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Coming into today's game, the Gamecocks needed to win three games in 36 hours in order to move to the next round in the postseason. Now that number is down to two.
The first inning today took almost 40 minutes and was, to be blunt, a mess. It all started with a weird play that involved Max Schrock being involved in a run down, Joey Pankake getting called for batter's interference, the umps leaving the field, and Campbell attempting to play the game under protest. When all was said and done, the interference was ruled unintentional, the game was not played under protest, and Pankake eventually ended up walking.
USC got on the board in the third inning, thanks to an RBI single from Joey Pankake that made it 1-0. Scoring first was good, but even better were all the runs the Gamecocks added in the next inning.
Grayson Greiner led off with a single, DC Arendas walked, then Connor Bright made it 2-0 with an RBI base hit. Gene Cone followed that with a walk, then Tanner English knocked an RBI single of his own. After Marcus Mooney hit into a double play, Max Schrock came through with a 2-RBI double that bumped the score up to 5-0.
Jordan Gore, Pankake, Martin, and pinch-hitter Brison Celek each contributed an RBI base hit in the ninth, giving Carolina its final runs of the day.
Crowe was outstanding today, and pretty much shut the Camels down from start to finish. He pitched all nine innings and was super efficient in doing so, which obviously preserves the pen for tonight's game. Crowe allowed four hits, no runs, didn't walk any batters, and struck out four. He earned the win and is now 8-3. Both Crowe and Taylor Widener last night did an extremely impressive job on the mound, especially given that they're both freshmen.
Campbell starter Ryan Koopman worked three innings and gave up four hits, four runs, issued three walks, and tallied no K's. He took the loss and falls to 8-2.
Mooney, Schrock, Pankake, and English all had two hits today, while four different Camels each recorded one hit.
The Gamecocks improve to 44-17, while Campbell drops to 41-21 and is eliminated. South Carolina will meet Maryland in another elimination game tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Carolina Stadium.
#Gamecocks will start RHP Joel Seddon tonight.
— John Whittle (@johnmwhittle) June 1, 2014