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Following a weekend in which the Gamecocks dropped several games they could/should have won against Georgia, USC’s offense came alive against Furman on Tuesday night in Greenville.
The Paladins got on the board first, taking a 1-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI triple by Jabari Richards. That lead didn’t last long though, as the Gamecocks scored five runs in the next inning. Quinntin Perez started things off with a double and scored on a one-out RBI double from TJ Hopkins that tied the game. Luke Berryhill followed with an RBI single to put USC up 2-1, then he stole second, and Andrew Eyster walked with two outs. A throwing error allowed Chris Cullen to make it to first and all the runners were also able to advance, bringing in another run. Two more runs came on a base hit from Brady Allen, making the score 5-1.
The Gamecocks tacked on two more runs in the fifth inning, when Noah Campbell reached on another throwing error with two outs and TJ Hopkins followed with a homer to put South Carolina up 7-1. Another Gamecocks run came in the next inning, after Jacob Olson singled and stole second, Eyster walked, and Allen came through with one-out RBI single to make it an 8-1 game. Furman scored one run in the sixth on a solo shot by Sterling Turmon, making it 8-2. USC got that run right back in the next inning on another Hopkins homer, putting the Gamecocks up 9-2.
South Carolina’s final three runs of the game came in the eighth inning. Chris Cullen led off with a double and advanced on a wild pitch, then came home on an RBI groundout by Allen that put the Gamecocks in double digits. George Callil reached on a throwing error with one out, Perez got hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Campbell followed with a sac fly to make it 11-2. The last USC run of the inning came when pinch hitter Joel Brewer tallied his first RBI with a base hit. The Paladins scored one run in the bottom of the inning on a home run by John Michael Boswell that made the score 12-3.
Furman made things a bit more interesting in the bottom of the ninth, scoring four runs on a Dax Roper solo shot, a two-run single from Boswell, and an RBI single by Turmon.
Gamecocks starter Daniel Lloyd pitched 2.1 innings, allowing one hit and one run. He walked three batters and struck two out. Dylan Harley, John Gilreath, Sawyer Bridges, Parker Coyne, Cole Ganopulos, and Cam Tringali also appeared in this game, and Harley got the win, making him 1-1. Paladins stater John M. Bertrand took the loss and is now 1-2.
South Carolina improves to 15-6 overall, while Furman drops to 5-13. The Gamecocks will play next on Friday, when they open up a series against Tennessee in Knoxville. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.