March 8, 2016
COLUMBIA, S.C. — All nine Gamecock starters tallied at least one hit and four Gamecock pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts as 16th-ranked South Carolina defeated Wofford 7-1 to snap a two-game losing streak on Tuesday night at Founders Park. The Gamecocks are now 11-2 on the year, with Wofford 10-4 on the season.
Dom Thompson-Williams went 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBI to lead the Gamecocks at the plate. Chris Cullen added two hits and LT Tolbert drove in a pair of runs.
In a predetermined split, freshman right-hander Adam Hill went three innings and allowed one run on three hits and five strikeouts to earn the win. He is 3-0 on the year. Wofford starter Austin Higginbotham allowed four runs, three earned, on six hits with four walks in three innings of work to suffer the loss. He is 0-2 for the year.
Carolina took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Jonah Bride and John Jones each singled with one out, with Bride scoring on an infield single by Thompson-Williams.
Wofford tied it in the top of the third inning when McClain Bradley led off with a double to left field and scored on Derek Hirsch’s one-out single.
Carolina answered in the bottom half of the third to build a three-run lead. Carolina will load the bases with a fielder’s choice, walk and infield single. LT Tolbert would come up with the big hit of the inning as he drove a single into left field. On the twoââ’¬”run single, Wofford left-fielder McClain Bradley misplayed the base hit allowing Cullen to score all the way from first base and gave the Gamecocks a 4-1 lead.
Carolina added a run in the fifth inning. Alex Destino led off with a walk, Thompson-Williams singled and Chris Cullen knocked a base hit up the middle to score Destino.
Carolina would make it 7-1 in the seventh inning on a two-run homer by Thompson-Williams, his second of the season.
GAME CHANGER
LT Tolbert’s two-run single in the third inning gave the Gamecocks a lead they relinquish.
KEY STAT
South Carolina pitchers tallied a season-high 17 strikeouts, while South Carolina batters struck out just once during the contest.
NOTABLES
– Dom Thompson-Williams has safely reached base in all 13 games this year.
– DC Arendas’ double in the second inning tallied his first double of the season.
– Adam Hill had gone 13 innings without allowing a run. His scoreless inning streak was snapped in the third inning.
– Tonight was the eighth game this season that the Gamecocks have reached double-digits in hits this season. The Gamecocks are 8-0 when reaching double-digits in hits.
– Sophomore right-hander Tyler Johnson struck out a career-high four batters in a career-high four innings of work.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Chad Holbrook
“It was a good win for us. What stood out to me about the game was that obviously our pitchers threw the ball very well. That might have been as good as I’ve seen Tyler Johnson throw. It was a very impressive performance from him. He’s just been waiting for an opportunity to get his confidence going a little bit. We’ve pitched him in some short stints, and he’s had some bad luck happen to him. His ERA wasn’t indicative of how much the kid has improved. He had a great night. We did okay offensively. We played good defense and didn’t have an error on the board. Coming into this game I was scared just because Wofford had gotten off to a good start and beat some good teams. Obviously they put a lot of pressure on the bases. So it was good for us to get ahead there in the third inning. That kind of nullified their running game a little bit. Our pitchers didn’t let many guys get on base. It’s hard to steal bases when you’re not on base. That was the game plan going in. We executed it. We still have to do a lot better and have more consistent at bats. We also need to have a better approach offensively if we’re going to be the team we want to be. All in all, it was a good win, and we’ll come to the park and get ready for tomorrow.”
UP NEXT
The Gamecocks are back in action Wednesday as they take on Furman at 7 p.m. at Founders Park. It will be broadcast live on SEC Network +. The game can be heard on the Gamecock IMG Network including flagship station, 107.5 FM, “The Game.”
