South Carolina vs. George Washington game 1 recap: Gamecocks beat Colonials 13-4

Thanks to great starting pitching and a ton of offense, South Carolina kept things rolling on Friday night with a series-opening 13-4 win over George Washington.

The Gamecocks took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first after Michael Braswell and Braylen Wimmer both walked with one out, and Andrew Eyster brought Braswell home with a ground rule double. The Colonials evened things up in the net inning, making it 1-1 on a solo shot by Cade Fergus.

USC scored multiple insurance runs in the third, taking a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Braswell walked again with one out, Wimmer singled, and Eyster followed with a base hit that brought Braswell in and bumped the score to 2-1. Brandt Belk scored two more runs with a base hit of his own, making it a 4-1 game. After Kevin Madden got hit by a pitch, Carson Hornung double to bring two more runners in and put the home team up 6-1.

The Cocks tacked on a couple more runs in the next inning. Braswell tripled with one out and then scored on an error to make the score 7-1, then three straight walks loaded the bases and forced in two runs, making it a 9-1 game.

George Washington got a pair of runs back in the fifth on a homer by Eddie Michel and a base hit by Anthony Frec, which made it 9-3. Carolina answered by scoring two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, taking an 11-3 lead after Wimmer singled with two outs, Eyster and Belk both knocked base hits, and the Colonials committed an error. The Gamecocks’ final runs of the game were scored in the sixth inning on a Cole Messina groundout and a single by Braswell that made the score 13-3. George Washington’s final run came in the eighth inning on a groundout by Noah Levin.

USC starter Will Sanders had a great outing, working seven innings and allowing six hits and three runs. He didn’t walk any batters, struck out five, and earned the win, making him 2-0 on the season. Cam Tringali and Parker Coyne combined to go the rest of the way for the Cocks. Colonials starter Harrison Cohen took the loss and drops to 0-2. Eyster led Carolina at the plate with four hits, and he, Braswell, and Wimmer each recorded three RBI. Anthony Frechette led George Washington at the plate with two hits, and four different players tallied one RBI apiece.

The Gamecocks are now 4-1 overall, while the Colonials are 0-4. They’ll meet again on Saturday, with first pitch set for noon at Founders Park. James Hicks is set to start on the mound for USC.