Rally Comes Up Short as Gamecocks Fall 7-6 to Vanderbilt
April 6, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C. ââ’¬” Sixth ranked South Carolina fought and rallied to score four in the bottom of the eighth inning but fell one run short as 21st ranked Vanderbilt edged the Gamecocks 7-6 on Thursday night at Founders Park. Carolina is now 20-9 on the year and 6-4 in league play, while Vandy improves to 20-11 overall and 5-5 in the SEC.
Down 7-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth, LT Tolbert delivered a huge three-run homer and Madison Stokes added a RBI single to bring the Gamecocks within one going into the top of the ninth. Gamecock pitchers kept Carolina in the game with a hitless half inning, but with the score cut to 7-6 and Bride on base after a walk, Vandy reliever Reed Hayes closed out the game retiring the next three batters to preserve the win for the Commodores.
Sophomore right-hander Patrick Raby earned the win after allowing just two runs on eight hits with one walk and six strikeouts in seven innings pitched. He is now 5-3 on the year. Hayes picked up his fifth save of the season after a scoreless ninthinning. Junior right-hander Wil Crowe suffered the loss for the Gamecocks. He is now 3-2 on the season. He allowed seven runs, three unearned, on 11 hits with two walks and five strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work.
Vanderbilt would go ahead early in the game with a pair of runs in the second inning. Singles from Will Toffey, Walker Grisanti and Jason Delay brought in one run and a sacrifice fly lifted by Harrison Ray gave the Commodores a two-run lead.
The Gamecocks cut Vandy’s lead to one in the bottom of the second after Chris Cullen led off with a double to right field and Carlos Cortes knocked him in with a two-out single to right. Vanderbilt added a run in the third off of a two-out double from Grisanti for a 3-1 advantage.
The Commodores scored three unearned runs in the fifth inning to take a 6-1 lead. With Jeren Kendall on third with one out, Julian Infante hit a slow tapper back to the mound. Crowe would throw home and Kendall would be caught in a run down. On the play, Kendall and Bride would touch and interference was called to score Kendall. A two-out triple from Delay would give Vandy a five-run lead.
Alex Destino led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer to right center, bringing the Gamecocks within four, but Infante responded with a solo shot of his own to give Vanderbilt a 7-2 lead.
With Destino and Cullen on base, Tolbert brought the Gamecocks within two of the Commodores after launching a three-run homer to right field. Madison Stokes added another run to cut the deficit to one with a RBI single to center.
GAME CHANGER
Vanderbilt’s three-run fifth inning gave the Commodores a five-run cushion.
KEY STAT
South Carolina was just 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position and 0-for-2 with runners on third and less than two outs.
NOTABLES
– Jonah Bride has safely reached base in 17 consecutive games.
– Alex Destino launched his fifth home run of the season and recorded his 22nd RBI of the season. He went 2-for-5 at the plate with two RBI.
– LT Tolbert extended his hitting streak to eight games and recorded his first home run of the season. He went 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBI. Tolbert has driven in 10 runs in the last six games with at least one RBI in each contest.
– The Gamecocks are now 14-6 after out-hitting the opponent.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Chad Holbrook
“It was a tough loss, and I’m proud of our guys for fighting back and having a chance to win the game. I felt like we didn’t play as well as we’re capable of playing defensively. We had a bad mistake there with the rundown with [Jeren] Kendall on third with the comebacker. The fly ball that would have been a heck of a play but TJ [Hopkins] couldn’t make it and that contributed to two runs. And those runs were obviously the difference in the game. I’m just proud of our guys for fighting back and getting in the position to get the win, but at the end of the day it wasn’t enough.”
UP NEXT
The Gamecocks are back in action on Friday, April 7 for the second game in the three-game series with Vanderbilt. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. It will be televised on ESPNU and is also available on the Gamecock IMG Network including flagship station, 107.5 FM, “The Game.”
