Arkansas vs. No. 1 South Carolina, game 2 recap: Gamecocks fall to Razorbacks 4-1

After the comeback win earlier, I thought/hoped USC would come out with a strong offensive showing in the second game of the doubleheader. Alas...not so much.

Arkansas took a 1-0 lead in the first, thanks to a Brian Anderson RBI single. They tacked on two more runs in the next inning, helped in part by an error on Joey Pankake. That made it 3-0, which wasn't insurmountable or anything, but wasn't really good, either.

The Gamecocks broke the shutout in the fourth inning, and they too were helped out by some errors from the Hogs. Connor Bright came through with an RBI single to get Pankake home, but that was all they could muster.

Arkansas padded its lead with another run in the bottom of the sixth, courtesy of an RBI sac fly by Krisjon Wilkerson. Pankake was charged with another error in the inning, which again aided the Razorbacks (by the way, someone should check on Mike Patrick).

No one scored after that, and to be honest, South Carolina was out of this one for pretty much the entire game. As lucky/good/whatever as this team has been this season, even they couldn't overcome the combination of no offense and poor defense. Arkansas even tried to help by committing four errors of their own, but the lone run was the only time USC capitalized on the Hogs' mistakes.

Starter Jack Wynkoop had a bit of a rough start, but settled in nicely. Unfortunately, the defense didn't exactly do him any favors. He worked 6.1 innings and allowed four hits, one run, walked two batters, and struck out four. He took the loss and drops to 5-2 on the season. Taylor Widener went the rest of the way for Carolina.

Arkansas starter Jalen Beeks pitched the complete game and gave up four hits, one run, issued one walk, and tallied nine K's. He earned the win and is now 5-2.

Four different Gamecocks recorded a hit, while Tyler Spoon had two to lead the Razorbacks. Just like in the first game, Pankake and Greiner were held hitless.

South Carolina drops to 26-4 (7-4 in the SEC), while Arkansas improves to 19-12 (5-6 in conference play). They'll meet Saturday for the rubber game, with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.