April 19, 2011
Columbia, S.C. – With a 4-3 lead entering the top of the seventh inning, second ranked South Carolina batted around and extended the lead to five on its way to an 8-3 victory over College of Charleston on Tuesday night at Patriots Point. Carolina is now 29-7 on the year while the loss drops College of Charleston to 23-15 for the season.
Leading by a run, the Gamecocks started off the seventh inning with walks to Scott Wingo and Christian Walker. After a balk advanced the runners to second and third base, Adrian Morales knocked a base hit by shortstop Jamie Holler scoring both runners and extending the Carolina lead to 6-3. They would add to it with a two-run double by Peter Mooney that gave Carolina an 8-3 cushion. Eight of nine Gamecock position starters had at least one hit. Brady Thomas was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and Robert Beary 2-for-5 with two RBI to lead the Gamecocks at the plate.
Junior left-handed reliever Bryan Harper worked 2.1 scoreless innings and did not allow a hit while striking out three and walking four to pick up the win. He is 1-0 with his first victory in a Gamecock uniform with the win. College of Charleston starter Jake Zokan suffered the loss and is now 0-1 on the year. He allowed four runs on six hits in 3.1 innings with three strikeouts and two walks.
College of Charleston went ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning. Cole Rakar singled up the middle with one out and scored on Rob Kral’s RBI double to the gap in right-center. South Carolina responded in the top of the second and sent eight batters to the plate to take a 3-1 lead on the Cougars. Brady Thomas got things going with a one-out single followed by a base hit by Greg Brodzinski and a walk to Peter Mooney that loaded the bases. With two outs and the bags full, Robert Beary drove a two-run single to left field to give Carolina a one-run lead. Carolina then extended the lead two runs as Jackie Bradley Jr. added a two-out RBI single scoring Mooney. College of Charleston tied it at 3-3 in the bottom of the second inning. Daniel Aldrich led off with a solo home run to right-center, his 12th homer of the year. Three consecutive singles by Rob Harding, Kolby Epley and a RBI base hit from Jamie Holler tied the game up.
South Carolina regained the lead in the top of the fourth inning as one-out singles by Evan Marzilli and Robert Beary set the table for Scott Wingo, who drove in Marzilli with a two-out RBI base hit to right field. The single extended Wingo’s hitting streak to 13 games as well.
Gamecock relievers hurled eight scoreless innings of relief in the victory in the win on Tuesday night at College of Charleston. Jose Mata went 0.2, Harper, 2.1, Patrick Sullivan 1.1 innings, Steven Neff, 1.2 innings and John Taylor closed it out with two scoreless.
South Carolina returns to SEC play this weekend at Mississippi State. Friday’s series opener is at 8 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPNU. Saturday’s game will also be televised with first pitch at 7 p.m. ET on SportSouth. The series finale is at 2:30 p.m. ET. All three games can also be heard on the Gamecock Radio Network.
