Hill's Gem Lifts Baseball Past CSU in Series Opener; Sunday Moved to Noon Start
Feb. 23, 2018
COLUMBIA – Adam Hill had a career performance with 14 strikeouts and no hits with no walks in seven innings of work and the University of South Carolina baseball team hit four home runs en route to a 7-0 win over Charleston Southern Friday night (Feb. 23) at Founders Park. NOTE: Sunday’s game vs. Charleston Southern has been moved to a 12 p.m. start due to the weather forecast in Columbia.
Hill had a career high day with 14 strikeouts, breaking the previous single game Founder’s Park record of 12 and his previous record of 11. Hill pitched one over the minimum as Josh Litchfield reached on an error in the sixth inning.
The Gamecocks offense got going in the bottom of the second with a two-run homer from Jonah Bride, his first of the season. LT Tolbert followed suit, sending one flying over right field in the fourth for his second home run of the season, making the score 3-0.
The home run party continued in the bottom of the sixth with Jacob Olson sending one out past left field for a two-run blat, pushing the lead to 5-0.
Freshman Noah Campbell hit his first home run in a Gamecock uniform in the bottom of the seventh, when he launched one into the right field bullpen increasing the Carolina lead 6-0. Chris Cullen’s RBI single in the eighth made it 7-0 Gamecocks.
Tolbert had three hits to lead the Gamecock offense. Carolina’s pitching staff combined for 16 strikeouts, two off the single-game record of 18.
QUOTABLE
“I won’t try to do justice to that performance by Adam [Hill] because I don’t have the words to talk about how great that outing was. 14 strikeouts, no walks in seven innings and no hits, I think that speaks for itself. I think it shows a lot about his ability to bounce back. We talked about what happened last week, it was very atypical for him but tonight I think was typical for him so it was great to see it. I think the team rallied behind him as well.”- Head Coach Mark Kingston
GAMECHANGER
Jonah Bride’s home run in the bottom of the second got the momentum started for the Gamecocks.
KEY STAT
Adam Hill’s 14 strikeouts are a new Founder’s Park record, which was originally set by Sam Dyson against Georgia on May 14, 2009.
NOTABLE
- Noah Campbell belted his first career home run and also recorded his second triple of the season in the win. Campbell tripled to lead off the first for Carolina.
- Tolbert now leads Carolina with a .500 batting average and has hits in all six games for the Gamecocks.
- Hill now has 20 strikeouts in 11 innings pitched and is holding opponents to a .132 batting average.
- Friday’s attendance was 6,577, upping the season total to 39,400 after six games.
- After six games, the Gamecocks’ ERA stands at 1.83. In the last five contests, South Carolina has a 0.80 ERA.
UP NEXT
Game two of the series versus Charleston Southern is Saturday afternoon (Feb. 24) at 2 p.m.
