South Carolina at Tennessee, game 1 recap: Gamecocks blank Vols 4-0

South Carolina took an early lead, going up 1-0 in the first inning. Gene Cone led off with a single, DC Arendas followed with a base hit of his own, and Max Schrock came through with an RBI sac fly to get Cone home.

The Gamecocks added two more runs in the next inning. Elliott Caldwell started things off with a base hit, though he was later caught stealing. With two outs, Connor Bright reached first base on a throwing error, then Logan Koch belted a two-run homer to put South Carolina up 3-0.

Both the Gamecocks and Volunteers had opportunities to score in the middle innings, but neither team was able to cash in.

South Carolina scored the final run of the game in the seventh inning. Arendas walked with one out, Schrock followed with a double, and Arendas came home on an RBI single from Caldwell.

The bad news from this game is that Schrock had to leave it with an injury, which could turn out to be serious. Hopefully the worst case scenario won't be the reality and he'll be able to return to action soon.

Starting pitcher Jacky Wynkoop went almost all the way, pitching 8.1 innings. He gave up seven hits, no runs, walked one batter and struck out five. He earned the win and is now 6-4. Cody Mincey pitched the remainder of the game.

The Gamecocks haven't won the first game of an SEC series in a loooooooooong time, so this is a nice change. With the win, South Carolina improves to 26-17 overall and 9-10 in SEC play. Tennessee drops to 16-21 overall and 5-14 in conference play. They'll meet again on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.