Gamecock Baseball Completes Sweep Of Missouri
South Carolina's Baseball team came into the weekend knowing that their opponent, the Missouri Tigers, would likely provide a much more formidable challenge than the Georgia Bulldogs did the previous weekend. While this turned out to be accurate, the Gamecocks once again showcased their clutch gene in a thrilling game one comeback. They swept the Tigers in their series-ending doubleheader on Saturday through those same late-game heroics and incredible pitching.
In the first game of the doubleheader, two primary components led South Carolina to a series-clinching victory; dominant pitching and ferocious power at the plate. On the mound, Noah Hall, the most consistent starting pitcher to this point in the season, displayed why he only narrowly lost the battle for the Friday night spot in the offseason. Hall would put together seven solid innings of work, combining shutdown innings via strikeouts and working himself out of jams in the second and fourth innings.
At the plate, batters Cole Messina and Gavin Casas would uncork one homerun each beyond the outfield walls, but Evan Stone stole the show. Stone hit his first two career home runs in game two thanks to a seemingly refined hitting approach that could make him the everyday centerfield once more for the Gamecocks.
With all the pressure to win the series gone, the Gamecocks could go into game three feeling loose and having an exuberant amount of confidence. Pitcher Jack Mahoney started strong, holding the Tigers scoreless through three innings. The Gamecocks kicked off the scoring in the 4th with a two-run shot by Carson Hornung; however, the lead was short-lived. Missouri surged back with two-run innings in the 5th and 6th.
The 4-2 score remained stagnant until Freshman phenom, Evan Petry, hit his 12th home run of the season in the eighth inning, tying the game. An intense 3-inning pitchers duel followed until Gamecocks' bats caught fire again. In the 12th, Tippett, Wimmer, and Casas loaded the bases before the Tigers could get their first out, and Petry finished the job with an electrifying walk-off single to complete the sweep.
The sweep of Missouri means the Gamecocks remain unbeaten in conference play and, thus, are likely to rise into the top 10 in almost every major college baseball poll on Monday.
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