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On a cold day in Columbia, South Carolina's offense was hot, as they downed the visiting Hatters 7-1 at Carolina Stadium.
The Gamecocks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, as Grayson Greiner came through with a two out, two-RBI single. That shutout didn't last very long, though, because Stetson got on the board in the next inning. Pitcher Josh Reagan had a rough start to the second, registering two errors on one play, and Kevin Fagan knocked a two-out single to make it 2-1.
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Any momentum they might have been building died quickly, though, because South Carolina broke things open in the bottom of the inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Joey Pankake laced a two-RBI single to give the Gamecocks some insurance. Kyle Martin followed that with a sacrifice RBI, and Greiner tallied another RBI for himself, putting the home team up 6-1.
Max Schrock contributed a sac fly in the bottom of the sixth to make it 7-1, and that score would hold for the remainder of the game.
The Hatters seemed to have a chance to threaten early, but their offense stalled almost completely as the game went on. They're batting under. 200 as a team, though, so I guess that's not entirely surprising.
Reagan, who was making his first-ever start, worked five innings and allowed six hits, one run, walked no batters, and struck out six. He earned the win and improves to 2-0. Matt Vogel, Tayor Widener, and John Parke combined to go the rest of the way for South Carolina. Stetson starter Josh Powers took the loss and drops to 1-2.
Greiner's three RBI led the way for the Gamecocks and he now has 18 this season, which leads the team. Pankake was responsible for two RBI, which will surely please Mike Patrick, given that today is National Pancake Day and all. Gene Cone, who entered the game in the sixth inning, also recorded the first hit of his career.
The only negative to come from this game is that Tanner English injured his ankle and had to leave midway through. Depending on how severe the injury is (hopefully not very), he may be out of the lineup tomorrow.
The Gamecocks improve to 11-0 while the Hatters drop to 2-10. The teams will meet again tomorrow at 3 p.m.