April 14, 2009
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina tied a season-high for runs scored and the Gamecocks belted out 21 hits on its way to a 20-6 victory over College of Charleston on Tuesday night at Carolina Stadium. Jackie Bradley, Jr. set a career-high with five hits, Nick Ebert went 4-for-5 with a homer and five RBI and Bobby Haney hit a grand slam homer as Carolina defeated the Cougars for the second time this season. South Carolina is 24-12 on the year while the loss drops College of Charleston to 21-13 for the season. Carolina returns to action on Wednesday night hosting The Citadel with first pitch at 7 p.m.
After spotting College of Charleston a 1-0 lead, the Gamecocks struck back with five runs in the bottom half of the first. Bradley, Jr. started it off with a one-out double and after a walk issued to DeAngelo Mack, would score on Nick Ebert’s RBI base hit to left field. Parker Bangs followed with a two-run double to right field and Andrew Crisp added a RBI base hit. Crisp would also eventually score on a throwing error by second baseman Justin Brewer as Carolina went ahead 5-1.
The Cougars would score a single run in the second inning with Brewer hitting a leadoff home run to right field, his third of the season. Carolina answered with a run in the bottom half as well as Bradley, Jr. reached base with a single, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Ebert’s second RBI single of the night.
College of Charleston scored its third single run of the game in the third inning to cut Carolina’s lead to 6-3 as they tagged South Carolina starter Michael Roth for an unearned run. Joash Brodin was hit by a pitch and Matt Mansilla walked. With two outs and the Brodin would score as Nick Ebert threw wide at first base to Roth attempting to get the third out of the inning, allowing Brodin to score from second base.
South Carolina tallied it second five spot in the third inning to increase its cushion to 11-3. The Gamecocks would load the bases against College of Charleston starter Casey Lucchese with a double by Crisp an infield single by Kyle Enders and a walk to Adam Matthews. Bobby Haney would then tally the Gamecocks’ second grand slam of the season with a blast to right field, his fourth homer of the year. After a pitching change brought Curtis Dowling into the contest, the Gamecocks greeted the right-hander as Whit Merrifield launched a solo home run to left center.
Haney’s grand slam was the second by a Gamecock player this year, the previous coming on Mar. 28 when Ebert delivered with a grand slam in a 20-19 win over Kentucky.
The Cougars scored two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to bring Carolina’s lead down to five runs. College of Charleston tallied the runs on a pair of homers, a two-run shot by Brodin and a solo homer by Matt Mansilla. A pair of home runs in the bottom of the fifth inning extended Carolina’s lead back to nine runs as Adam Matthews tallied a solo homer, his second of the year and Ebert blasted a three-run shot for his 13th of the season as Carolina built a 15-6 cushion.
It would remain that way up until the eighth inning when Carolina scored five more runs. Jeffery Jones had a RBI double with Merrifield driving in a run with a two-out single and Bradley, Jr. driving in two more with a double.
Along with Bradley, Jr.’s five hits and Ebert’s four hits, the Gamecocks also received multi-hit games from Merrifield (3-for-6), Crisp (3-for-3) and Matthews (2-for-4). Ebert’s five RBI was the most by a Gamecock player in a game this season. Haney’s four RBI was also a career-high. College of Charleston’s 12 hit day was featured by Clay McCord’s 3-for-5 game, three hits by Matt Mansilla and a pair by first baseman Joash Brodin.
South Carolina reliever Adam Westmoreland picked up the win in 4.2 innings of scoreless relief. He allowed just three hits, walked none and struck out four batters. He is 3-1 on the year. Casey Lucchese suffered the loss and is 0-1 on the year. He allowed 10 runs, nine earned, on two walks in two-plus innings.
