After a rough series against Clemson and a rained out game on Tuesday, the Gamecocks got back in the swing of things on Wednesday, trouncing the visiting Aggies.
The game got off to a slow start, with neither team doing much until the fourth inning, when North Carolina A&T took a 1-0 lead on an RBI single. That lead didn’t last long though, as South Carolina answered by tying the game in the bottom of the inning with help from a passed ball and wild pitch.
The tie didn’t last very long either, as Gamecocks took the lead in the next inning. With two outs, LT Tolbert singled, stole second, and came home on an RBI single from Jonah Bride, putting the home team up 2-1.
USC tacked on a few insurance runs in the sixth inning. Carlos Cortes started things off with a base hit, Kyle Jacobsen walked, and a wild pitch brought Cortes in to make it 3-1. TJ Hopkins followed with a double, then a two-run single by Madison Stokes put the Gamecocks up 5-1.
South Carolina broke things wide open in the seventh. Jacob Olsen singled to lead off the inning, Chris Cullen knocked a base hit, and Cortes walked to load the bases with no outs. Matt Williams brought two runs home, putting the Gamecocks on top 7-1, then Hopkins walked to load the bases again. A Stokes single and an error brought in two more runs, making it 9-1 USC. Tolbert doubled to put the Gamecocks in double digits, and a sac fly by Bride put South Carolina up 11-1.
The Aggies scored their only other run in the top of the eighth inning on a two-out RBI single. The Gamecocks got their final run in the bottom of the inning. Pinch hitter Danny Blair singled with two outs, and Riley Hogan, also pinch hitting, got Blair home with an RBI double.
Starter Logan Chapman worked 3.2 innings and allowed three hits and one run. He also walked two batters and struck out five. TJ Shook, Ridge Chaman and Hunter Lomas combined to go the rest of the way for the Gamecocks.
With the win, South Carolina improves to 8-5, while North Carolina A&T falls to 4-8. The Gamecocks will be back in action on Friday, when they open a series against Princeton. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.