Shortstop’s homer propels USC to 2-1 victory
When South Carolina shortstop Joey Pankake woke up Tuesday morning, he knew it was going to be a good day, though he probably couldn’t have predicated how sweetly it would end.
“I got to go get me some free pancakes today at IHOP,” Pankake said. “That was great and pretty fun. I always do that back home in Easley; I have for the past few years. I started the day off nice.”
The freshman, who hears his fair share of jokes regarding his last name, didn’t waffle on National Pancake Day, as he flipped a home run into the visiting bullpen to give the Gamecocks a one-run lead to push them to a 2-1 win over Presbyterian College.
The home run marked Pankake’s first of the season and his first RBI, coming on a night when PC pitcher Beau Dees had most of the USC hitters falling flat. Dees pitched 7 1/3 innings, having just four hits and two earned runs, while striking out five.
“He was keeping us off balance, and we hadn’t had many hits fall,” Pankake said. “I was just trying to put the bat to the ball and put something in play and get something started — it just happened to go out.”
The Gamecocks were aided by their own pitching staff, which held Presbyterian to five hits and just one run, despite a shaky start. USC coach Ray Tanner started freshman Jordan Montgomery, who surrendered the lone run in the top of the first after a leadoff single and then a hit-by-pitch.
“I always get nervous before I pitch just because of the fact that anything can happen, and you want to do good,” Montgomery said. “That happens before every game, but I just kind of tried to think about it just like every game I pitched in and had the same approach.”
Montgomery was pulled after pitching four innings with the score tied, making left-hander Nolan Belcher the winning pitcher for the first time since 2010 after missing last season due to an elbow injury. Belcher, right-hander Ethan Carter and lefty Tyler Webb went on to hold the Blue Hose scoreless.
“Baseball is a fun game,” Belcher said. “It’s fun pitching, so I’m glad to be back out there. I was just trying to come out of the bullpen in a tight game and throw strikes and stay ahead — let my defense work for me.”
Though pitching has been a strength for the Gamecocks, Tanner is still looking for consistency behind the plate, as he mixed up the batters for the midweek matchup, moving TJ Costen to second base, Brison Celek to first until the fifth and putting Erik Payne in the designated hitter spot.
“You’ve got to figure out as the season goes along who you can call on at different times,” Tanner said. “They’re not starters for us, but they got a chance to start today. They didn’t do a whole lot, but I wanted to give them an opportunity to get in there.”
Tanner is still unsure of whom he will put at second base, as he’s started three different players there in the past four games, but he’s happy with how the other half of the midfield has progressed in the short season. Tanner hasn’t been surprised with Pankake’s quick flip, even after struggling at the plate through the spring preseason and in the first series because he’s turning into the well-rounded player Tanner recruited.
“He’s a young guy, so he probably wasn’t as comfortable in the [Virginia Military Institute] series as he should’ve been, but he’s starting to get more comfortable as time goes,” Tanner said. “He’s starting to recognize things that happen during a game, and he does seem to be playing a little bit more relaxed.”
Pankake said he got rid of the jitters after the VMI series, as it helped him to get his first error out of the way in the first series. Naturally, he found himself comfortable at the plate on a holiday where his namesake is celebrated for being devoured on an entirely different kind of plate.