Gamecock baseball opened the 2016 season 3-0 with a sweep of the Albany Great Danes, largely thanks to promising performances from the team's young roster.
Junior Dom Thompson-Williams, who helped lead Iowa Western to back-to-back NJCAA World Series appearances, made the difference in his first performance for Carolina. Thompson-Williams went 3-for-4 with a home run to secure a 10-1 victory in the season and series opener.
Head coach Chad Holbrook was satisfied with the team's opening performance in his post-game press conference on Friday.
"I'm pleased with the way we played on opening day," Holbrook said. "They were full of togetherness. They were anxious for this day and couldn't wait for it to get here," he said.
Sophomore John Jones, another JUCO transfer out of State College of Florida, has his first homer in a Gamecock uniform and three RBIs as part of a 3-for-4 performance in Saturday's 6-2 win. Jones was also a hot hitter in Sunday's 8-1 victory, finishing the weekend 6-for-10 with nine RBIs.
Carolina went to the bullpen three times in both Friday and Saturday's match-ups and five times during Sunday's outing. Sophomore Clarke Schmidt went for six innings and got the win in Friday's opener. Freshman Braden Webb got the win in five innings in his first appearance for the Gamecocks on Saturday, and junior Josh Reagan was awarded the save. Junior Taylor Widener went five innings as the starter in Sunday's game, but relief pitcher junior Colie Bowers was awarded the win.
It was relatively clean series for the Gamecocks in the field with just two errors on the weekend, both of which came in Sunday's matchup.
Up next for the 17th-ranked Gamecocks is a pair of one game home series against Appalachian State on Tuesday and Winthrop on Wednesday. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. for both games. The team will then prepare for a three game weekend series against Penn State.