Westmoreland winning pitcher in 5-2 victory
After falling out of South Carolina’s weekend rotation during the early part of the season in 2011, Adam Westmoreland managed to end the season on a positive note, posting a five-strikeout performance against Wofford to earn a win in his final start of the year.
The left-hander kept that good feeling intact Tuesday night, going 5 2/3 innings against Charleston Southern to pave the way for a 5-2 win.
“I was really excited to go back out there and have the opportunity to pitch,” Westmoreland said. “I feel a lot better physically and mentally [than last year].”
Westmoreland kept the Buccaneers’ bats in check through the first five innings, allowing just three hits and no runs while striking out four. His lone run of the night came moments after he was lifted in the sixth, when CSU infielder Jaren Sustar singled home Alex Tomasovich to put the Bucs on the board.
“I was really impressed with the outing Adam Westmoreland gave us. It was encouraging for me,” coach Ray Tanner said. “I thought his stuff was good. He had some command and got us in a position to win. He should get plenty of opportunities going forward.”
The Gamecocks backed up Westmoreland on the other side of the ball, jumping on CSU early to take a 3-0 lead after three innings. Designated hitter Kyle Martin got things started with an RBI single in the first, slapping an 0-2 pitch into left field to score Evan Marzilli from third.
Third baseman LB Dantzler added an RBI of his own with a base hit in the third, then crossed the plate himself on an RBI triple from second baseman Erik Payne. Payne nearly stretched the triple into an inside-the-park home run, but was gunned down at home to end the inning.
“I hit a couple triples in the spring and [associate head coach Chad Holbrook] kind of made comments about how slow I was when I got to third base, so I really wasn’t expecting for him to wave me,” Payne said. “They made a really good relay and got me.”
Payne went two for three with a stolen base in his fourth consecutive start at second and is slated to start again in tonight’s matchup against Appalachian State.
“He’s done pretty good with what he’s had to work with,” Tanner said. “He’s solidified himself for now. For what he’s done, he deserves to be in there, and I’m going to stick with him right now.”
Grayson Greiner gave the Gamecocks a pair of insurance runs in a pinch-hit appearance in the seventh. Coming up with the bases loaded, the freshman sent a base hit into left field, scoring Tanner English and Adam Matthews to extend the lead to 5-1.
The Bucs managed one more run in the ninth on an RBI double from first baseman Walt Quattlebaum, but right-hander Joel Seddon preserved the victory moments later by striking out catcher Drew Woodall, securing his first save of the season.
“Five runs isn’t a lot, but it’s more than we’ve been scoring,” Tanner said. “That’s somewhat encouraging. Hopefully we can continue to swing the bats and get close to double digits.”