Feb. 20, 2011
February 20, 2011 • Columbia, S.C.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Santa Clara | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| South Carolina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | X | 6 | 10 | 0 |
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Columbia, S.C. – Christian Walker went 2-for-4 with three RBI and four Gamecock pitchers combined for a four-hit shutout as South Carolina defeated Santa Clara 6-0 to sweep a three-game college baseball series. The Gamecocks are now 3-0 on the year while the loss drops Santa Clara to 0-3 for the season.
Making his first appearance since May 22, 2009, Gamecock left-hander Adam Westmoreland was effective in his start as he hurled 5.2 scoreless innings with just one walk and five strikeouts to lead the way for the Gamecock pitchers. Gamecock reliever Jose Mata would hurl 0.2 scoreless innings to pick up the win. He is now 1-0 for the year. Junior left-hander Logan Munson retired both batters he faced and freshman right-hander Forrest Koumas closed the game out with two scoreless innings and three strikeouts to seal the shutout win for Carolina. Santa Clara starter Chris Mendoza lasted five-plus innings and allowed three runs on six hits to suffer the loss.
It was a pitcher’s duel for the majority of the game with Westmoreland and Mendoza putting zeros on the scoreboard. Santa Clara looked to score in the sixth inning when Kyle DeMerrit laced a two-out single to right field. Gamecock outfielder Adam Matthews denied the Broncos though as he gunned down Curtis Wagner trying to score at the plate to preserve the tie. Riding that momentum in the bottom half of the sixth, Matthews led off with a bunt single to get the frame started for Carolina. Jackie Bradley Jr. singled to give the Gamecocks a pair of runners and both would score as Christian Walker drilled a two-run double off the left field wall to give the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead. Walker would eventually score on a wild pitch and Evan Marzilli tallied a RBI sacrifice fly as the Gamecocks went ahead by four runs.
Carolina scored single runs in the seventh and eighth innings for insurance purposes. Walker tallied his third RBI of the game to score Matthews in the seventh and Marzilli added a RBI single to score Morales in the eighth.
Carolina had 10 hits on the afternoon. Matthews, Bradley and Walker all had two hits apiece to lead Carolina. Lucas Herbst was 2-for-3 to lead Santa Clara at the plate.
The Gamecocks were strong offensively and defensively as well as on the mound in the three-game sweep of Santa Clara. Carolina hit .352 (31-for-88) as a team with Bradley leading the way with a .583 average (7-for-12) with three doubles. Walker was 6-for-12 (.500) with a team-high six RBI. Morales went 3-for-7 with three runs scored and Scott Wingo and Matthews each were 4-for-10 at the plate. In addition the Gamecocks had 15 walks and five hit by pitches to just 11 strikeouts in three games. South Carolina’s pitching staff finished the weekend with a 1.67 team ERA and had 25 strikeouts to just eight walks. Santa Clara hit just .198 for the series.
There were great crowds at Carolina Stadiumn this weekend with two standing room only sellouts on Friday and Saturday. The Gamecocks finished the weekend with a total attendance of 23,800 with an average of 7,933 for the series.
South Carolina returns to the field next Friday beginning a three-game series vs. Southern Illinois. Friday and Saturday’s games are scheduled for 3 p.m. with Sunday’s finale at 1:30 p.m. Live video broadcast will be available at GamecocksOnline.com with the games also on the Gamecocks Radio Network including flagship station 107.5 FM.
