Gamecock Baseball Notebook

April 29, 2018

COLUMBIA ââ’¬” The University of South Carolina baseball team had a 3-1 week, defeating Furman 10-2 and winning 2-of-3 games at No. 17 Vanderbilt.

Record: 26-18
SEC: 11-10
Home: 20-7
Away: 6-9
Neutral: 0-2
Streak: W1

Last Week:
4/24/18 ââ’¬” at Furman (W, 10-2)
4/27/18 ââ’¬” at Vanderbilt (W, 8-7)
4/28/18 ââ’¬” at Vanderbilt (L, 1-8)
4/29/18 ââ’¬” at Vanderbilt (W, 10-9)

NOTES:
South Carolina earned a road series win at No. 17 Vanderbilt, winning a pair of one-run games on Friday and Sunday. It was Carolina’s first road series win in SEC play since sweeping Tennessee on March 17-19, 2017.

Both wins at Vanderbilt were come-from-behind victories. Carolina trailed 7-0 after three innings of play on Friday, but scored eight unanswered, including six runs in the sixth, to earn the 8-7 win. Then on Sunday, the Gamecocks fell behind 4-0 in the second inning, came back to tie the game twice and won it with a run in the ninth in a 10-9 win.

South Carolina moves to 11-10 on the season, which is tied for third in the East with Vanderbilt and one game behind Georgia. The Gamecocks are tied for fifth overall with Vanderbilt and Texas A&M.

Jonah Bride went 5-for-11 in the Vanderbilt series, which included a two-run home run in the third inning of Sunday’s win. Bride scored two runs and drove in three while slugging .727. On the season, Bride is hitting .329 and has reached base in 41 of Carolina’s 44 games.

Graham Lawson earned the win on Sunday, retiring the final six Commodores, three via the strikeout. Lawson came in with two on and no one out in the eighth and induced a flyout. He then struck out the next two batters to get out of the jam. Lawson is now 1-1 with a 4.38 ERA in 12.1 innings pitched.

Carolina had 32 hits and 19 runs on the weekend, led by TJ Hopkins‘ six safeties. Hopkins is hitting .444 (16-for-36) since coming back from his hand injury that kept him out a month.

Carlos Cortes tied Sunday’s game in the eighth with a three-run home run to right field, his 12th of the season. He already has matched his freshman year total of 12 long balls to go along with a .257 batting average and 32 RBI. Cortes is hitting .284 in conference games with seven home runs and 14 RBI.

Carolina picked up a 10-2 midweek win at Furman on Tuesday night as Carmen Mlodzinski allowed just three hits with two runs while striking out seven. Jonah Bride had four hits while Cortes drove in four in the victory.

Justin Row had four doubles in the Vandy series, upping his season total to eight. Row is now hitting .336 with four home runs and 17 RBI this season.

The Gamecocks now have hit 57 home runs after the three in Sunday’s win. Cortes leads the team with 12 while Jacob Olson has nine to go along with his team-best 14 doubles. Madison Stokes has eight after his Sunday home run and Hunter Taylor has six on the year.

South Carolina will take the midweek off for final exams and return to action this weekend against Ole Miss at Founders Park. The series begins Friday at 7 p.m. while Sunday’s game will be televised on SEC Network.

Next Week
5/4/18 ââ’¬” Ole Miss ââ’¬” 7 p.m. (SECN+)
5/5/18 ââ’¬” Ole Miss ââ’¬” 4 p.m. (SECN+)
5/6/18 ââ’¬” Ole Miss ââ’¬” 12 p.m. (SEC Network)