May 7, 2016
LEXINGTON, KY. – Kentucky senior right-hander Dustin Beggs hurled a three-hit shutout as the Wildcats defeated second-ranked South Carolina 6-0 on Saturday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium. The Gamecocks are now 36-10 and 16-6 in the SEC with Kentucky 28-19 and 12-11 in league play.
Beggs carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and at one point retired 17 in a row before a two-out single by Dom Thompson-Williams. He struck out seven and walked one to improve to 8-1 on the year. South Carolina right-hander Braden Webb suffered the loss and is 9-3 for the season. He allowed five runs on six hits in seven innings with two walks and 10 strikeouts.
For the second consecutive day, Kentucky broke ahead 3-0 in the early innings against the Gamecocks. Luke Becker doubled with one out in the bottom of the second and scored on Dorian Hariston’s RBI single to right field. With two outs and runners on first and second base, Kole Cottam knocked a two-run double to the gap in right-center giving the Wildcats a three-run cushion.
Kentucky extended the lead to 4-0 in the fourth inning. Becker led off with a single up the middle, his second hit of the night. He would take advantage of three wild pitches to score. The Wildcats added runs in the seventh and eighth innings to complete the scoring including a solo homer from Tristan Pompey, his fifth homer of the year.
GAME CHANGER
The three-run second inning gave Kentucky a lead they would not relinquish.
KEY STAT
The Gamecocks were limited to just three hits, the lowest total in a SEC game this year and the second lowest total in a game this season.
NOTABLES
Gene Cone’s school record 31-game hitting streak ended on Saturday night as did his streak of 34 consecutive games reaching base safely. Cone’s hitting streak is the longest this year by a Division I baseball player with his 34-game streak of reaching base safely the longest by a SEC player this year also.
Alex Destino went 2-for-4 with his 11th double of the year to lead the Gamecocks at the plate.
Braden Webb set a school for strikeouts in a season by a freshman as he increased his season total to 93 surpassing the previous record of 86 set by Jason Hanye in 1993 and tied by Kip Bouknight in 1998.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Chad Holbrook
The story of this game was (Dustin) Beggs, their pitcher, who was terrific. He threw the ball where he wanted to all night long. We had a couple of good at-bats against him, but when we’d have a good one, we’d hit it right at them. He was the story of the game the way he competed. He threw a great game. We’ll try to bounce back tomorrow and see if we can win the series.
UP NEXT
South Carolina and Kentucky conclude the three-game series on Sunday with first pitch at 3 p.m. The game will be televised live on ESPNU and can be heard on the Gamecock IMG Network including flagship station, 107.5 FM, “The Game.”
