Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Gamecocks turned in another lackluster offensive performance against a team they should have beaten, dropping the game and the series against Georgia on Saturday.
A two-run homer put the Bulldogs up 2-0 in the first, and they extended their lead to 6-0 in the third courtesy of an RBI double, and RBI single, and another two-run homer. South Carolina finally ended the shutout in the sixth inning, when Carlos Cortes went yard to make the score 6-1.
A homer by Jacob Olson made it 6-2 in the top of the eighth inning, but UGA doubled its run total in the bottom of the inning, taking a 12-2 lead by the time the inning mercifully came to an end. It didn’t help that three of those runs came on a wild pitch, a hit batter, and a walk. The Gamecocks managed just one more run, a homer from Hunter Taylor in the ninth inning. They got the bases loaded with just one out after that, but were unable to capitalize.
Starter Cody Morris pitched five innings, and Sawyer Bridges, Hunter Lomas, and Colby Lee combined to go the rest of the way. Morris took the loss and is now 4-2 on the season.
This game was no fun to watch, and the fact is, this Gamecock baseball team isn’t very good. Georgia has been a perennial bottom dweller in the SEC, and USC has now lost the last five series they’ve played against each other. On top of that, the Gamecocks have lost their last 10 SEC series, and they’re losing midweek games to teams they should beat handily. None of that is any good. That being said, players were showing solid effort in Saturday’s game despite the score, particularly on defense in the later innings, which is something positive to take away from all this.
South Carolina drops to 13-10 overall and 1-4 in conference play, while Georgia improves to 17-6 overall and 4-1 in the SEC. The Gamecocks will try to avoid being swept on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. in Athens.