South Carolina vs. UNC Greensboro game 2 recap: Gamecocks fall to Spartans 5-4

South Carolina had a lackluster day at the plate on Saturday, dropping the second game of this weekend’s series against UNC Greensboro by a score of 4-1.

Both teams were scoreless until the fourth inning, when the Spartans broke the tie and took a 2-0 lead on a groundout by Mitchell Smith and an Ethan McKay single. UNCG doubled their score in the next inning, making it 4-0 thanks to a two-run double from Hogan Windish.

The Gamecocks ended the shutout in the sixth, scoring on a Josiah Sightler single that brought Braylen Wimmer home from second and made the score 4-1. Both teams added to their run totals in the ninth. The Spartans tacked on one more run courtesy of a base hit by Greg Hardison that put them up 5-1 in the top of the inning, then in the bottom of the inning, USC’s offense finally woke up a little. Kevin Madden singled and Colin Burgess walked with one out, Brandt Belk walked to load the bases with two outs, Michael Braswell followed with a two-run single to make it 5-3. The final run of the game came on a base hit by Andrew Eyster.

Gamecocks starter James Hicks went 4.1 innings and allowed nine hits and four runs in his first outing. He didn’t walk any batters and struck five out, but he also took the loss. Parker Coyne, Michael Esposito, CJ Weins, Aidan Hunter, and Matthew Becker also pitched in this game for Carolina. UNC Greensboro reliever Alex Hoppe earned the win and Austin Parsley got the save. Braylen Wimmer and Eyster each tallied three hits to lead the Cocks at the plate, while Braswell recorded two RBI. Windish also had three hits and two RBI to lead the Spartans.

Both teams are now 1-1 and will meet on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. for the rubber game. Sightler is set to start on the mound for the Gamecocks.