The Gamecocks tallied a total of 21 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) hits and scored seven runs in the ninth inning on their way to a 19-2 victory over the Vols and their second straight SEC sweep.

USC got on the board first in the second inning. LB Dantzler and Max Schrock knocked back-to-back singles to start things off, and they advanced on a sac groundout from Connor Bright. With two outs, Grayson Greiner came through with a base hit to bring in Schrock and Tanner English singled to get Brison Celek across the dish and make it 2-0 Cocks.

The fourth inning saw Carolina add a couple more runs. Bright reached base on a throwing error, then made it to second. Next up was Celek, who went yard for the first time in his career and put the visitors up 4-0.

Two more runs came in for the Yardcocks in the fifth. Chase Vergason belted a one-out triple, then came home on a sac fly from Joey Pankake. Dantzler followed that with a double, then crossed the plate thanks to a RBI single from Schrock. UT got their first run in the bottom of the inning, when Ethan Bennett homered to make the score 6-1.

South Carolina tacked on two more runs in the next inning, though. Celek singled to lead off, then Greiner hit a home run of his own to increase the lead to 8-1 in favor of the visitors.

The Volunteers got their only other run in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Parker Wormsley reached first on a throwing error and then made it to second. With two outs, Taylor Smart knocked a single to left that brought Wormsley across the dish.

They already had a six-run lead, but the Gamecocks padded that cushion some more in the eighth inning. Greiner started things off with a single, English walked, and Graham Saiko, who laid down what looked to be a sac bunt, reached first base and then second on a throwing error. That error also was enough to get Greiner and English around the bases and bump USC’s lead up to 10-2. Vergason and Schrock then tallied back-to-back RBI singles to increase the Cocks’ lead to 12-2.

» Continue reading “South Carolina Sweeps Series With Rout Of Tennessee”

Adam Westmoreland was Carolina’s saving grace this afternoon.

It was at times an offensive bonanza and at other times a pitching disaster during today’s game, but South Carolina righted the ship – thanks in large part to Adam Westmoreland – and came away with a 12-8 victory over Tennessee. With the win, the Cocks also clinch the series.

USC got on the board early, when Chase Vergason went yard in the top of the first inning. The Yardcocks added to their lead in the next inning. DH Brison Celek walked with one out, Connor Bright singled to center field, and Dante Rosenberg roped a double that brought in both Celek and Bright across home plate and put Carolina up 3-0.

Both teams exploded in the third inning. With two outs, LB Dantzler walked and Max Schrock homered to make it 5-0 Gamecocks. Celek got a booboo and a free base, Bright knocked a base hit, and Rosenberg came through with another two-run double and Tanner English followed that with a double of his own that brought Rosenberg in and made it 8-0.

Things looked good for South Carolina, but that was short-lived, as the wheels came off in the bottom of the inning. Will Maddox led off with a single, Jeff Moberg got a booboo and a free base, and Scott Price had a base hit to load the bags with Volunteers. Christian Stewart then got plunked and a run came home. Pierce Bily singled to bring in another run and make it 8-2. Vincent Jackson then belted a triple to left that cleared the bases and changed the score to 8-5. Taylor Smart tallied a RBI base hit to give UT another run, and then with two outs, Moberg grounded out to cut the Cocks’ lead to just 8-7.

The sixth inning saw USC pad their lead a bit. With one out, Saiko and Vergason singled, then Pankake doubled which brought both Saiko and Vergason home. A wild pitch got Pankake to third, and after Schrock walked with two outs and then stole second, another wild pitch advanced both runners and Pankake crossed the plate to make it 11-7 Yardcocks.

Both teams scored their final run in the seventh. In the Carolina half of the inning, English lined a base hit to left, moved to second on an error/failed pick-off, and then came home on a single from Saiko. In the bottom of the inning, Smart helped the Vols and sent a ball out of the park to make it 12-8. Both teams had a chance for more in the ninth inning, but both left two runners stranded.

» Continue reading “Gamecocks Overcome Rocky Play To Top Volunteers”

Max Schrock’s double was the difference for USC tonight.

South Carolina allowed things to get closer than they should have and they needed a late rally, but the Gamecocks did just enough to beat Tennessee in Knoxville tonight.

The Vols threatened in the bottom in the first, when they got the bases loaded, but starter Nolan Belcher and the Cocks got out of it without any damage done.

USC got themselves on the board in the top of the next inning. With one out, Max Schrock reached first thanks to catcher’s interference, then DH Brison Celek walked to put runners on first and second. They advanced on a wild pitch, and Greiner walked to load the bases with Yardcocks. Tanner English knocked a sac fly that brought Schrock across the dish and made it 1-0 in favor of Carolina.

South Carolina had a chance to break things open in the third, but instead they left the bases loaded. That was especially unfortunate because UT tied things up – then took the lead – in the bottom of the inning. Will Maddox got a booboo and a free base to start things off, then A.J. Simcox laid down a sac bunt to advance Maddox. Scott Price followed that with a single that brought in Maddox and tied the game. With runners on the corners, Pierce Bily laid down another sac bunt that ended up being a fielder’s choice, but was enough to bring in another run and give the home team a 2-1 lead.

It was the Gamecocks’ turn to tie things up in the next inning. Greiner led off with a walk and English knocked a sac bunt to advance Greiner to second. Graham Saiko then came through with a RBI double to make it 2-2.

The score remained the same until the eighth innings, when both teams plated two more runs. In the top of the inning, Schrock took a walk to start things off. Celek singled to left and Greiner laid down a bunt to load the bases. All the runners advanced and Schrock crossed the dish on a wild pitch, then Chase Vergason got himself a booboo and a free base and Ahmad Christian, pinch-running for Celek, came home to make it 4-2.

» Continue reading “Yardcocks Rally To Defeat Vols In Series Opener”

An unbelievable scene unfolded following Lattimore’s injury this afternoon.

Numb. Heartbroken. Stunned.

All three words describe how I’ve felt since Marcus Lattimore was injured this afternoon. Reports on Twitter claim that he tore all his knee ligaments, broke his femur, and chipped his patella. That has yet to be confirmed by any actual source, but the injury was gruesome and if those things listed above aren’t true, the actual injury is likely pretty close. He is out indefinitely (obviously).

Regardless of what the exact injury is, the whole situation is just heartbreaking. After coming back from an injury last year, it’s just tragic that Marcus now has an even worse one to deal with. He’s proven that he’s one of the greatest Gamecocks ever, on and off the field, and it’s unbelievably sad that this has happened to him. Players on the field were clearly emotional and Marcus sobbed with a towel over his face while he was carted off the field.

The level of respect that people across the country have for Marcus was made clear when both teams surrounded him on the field this afternoon (I don’t know that something like that has ever happened before) and fans, high-profile athletes, and media members took to Twitter to share get well wishes for No. 21.

» Continue reading “Gamecocks Get Most Bittersweet Win Ever”

Connor Shaw needs to get back into beast mode – or at least winning mode – this afternoon.

Ah, home sweet home.

This week, the No. 13 Gamecocks are back home in Columbia to host the Vols, whose fans might be more concerned about Jon Gruden rumors than the actual game at this point.

USC needs to get back in the “W” column after back-to-back conference losses. Granted, those losses were to two of the top teams in the country and on the road, but still. Luckily for Carolina, this game shouldn’t be nearly as intimidating or difficult.

QB Connor Shaw will need to get back into a groove after the pest couple of games. He was okay against LSU and not very good against Florida, so hopefully he can fix that today. The HBC said this is Shaw’s game unless he gets hurt, so let’s all keep our fingers crossed that he can right the ship.

The offense as a whole as looked sort of anemic recently, too. UT has been giving up tons of yards on the ground, so hopefully Marcus can get back into a groove this afternoon. Catching the ball has been a bit of an issue as of late, but that’s somewhat contingent on how well/if Shaw throws passes. JUST GET IT TOGETHER, PLEASE, DUDES.

The defense has been fairly strong all season, but they’ll obviously need to continue that today. Special teams – and especially the kicking game – is a concern for the Cocks, but that’s nothing new for us (sad face).

Tennessee has been struggling for two seasons now, and fans on Rocky Top are rapidly running out of patience. The Vols have yet to win a conference game this season and are a two-touchdown underdog today.

If South Carolina can’t put all the pieces together, the game could end up being closer than that. Fortunately, I think the combination of being back at home and playing a team that honestly just isn’t very good will be just what the doctor ordered for the Gamecocks. I think (and hope) we at least cover the spread this afternoon.

Happy Easter to us!

The Gamecocks defeated the Vols by a score of 6-1 in today’s rubber game, taking a conference series for the second straight weekend. Carolina is now 23-9 overall and 5-7 in SEC play.

USC starter Colby Holmes pitched a season-high seven innings, and allowed only one run on four hits. He walked no one and struck out six batters. Evan Beal came in to close out the game and threw two shut-out innings, surrendering no hits while walking and striking out two. Holmes earned the win and is now 4-0 on the season, Beal got the save, his fifth. UT’s starter, Nick Williams, took the loss and is now 2-3.

Six Yardcocks were credited with RBIs today: Evan Marzilli (who saw his streak of reaching base finally end at 31; this was the first game all season he hasn’t made it to a base), Adam Matthews, Christian Walker, Joey Pankake, Dante Rosenberg, and Tanner English. Only two of South Carolina’s six runs were earned.

Tennessee’s lone run came on a homer from Chris Fritts in the seventh inning. It was too little, too late for the Volunteers, though, as Carolina already had four runs on the board, thanks to a stellar fifth inning wherein the entire lineup came to the plate.

The Cocks outhit the Vols six to four and made no errors, while UT made one. Tennessee left five men on and Carolina left six.

South Carolina’s next game will be in Columbia against The Citadel on Tuesday night. The first pitch is set for 7 ET.

HALLELUJAH.

Let me start by saying this was not a good baseball game. South Carolina left 17 (SEVENTEEN!) men on base and tallied only five hits, but Tennessee gave up nine walks and hit three Carolina players.

In case that wasn’t lame enough, the two teams were tied at 1-1 for five innings. Despite all that, the Yardcocks were able to come away with the win, and in walk-off fashion, thanks to a one-out single by LB Dantzler, who trended on twitter following the game.

After a single from Connor Bright, a sac bunt from Grayson Greiner (his first), and a wild pitch, Dantzler stepped up to the plate (literally) and smacked a ball deep to center. Not much else went right offensively (clearly), although Evan Marzilli did reach base again, extending his streak to 31 games, which means he has reached in every game this season. That’s awesome.

TJ Costen led the Cocks at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a single and a double. Embarrassingly, USC left the bases loaded twice and went only one inning without leaving any runners stranded. They have left over 100 men on base already this season. Ouch.

Coach Ray Tanner told the ESPNU commentators that Carolina’s struggles at the plate were “almost comical”, though at times he looked ready to have a Steve Spurrier-style reaction.

» Continue reading “Montgomery Hurls Gem, Dantzler Plays Hero As Gamecocks Top Vols”

It was a beautiful evening for a Carolina win...if only that had happened.

Blergh.

This was a game South Carolina not only needed, but definitely should have, won. Instead, in front of a sellout crowd, they lost it in the ninth inning when an errant throw to third by Matt Price allowed a UT runner to cross the plate. USC had no answer in the bottom of the inning and fell 5-4.

While Price’s blunder was unfortunate, that was hardly the only problem tonight. He’s also bailed us out many times, so it figures that a mistake would happen eventually. Coach Ray Tanner was clearly not pleased with his team’s performance (who was, really?), and said after the game:

“You don’t deserve to win when you strike out 13 times.”

Ouch. That’s harsh but true, and it’s disappointing to see Carolina drop games they should be winning every weekend. The Cocks left nine runners on base, including three in the fourth inning, when they had the bases loaded and brought in no runs. That’s not okay.

The Volunteers took a 1-0 lead in the third inning, but the Gamecocks responded two innings later to take a 2-1 lead. Tennessee took back the lead in the top of the sixth, but the Yardcocks answered again, tacking on two more runs. UT scored again in the eighth to tie the game at 4-4, and then added the unearned run in the ninth for the win.

» Continue reading “Yardcocks Give Game 1 To Vols”

It was a busy day for Gamecock athletics, as both the men’s and women’s hoops teams were in action, as were the Yardcocks.

Neither the guys or the ladies were able to pull off a victory on the court today. The men lost to Georgia 67-55 in Athens, dropping them to 10-20 overall and 2-14 in the conference. That’s their worst SEC record ever and the first 20-loss season in 13 years. This is the third straight year the Cocks have finished the season with a losing record.

Georgia (14-16, 5-11) isn’t even very good, but the Gamecocks are just flat out sad. Malik Cooke, who has been a bright spot for the team, led Carolina with 17 points, but that wasn’t enough to overcome the Bulldogs. UGA actually started the game down 10-0, but by halftime they’d taken a 30-23 lead.

South Carolina had their own cold spell in the second half and could never catch up to the Dawgs. USC pulled within six points with about four minutes left, but, as has happened all season, things didn’t go their way and Georgia came away with the win.

Next up for the Gamecocks is the SEC Tournament in New Orleans, where they’ll be the No. 12 seed. Carolina will take on No. 5 seed Alabama next Thursday at 3:30 p.m. ET in a first round game. TV coverage will be on the SEC Network.

As for the Lady Gamecocks, their SEC Tournament run came to an end tonight at the hands of No. 13 Tennessee, who cruised to a 74-58 victory in Nashville. Making up for their loss to USC earlier in the year, the Lady Vols maximized their advatanges to beat No. 25 South Carolina.

» Continue reading “Gamecock Sports Saturday: Two Losses & A Win”

Too bad games last just a bit longer than 16 minutes...

No. Wrong. That title is a lie. Winning might not be everything, but it is something. And at this point, it’s something the Gamecocks can’t seem to do.

USC lost to Tennessee tonight 69-57. This was the 10th straight victory over South Carolina for the the Volunteers. Bruce Ellington led all Gamecocks with 12 points, Skylar McBee led all Vols with 18. The Cocks are now 9-14 overall and 1-8 in SEC play. Their next game is Saturday against Arkansas, who is undefeated at home. Tip off is set for 1:30 ET.

After the Kentucky loss this weekend, I asked y’all to vote on whether or not USC would win another game this season. 67% of you said yes. Let’s take that poll again:

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» Continue reading “Winning Is Overrated…Right?”