Baseball Earns One-Run Win over Davidson in Midweek Action
March 27, 2018
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Hunter Taylor and Justin Row each homered on the way to a 5-4 victory for the University of South Carolina baseball team over Davidson on Tuesday night. The Gamecocks improve to 14-11 on the season.
South Carolina starting pitcher Logan Chapman earned the win for the Gamecocks and is 2-0 on the year. He threw five innings and gave up two runs on three hits but also struck out six in the process. Junior right-hander Eddy Demurias got his second save of the season as he threw two scoreless innings, giving up three hits and striking out one.
The Gamecocks took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Riley Hogan drove in Justin Row on a groundout to the first baseman. Row made it over to third after a single from Chris Cullen and a throwing error on the Davidson third baseman Ward Coleman.
The Gamecocks added another run to go up 2-0 two innings later in the bottom of the fourth. LT Tolbert was hit by a pitch and then scored on a double from Justin Row coupled with a fielding error from the Davidson left fielder.
Davidson fought back to tie it at two in the top of the fifth inning. Andrew Born and Max Bazin both scored after a walk and a single, respectively. A balk from Chapman moved each of them up and then Zach Nussbaum drove in Born on a RBI groundout to third base. Bazin was driven in by a single from Alex Mardiney which was nearly negated by an outstanding diving catch attempt by USC RF Jacob Olson that came up just short when the ball popped out of his glove.
The Gamecocks answered right back by hitting home runs in the next two innings. Hunter Taylor hit his fifth home run of the season, a solo shot, while leading off the fifth inning. Justin Row hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth to extend the Gamecocks lead to 5-2.
The Wildcats added another two runs in the top half of the eighth to cut the USC lead to one, where it would remain to be the final score, 5-4. Eric Jones hit a rocket up the middle, nearly hitting Eddy Demurias‘ leg, which made it into centerfield and allowed Alex Mardiney to score. The very next batter, Ward Coleman, hit a blooper into centerfield which popped out of the glove once again of a diving Danny Blair, allowing Brett Centracchio to come home.
The Wildcats got a runner on in the ninth but a double play groundout ended the game.
QUOTABLE
“I thought that was Logan [Chapman]’s best outing of the year. He had command of the fastball with some downward angle. The ball was getting out of his hand better than it had in a long time. He threw his offspeed stuff for strikes and he only had two walks in five innings. Only three hits and two walks, so we’ll take that from Logan every time. That was his best outing so far this year.” ââ’¬” Head Coach Mark Kingston
GAMECHANGER
Justin Row‘s two-run home run, his third of the season, came in the sixth inning and was the deciding factor in the game as it plated the Gamecocks final two runs of the contest.
KEY STAT
Logan Chapman‘s 5.0 innings is his longest outing of his career, and he struck out six and walked two while allowing just three hits and two earned runs.
NOTABLE
- Justin Row‘s three hits tonight (single, double, and home run) ties a career high.
- Logan Chapman set a career high for strikeouts tonight with six and innings pitched (5.0).
- Jonah Bride had two hits tonight, which gives him 33 career multi-hit games.
- South Carolina’s two home runs tonight give them 38 on the season thus far.
UP NEXT
South Carolina and Tennessee will play game one of a three game series on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at Founders Park. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
