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South Carolina’s struggles continued on Wednesday night against Davidson, as the Gamecocks fell behind early and were never able to recover.
USC actually got on the board first, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning after Brady Allen reached first on an error and scored on a Josiah Sightler RBI single. The tide turned in the third inning, when the Wildcats scored five runs and took a lead they wouldn’t give back. The runs came on a double by Ryan Wilson, a Parker Nolan single, and a double from John Hosmer. The Gamecocks got one run back in the bottom of the inning when Braylen Wimmer walked and later came home on an RBI single by David Mendham, making the score 5-2.
Davidson tacked on two more insurance runs in the fourth inning, courtesy of a base hit from Michael Carico that made it a 7-2 game. Both teams scored a run in the next inning, the Wildcats on a single by Alex Fedje-Johnson and Carolina on a Mendham sac fly that brought in Wes Clarke, who singled, making the score 8-3.
The final runs of the game came on solo shots for each team, Davidson’s from Trevor Candelaria in the sixth and the Gamecocks’ from Clarke in the seventh.
USC starter Will Sanders worked one inning and didn’t allow any hits or runs, walked one batter, and struck one out. Daniel Lloyd, Travis Luensmann, Jackson Phipps, Brett Thomas, John Gilreath, Parker Coyne, Magdiel Cotto, and Wesley Sweatt combined to go the rest of the way for the Gamecocks, and Luensmann took the loss, making him 0-1. Coyne and Sweatt in particular did a nice job of keeping things from getting even more out of hand in the late innings. Wildcats reliever Will Schomberg got the win and is now 1-0. Clarke, Jeff Heinrich, and George Callil lead South Carolina at the plate with two hits each, while Mendham tallied two RBI.
The Gamecocks are now 11-4 on the season, while Davidson is 6-8. USC will be back in action again on Friday, when they travel to play Vanderbilt. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Nashville.