No. 7 South Carolina at Georgia, game 1 recap: Gamecocks fall to Bulldogs 3-1

As if having half the team injured/sick wasn't bad enough, the Gamecocks also couldn't overcome costly errors or a lack of offense against the Bulldogs tonight.

Both teams had a shutout going through three innings, but UGA broke through with a run in the fourth. Conor Welton led off with a single, advanced on a groundout by Hunter Cole, and came home when Nelson Ward knocked an RBI double.

The 1-0 score held until the top of the eighth inning, when Grayson Greiner decided he'd had enough and belted a homer, tying the game.

Unfortunately, the Dawgs answered in the bottom of the inning. Skyler Weber started things off with a single, then an error put runners on the corners. Another error brought in a run, then Cole contributed an RBI single to make it 3-1 in favor of the home team. The Gamecocks had no answer, and the game ended when pinch-hitter Brison Celek grounded into a double play.

Despite the loss, USC starter Jordan Montgomery had a good outing. He worked seven outings and allowed seven hits, three runs, didn't walk any batters, and struck out two. He took the loss and falls to 6-4. Joel Seddon also pitched for the Gamecocks tonight. Georgia's Ryan Lawler tossed a complete game and gave up three hits, one run, issued one walk, and tallied six K's. He got the win and improves to 4-4.

Carolina mustered just three hits tonight, two from Greiner and one by Tanner English. The errors might have ended up costing Carolina the game no matter what, but the lackluster offense didn't help matters. Welton and Weber each had two hits to lead the the Bulldogs.

UGA isn't exactly good, but considering the fact that this Gamecocks team is broken and diseased and the bad luck bug doesn't seem to be leaving (DC Arendas was a late scratch after taking a ball off the face in warm ups and ending up with an ear laceration) any time soon, I guess the outcome could have been worse. Hopefully the guys will find some offense before tomorrow's contest, though, because this only-scoring-one-run business is not so good.

South Carolina drops to 34-12 overall (12-10 in the SEC), while Georgia is now 22-22-1 (8-13-1 in conference play). The teams will meet again tomorrow, with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.