South Carolina vs. No. 7 Texas A&M game 1 recap: Gamecocks lose to Aggies 8-2

The season of one step forward, several steps back continues, as South Carolina followed up a midweek win on the road against North Carolina with a blowout loss at home to open the series against No. 7 Texas A&M.

The Aggies were on the board first, taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI single by Ty Coleman. The lead was short-lived, as the Gamecocks tied things up and took the lead in the next inning. Chris Cullen singled to start things off, then advanced on a wild pitch with two outs and came home on an RBI single from George Callil. TJ Hopkins then followed with an RBI single of his own to make it a 2-1 game.

That score held until the seventh inning, when Texas A&M broke things wide open. An Aaron Walters RBI double tied the game, then Hunter Watson and Bryce Blaum each knocked RBI base hits to make the score 4-2. A two-out grand slam from Logan Foster gave the Aggies their final four runs, which were also the final runs scored in the game.

USC starter Reid Morgan cruised along until that unpleasant inning, working 6.1 innings and giving up eight hits and four runs. He walked three batters and struck one out. Morgan took the loss and is now 3-3. John Gilreath and Parker Coyne also pitched in the game. Texas A&M starter John Doxakis got the win and is now 5-2.

The Gamecocks drop to 22-16 overall and 4-12 in the SEC, while the Aggies improve to 28-11-1 overall and 10-5-1 in conference play. They’re set to meet again on Friday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. at Founders Park. Cam Tringali is slated to start on the mound for USC.