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After South Carolina scored 30 runs against LSU this weekend, there may or may not have been some fear among fans that they’d follow that up with a stinker against Furman on Tuesday night. Fortunately, that did not come to pass.
The Gamecocks took an early lead, going up 1-0 in the first inning after TJ Hopkins led off with a single and Jonah Bride singled with two outs to bring him home. USC added another run in the second inning thanks to a one out homer from Madison Stokes.
Furman tied the game in the fourth inning on an RBI single and and RBI double, but the Gamecocks broke the tie in the next inning when LT Tolbert singled with two outs, then came home on an RBI double from Jonah Bride to make it 3-2.
South Carolina added a couple insurance runs in the sixth inning. Noah Campbell and Hopkins knocked back-to-back one-out base hits, Carlos Cortes followed with an RBI single, and Stokes came through with an RBI sac fly to put the Gamecocks up 5-2. They tacked on another run in the seventh inning, after Bride doubled to lead off and Jacob Olson brought him in with an RBI sac fly.
USC broke things wide open in the eighth inning. Campbell and Hopkins singled to start things off, then Cortes smacked a three-run bomb to make the score 9-2. Matt Williams followed with a single, and a one out RBI sac fly by Justin Row brought him home.
Starter Carmen Mlodzinski had a great outing, working a career-high seven innings. He allowed three hits and two runs, walked three batters, and struck out seven, which is also a career high. He got the win and is now 2-4 on the season. Ridge Chapman and Corey Stone also pitched in this game.
South Carolina improves to 24-17 overall, while Furman drops to 19-22. The Gamecocks will be back in action on Friday, when they start a series on the road at No. 17 Vanderbilt.