On a rough night for South Carolina athletics, the Gamecocks saw their winning streak on the diamond come to an end with a loss in the first game of the series against Georgia.
The game was scoreless until the top of the third inning, when USC took a 3-0 lead. Josiah Sightler walked to start things off, Wes Clarke got hit by a pitch, and David Mendham went yard with one out to get the visitors on the board. The Bulldogs got one run back in the bottom of the inning on a solo shot by Connor Tate, making the score 3-1.
UGA added another run in the sixth inning on an RBI single from Corey Collins, making it a 3-2 game, then they rallied for the lead in the seventh, with a two-run base hit by Riley King putting them up 4-3. The final run of the game came in the eighth inning on an error.
Gamecocks starter Thomas Farr worked 5.2 innings and allowed six hits and two runs, didn’t walk any batters, and struck seven out. Julian Bosnic, Andrew Peters, and Wesley Sweatt combined to go the rest of the way for Carolina, and Peters took the loss, making him 2-1. Bulldogs reliever Michael Polk got the win, giving him a 1-0 record, and Ben Harris got the save, his first of the season. Brady Allen, Sightler, Mendham, Colin Burgess, and George Callil each tallied one hit, while Mendham had three RBI.
USC is now 17-7 overall and 4-3 in the SEC, while Georgia is 18-7 overall and 3-4 in conference play. The Cocks will try to even up the series on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. in Athens.