May 6, 2015

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina raced out to a four-run lead in the first three innings on the way to a 5-3 victory over Wofford on Wednesday night at Carolina Stadium. The Gamecocks improve to 28-21 on the year while the loss drops the Terriers to 33-17 for the season.

Freshman right-hander Brandon Murray earned the win in relief and is 5-0 on the year. He allowed one run on two hits in three innings with a walk and three strikeouts. Sophomore right-hander Reed Scott pitched 1.1 perfect innings of relief with a pair of saves for his first career save. Wofford starter Jordan Accetta suffered the loss and is 1-3 for the season. He allowed five runs, three earned, on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

South Carolina broke ahead 3-0 in the bottom of the first inning. Gene Cone led off with a single, stole second base and scored on Kyle Martin’s RBI base hit to right field. After a double from Elliott Caldwell gave the Gamecocks runners on second and third base, designated hitter Alex Destino drove in the second run with a RBI single to left field. The Gamecocks would catch a break to score the third run. After a short flyout to right field, Wofford right fielder James Plaisted looked to keep a run off the board and threw home. As Caldwell went back toward third base the throw from Plaisted went high and past catcher Cody Miller to the backstop allowing Caldwell to score giving the Gamecocks a three-run lead.

Wofford would get on the scoreboard in the top of the second as Conor Clancey opened the frame with a solo homer to left-center, his team-leading ninth of the year for the Terriers to cut the Gamecock lead to a pair of runs.

South Carolina increased the lead to 5-1 in the third inning. DC Arendas drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a fielding error by Wofford first baseman Conor Clancey that also put Martin on base. A RBI groundout by Caldwell would score Arendas and an infield single from Destino would drive in Martin. The Terriers would answer with a run in the fourth inning to cut Carolina’s lead to three runs. Wofford would add one more in the seventh.

GAME CHANGER
With South Carolina leading 5-2 in the top of the fifth inning, Wofford had runners on second and third base with no outs. Gamecock starter Josh Reagan and Murray kept the Terriers at bay and did not allow a run with a strikeout, popup and a strikeout to preserve the three-run cushion.

KEY STAT
Kyle Martin, Elliott Caldwell and Alex Destino (South Carolina’s 3-4-5 hitters in the lineup) went 6-for-10 at the plate with three runs scored and four RBI.

NOTABLES
• Reagan made his seventh start of the year. He allowed two runs on six hits in 4.2 innings with no walks and four strikeouts.
• Alex Destino tied a career-high in hits going 3-for-4. It marked his ninth multi-hit game of the season and the most hits in a game since he had three vs. Penn State on March 11, 2015.
• Elliott Caldwell went 2-for-4 at the plate and tallied his team-leading 19th multi-hit game of the season.
• A pinch-hit single for Matt Williams in the eighth inning was his first career hit in a Gamecock uniform.
• Reed Scott earned his first career save in Wednesday’s win.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Chad Holbrook
“We feel very fortunate to beat a really good Wofford team, who I think, if I am correct in saying this, broke their school record in wins in last night’s win against Clemson. Obviously, we came out of the gates pretty good, had five runs in the first three innings. We didn’t really do much offensively after that. We were kind of lucky to hold on. I think the biggest point in the game was they had runners at second and third with nobody out and after a botched pickoff play, Reagan (got the) next two and Murray came in and got the third out. That was a big point in the game there. We made it hold up, I thought Brandon (Murray) was very good and I thought Reed (Scott) was terrific. That’s several good appearances in a row for Reed (Scott). He’s been much more consistent then he was earlier in the year. Reagan got us off to a decent start, he kept them at bay and pitched a little bit and scattered some hits, but outside of giving up two runs he kept them off the board for the most part. It’s a good win for us considering what we have been through, especially against a really good Wofford team who is having a great year.”

UP NEXT
South Carolina heads to Texas A&M for a three-game SEC series. First pitch for the opener in College Station on Friday is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast live on SEC Network Plus and can be heard on the Gamecock IMG Network including flagship station, 107.5 FM, “The Game.”