South Carolina vs. VMI Game 1 Recap: Gamecocks Fall to Keydets 7-6

The good news is baseball season is back. The not so good news is the Gamecocks lost.

VMI took an early lead, going up 1-0 in the first inning on an RBI single. That lead was short-lived though, as the Gamecocks answered by scoring four runs in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Carlos Cortes doubled, then came home on an error that also got Jonah Bride safely to first base. Madison Stokes followed with an RBI double, then Jacob Olson crushed the first homer of the season to make it 4-1.

The Keydets got a couple of those runs back in the next inning, thanks to an RBI double and a sac fly RBI to make the score 4-3.

South Carolina tacked on another run in the third inning. Cortes singled with one out, Bride followed with a base hit, and Stokes knocked an RBI single to get Cortes home and put the Gamecocks up 5-3.

Things got rough in the top of the fourth inning, after a double play call was changed to be a hit by pitch. VMI promptly followed that with a three-run homer that put the Keydets on top 7-5.

That score held until the bottom of the eighth inning, when the Gamecocks With two on and two outs, an error brought TJ Hopkins across the plate to make it 7-6. South Carolina managed to load the bases with two outs, but, as was the theme all night, they couldn’t quite get it done and left the runners stranded. They left way too many runners on base tonight, so hopefully that’s something that will be worked out sooner rather than later.

Starter Adam Hill had a decent outing, though he took the loss, making him 0-1 this season. Hill allowed five hits and seven runs in four innings of work, walked three batters, and struck out six. Freshman John Gilreath took over on the mound to start the fifth and had a fantastic debut, working four scoreless innings. Eddy Demurias came in to pitch the ninth and also didn’t allow any runs.

The Gamecocks are now 0-1 and the Keydets are 1-0. They’ll meet again on Saturday at Founder’s Park, with first pitch set for noon. will start on the hill for South Carolina.