Never a dull moment, y’all!
South Carolina got back into the win column on Thursday night, rallying in the bottom of the ninth to pull off a 6-5 victory in the series opener against Alabama.
The Gamecocks got on the board first, going up 1-0 in the second inning on a solo shot by Andrew Eyster. They broke things wide open in the next inning, scoring four more runs. Michael Braswell went yard with one out to make it 2-0, then Brandt Belk walked, Kevin Madden reached on a fielder’s choice, and Josiah Sightler followed with a homer that made the score 5-0.
The Tide ended the shutout in the fourth, making it a 5-1 game when William Hamiter hit into a fielder’s choice. Alabama tacked on another run in the next inning, making the score 5-2 thanks to a Jim Jarvis single, then they added another in the sixth on a Dominic Tamez fly out that made it 5-3.
That score held until the top of the ninth, when the Crimson Tide tied it up at 5-5 courtesy of a two-run single by Drew Williamson. Fortunately, the Cocks had a little late-game luck too, as Evan Stone singled with one out and later scored on a base hit by Colin Burgess in the bottom of the inning.
Carolina starter Brett Thomas pitched four innings and allowed four hits and one run. He also walked one batter and struck two out. John Gilreath and Cade Austin combined to go the rest of the way for the Gamecocks, and Austin got the win, making him 4-1. Alabama reliever Brock Guffey took the loss and is now 2-2. Braswell led USC at the plate with two hits, while Sightler tallied three RBI. Bryce Eblin paced the Tide with three hits, while Williamson recorded two RBI.
The Cocks are now 20-20 overall and 7-12 in the SEC, while Alabama is 25-18 overall and 9-10 in conference play. They’ll meet again on Friday, with first pitch set for 7 p.m.