April 10, 2012
April 10, 2012
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| The Citadel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| South Carolina | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | X | 8 | 11 | 1 |
| Grayson Greiner, Nolan Belcher |
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Freshman catcher Grayson Greiner’s grand slam home run highlighted a six-run seventh inning and junior left-hander Nolan Belcher hurled 5.2 scoreless innings in his first start of the year as ninth ranked South Carolina defeated The Citadel 8-0 on Tuesday night at Carolina Stadium in non-conference action. Belcher combined with relievers Tyler Webb and Hunter Privette for a five-hit shutout, Carolina’s third shutout of the season and second in the last five games. South Carolina is now 24-9 while The Citadel drops to 13-20 for the season.
Belcher improves to 2-1 on the year with the victory. He limited The Citadel to just three hits and one walk and struck out a season-high seven batters in his longest outing of the season. Bulldog reliever TJ Clarkson took the loss and is now 1-3 for the year. He allowed two runs on four hits in three innings of work.
With a 2-0 lead entering the bottom of the seventh, the Gamecocks batted around to score six times and increase the advantage to 8-0 over the Bulldogs. Adam Matthews reached base on a throwing error by Bulldog third baseman Calvin Orth to open the frame After he stole second base, Christian Walker drilled a 3-0 pitch off the wall in center field for a RBI double. Walks to Joey Pankake and pinch hitter Michael Roth would load the bases and set the stage for Greiner. Zach Sherrill’s 2-1 pitch to Greiner was crushed over the wall in left-center for the Gamecocks first grand slam of the season. Evan Marzilli added a RBI sacrifice fly later in the frame to give Carolina an eight-run cushion.
South Carolina finished the evening with an 11-5 advantage in hits. Walker was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI. Tanner English also went 3-for-3 with a run scored. English leads the team with 13 multi-hit games this year.
The Gamecocks broke ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning. English and Evan Marzilli each singled to open up the frame. After a balk advanced the runners, English scored on Matthews’ RBI ground out to the shortstop. Despite Marzilli being thrown out at home plate on a fielder’s choice, the Gamecocks added a run as Walker scored on Joey Pankake’s two-out RBI double to right field.
South Carolina is back in action on Wednesday night traveling to Florence, S.C. for a non-conference tilt against Francis Marion. It will be the first game ever played in brand-new Cormell Field at Sparrow Stadium. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. and can be heard on the Gamecock Radio Network from IMG College. The game is sold out. Junior LHP Adam Westmoreland (2-0, 1.93 ERA) is the probable starter for the Gamecocks.
