, if he has a good pitch then drive it,” Kingston said. “That’s our approach. We want to try and have a lineup where all of our guys can do damage. He really set the tone by hitting a home run and I like to see that.”
Bosnic returned in the second inning and settled down. The incoming freshman allowed the first two batters to reach before forcing a pair of fly balls and a groundout to end the inning with the game still knotted at one.
After a pair of quiet innings, South Carolina went on top for the first time in the game in the fifth inning. Andrew Eyster drove a ball to nearly the exact same place Campbell sent his home run in the first inning, giving South Carolina its first lead of the day.
Dylan Harley made a quick appearance for the Gamecocks in the top of the fifth when the rain really started to come down in Columbia. The incoming freshman picked up a pair of strikeouts in his first appearance in the Garnet and Black.
Immediately following the end of the top half of the fifth, the tarp was pulled on to the field, and shortly after called due to the weather.
South Carolina will have its second fall scrimmage next Saturday (Oct. 6) at Georgia Tech. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Atlanta.
