Baseball Clinches Longwood Series with 10-2 Win
COLUMBIA – Cole Messina belted two home runs, Gavin Casas had three hits, including a pair of doubles, and the University of South Carolina pitching staff allowed just four hits as the Gamecocks clinched a series win over Longwood with a 10-2 victory on Saturday afternoon (March 9) at Founders Park.
Messina’s first home run opened the scoring in the game in the bottom of the third. Longwood came back to tie the game at one in the top of the fourth, but in the bottom of the fifth, Messina led off with a walk and scored on Kennedy Jones’ double. Tyler Causey brought in Jones with a single to left.
Longwood scored a run in the top of the sixth, but reliever Chris Veach kept it at 3-2 as he came in with the bases loaded and one out and struck out a pair of Lancer hitters. Messina extended the lead to 5-2 in bottom of the frame with his sixth home run of the year, a shot to right.
Carolina added five runs of insurance in the bottom of the eighth. Parker Noland drove in two with a double to left and Casas plated Noland with a single to center.
Casas was 3-for-4 on the day, while Messina went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Ethan Petry added two hits.
Dylan Eskew earned the win in his start, allowing four hits and a run with two strikeouts in five innings of work. Veach struck out seven in 2.2 innings while Garrett Gainey had a pair of punchouts in the ninth.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Messina has a pair of multi-home run games this season. He hit two home runs in the series finale vs. Belmont (Feb. 25).
- Casas had a season high with the three hits. His career best is four, set on March 25, 2023 against Missouri.
- Carolina had double digits in hits (12) for the sixth time this season.
- Dylan Brewer and Ethan Petry have reached base in all 15 games this season.
UP NEXT
Carolina and Longwood close out the three-game series on Sunday afternoon (March 10) with a 1:30 p.m. first pitch. The game will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.
