Baseball Drops Midweek Contest to Xavier

COLUMBIA – The University of South Carolina baseball team fell in midweek action to Xavier, 15-7, on Tuesday night (March 8) at Founders Park.
 
Kevin Madden led the Gamecock offense with a pair of hits and two RBI, including his second home run of the season in the second inning. Brandt Belk and Braylen Wimmer had two RBI apiece while Carson Hornung scored a pair of runs.
 
Carolina had a 4-2 lead heading into the fourth, but the Musketeers scored seven runs in the top of the frame, taking a lead they would not relinquish. Xavier tacked on a run in the sixth, two in the seventh and three in the ninth.
 
The Gamecocks used nine pitchers in the contest. Aidan Hunter was tagged with the loss, allowing six runs in 1.1 innings. Wesley Sweatt struck out four in a two-inning start while Matthew Becker had two strikeouts in an inning of work.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Braswell extended his hitting streak to 12 with a single in the fourth inning.
• Jalen Vasquez pitched for the first time in his career on Tuesday, striking out a batter and inducing a line-out double play in the ninth.
• Carolina and Xavier have won one game apiece in the all-time series, dating back to 1989.
• David Cromer saw his first action of his Gamecock career, walking in the ninth inning.

UP NEXT
Carolina hosts No. 1 Texas for a three-game series starting this Friday night (March 11) at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on SEC Network Plus.