South Carolina vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt games 2 and 3 recap: Gamecocks lose both games of doubleheader, get swept by Commodores

The outcomes of both games of Sunday’s doubleheader against Vanderbilt were, as everyone might have predicted, bad for the Gamecocks, who were swept in another SEC series, losing 9-3 and 6-2.

In the first game, South Carolina was on the board first, taking a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Jacob Olson started things off with a double, then scored on an RBI double by Andrew Eyster, who later scored on an RBI sac fly from Chris Cullen.

The lead was shortlived though, as the Commodores tied things up in the third thanks to a fielding error, then took the lead on a Philip Clarke RBI single, making the score 3-2. The Gamecocks tied the game with a two-out solo shot from Eyster in the fourth, but that was the end of USC’s scoring for the game.

Vandy went on to regain the lead in the fifth inning with an RBI sac fly from Clarke, then added the rest of their runs on an Austin Martin RBI single in the sixth, then a two-run single from him and a two-run triple by JJ Bleday in the seventh.

Gamecocks starter Reid Morgan worked 5.1 innings and allowed five hits and five runs. He walked six batters and struck out four. Morgan took the loss and is now 3-5. Brett Kerry and Sawyer Bridges also pitched in the game. Dores starter Kumar Rocker earned the win and is now 6-4, while reliever Tyler Brown got the save, his 10th.

In the second game, Vanderbilt took an early lead, going up 4-0 in the second inning thanks to a two-run homer from Pat DeMarco and a two-run single by Ethan Paul. South Carolina ended the shutout in the fifth inning. Luke Berryhill reached on a throwing error, Olson knocked a base hit, then Eyster came through with an RBI single to make the score 4-1. With two outs, Wes Clarke got the first RBI of his career with a base hit, making it a 4-2 game.

The Commodores got the two runs back in the seventh inning with back-to-back jacks from Bleday and Paul. While the Gamecocks had chances to get more runs on the board, they - stop me if you’ve heard this before - couldn’t capitalize.

USC starter Cam Tringali pitched 1.2 innings and gave up four hits and four runs. He walked two batters and didn’t strike any out. Tringali took the loss and is now 2-3. Kerry and Dylan Harley also took the mound in the game. Vandy starter Patrick Raby earned the win and is now 8-1, while Brown got the save again, giving him his 11th.

The Gamecocks drop to 24-23 overall and 5-19 in conference play, while the Dores improve to 38-9 overall and 18-6 in the SEC. South Carolina will be back in action on Wednesday, when they host Furman. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Founders Park.