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After rain caused the cancellation of South Carolina’s game against Winthrop on Tuesday, the Gamecocks kept their winning streak alive in a blowout against Presbyterian on Wednesday.
USC got on the board early, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Braylen Wimmer started things off with a base hit, Bryant Bowen singled with one out, then Wes Clarke came through with an RBI groundout to get the Gamecocks on the board. Andrew Eyster followed with an RBI single to get the second run in. They tacked on four more runs in the next inning. Dallas Beaver knocked a leadoff base hit, Callil followed with a single of his own, and Wimmer singled with one out to make it 3-0. Noah Campbell walked and a wild pitch brought in another run to put Carolina up 4-0, an error made it 5-0, and Clarke tallied an RBI flyout to bump the score up to 6-0.
South Carolina blew things even more wide open in the third inning. With one out, Jeff Heinrich reached first thanks to an error, Beaver walked, and Callil singled to load the bases. Noah Myers came through with a run-scoring single to make it a 7-0 game, then Campbell knocked a two-run base hit with two outs that put the Gamecocks up 9-0.
The Blue Hose ended the shutout in the fifth inning, making it a 9-2 game thanks to a two-run homer by Kyle Merkle. USC got those runs - and a couple more - back in the bottom of the inning. Callil started things off by reaching first on an error, Myers walked, and Campbell followed with a two-run triple that made the score 11-2. Bowen tallied an RBI single to put the Gamecocks up 12-2, and a couple of wild pitches later, Eyster flew out to bring in run number 13 for Carolina.
Presbyterian’s final run of the game came in the sixth inning courtesy of a Landon Shaw RBI single that made the score 13-3. USC’s final run came in the seventh inning, when Anthony Amicangelo and Josiah Sightler walked with one out and Brady Allen came through with an RBI single.
Gamecocks starter Thomas Farr made his season and Carolina debut, working 4.2 innings and allowing three hits and two runs. He walked two batters and struck out five. Farr earned the win and is 1-0. John Gilreath, Trey Tujetsch, Graham Lawson, TJ Shook, and Andrew Peters also pitched in this game. Blue Hose starter Grayson Stoneking took the loss and is now 0-1.
USC will be back in action on Friday, when they open up a series against Northwestern. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Founders Park. As a side note, this series shall henceforth be officially known as the Katie Dzwierzynski Showdown, since I graduated from both schools. Someone get on the marketing for this.