A pair of late homers helped keep USC perfect on the season
No. 23 South Carolina had to rally multiple times, in the bottom of the eighth inning, but they managed to pull off a 6-5 win over Penn for another series sweep on Sunday.
Both teams were scoreless until the third, when the Gamecocks got on the board. Braylen Wimmer got things going with a one-out single, stole second, and moved to third on an error, then Caleb Denny came through with a triple to make it 1-0. Cole Messina followed with a walk, Ethan Petry got hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Gavin Casas walked to force in a run and make the score 2-0.
The Quakers ended the shutout in the fifth, making it a 2-1 game courtesy of a Davis Baker single. Things took a turn in the next inning, when Penn scored three more runs thanks to a bases loaded walk, a Jarrett Pokrovsky single, and a fielder’s choice by Baker to take a 4-2 lead. The Cocks got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning on a solo shot by Wimmer, then tied the game at 4-4 in the seventh when Talmadge Lecroy got hit by a pitch and later scored when Cole Messina grounded out.
Each team’s final runs came in the eighth inning. The Quakers made it a 5-4 game in the top of the inning when Cole McGonigal went yard, and Carolina got back-to-back jacks from Casas and Will McGillis in the bottom of the inning to tie and then regain the lead.
Gamecocks starter Jack Mahoney went 5.1 innings and allowed five hits and four runs. He walked two batters and struck four out. Eli Jerzembeck, Cade Austin, and Chris Veach combined to go the rest of the way for South Carolina, and Austin got the win, making him 1-0, while Veach earned the save, his second. Penn starter Ryan Dromboski pitched three innings and gave up two hits and two runs. He walked four batters and struck out six. Reliever Carson Ozmer took the loss and is now 0-1.
Wimmer paced the Cocks at the plate with three hits, while Casas tallied two RBI. Baker, Pokrovsky, and Nate Polo each had three hits to lead the Quakers, and Baker also recorded two RBI.
This game also featured an incredible amount of free bases for USC, as Penn’s pitchers walked a total of 11 batters and hit seven. Unfortch, the Gamecocks also stranded the bases loaded three times.
Carolina improves to 8-0 with the win, while the Quakers drop to 0-3. The Cocks will be back in action on Tuesday, when they host North Carolina A&T. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Founders Park.