March 25, 2014
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Joey Pankake extended his hitting streak to 11 games and went 3-for-4 with three RBI as second ranked South Carolina defeated College of Charleston 4-2 on Tuesday evening at Carolina Stadium. The Gamecocks improve to 20-3 on the year while the loss drops the Cougars to 16-8.
The Gamecocks used four pitchers with freshman left-hander Josh Reagan earning the win and improving to 3-0 on the year. Reagan allowed one run on two hits in four innings with a walk and three strikeouts. Junior right-hander Cody Mincey earned his first save of the year with 1.1 innings of work to close out the game. Mincey allowed his first run in 13 relief outings in the ninth inning. College of Charleston starter Tyler Thornton suffered the loss and is 0-2 for the season. He allowed four runs on eight hits in five-plus innings with a walk and four strikeouts.
The Gamecocks broke out to an early 4-0 lead scoring a pair of runs in each of the first two innings. Tanner English got things going for South Carolina as he led off the first inning with a double down the left field line. Pankake followed with a base hit to right field driving in English. Pankake would then score on Elliott Caldwell’s RBI single. In the bottom of the second, a walk and a hit batter put two runners on base for Pankake, who crushed a 2-1 pitch to deep left-center for a two-run double.
College of Charleston put a run on the board in the top of the sixth with an RBI single off the bat of Carl Wise scored Brandon Murray. In the top of the ninth the Cougars added one more run on Morgan Phillips’ RBI single and cut South Carolina’s lead to two runs.
Pankake went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored while Caldwell accounted for a pair of hits and a RBI. Freshman right-hander Taylor Widener worked three scoreless innings in his second career start for the Gamecocks on the mound.
The Gamecocks are back in action Wednesday as they host Coastal Carolina with first pitch set for 7 p.m. at Carolina Stadium. The game will be televised on FOX Sports South can be heard on the Gamecock Radio Network from IMG College including flagship station 107.5 FM, “The Game.”
