The South Carolina baseball team played two, six inning, scrimmage games against the University of North Carolina-Wilmington on Saturday. The Gamecocks walked away with a 7-7 tie in game one and a 8-4 win in game two.
Game 1
Game one finished in a 7-7 tie despite multiple scoring opportunities late in the sixth inning for South Carolina.
Sophomore right-hander James Hicks started on the bump for South Carolina but struggled in the first inning, giving up four runs on three hits to give UNCW an early 4-0 lead.
Despite a frustrating first inning for the Gamecocks, they were able to settle down both offensively and defensively as the game progressed.
A solo shot in the second inning from fifth-year right fielder Andrew Eyster put South Carolina on the board. Three, two-out singles, an error at second base and a bases clearing double from graduate student outfielder Brandt Belk gave the Gamecocks their first lead at 5-4.
Senior infielder Kevin Madden brought in another run for South Carolina in the third inning, scoring freshmen infielder Carson Hornung to make the score 6-4.
The Gamecocks were able to maintain this lead through the third inning with Hicks only giving up two more hits and no runs in the second and third.
Fifth-year righthander Parker Coyne gave up a run on a wild pitch at the top of the fourth, but gets out of the inning with a strikeout to keep the lead. The Seahawks came back to tie the game in the fifth on a sacrifice fly.
A solo home run from Seahawk outfielder Dillon Lifrieri in the sixth inning gave UNCW the lead again at 7-6, leaving South Carolina with only one more inning to make a final comeback.
With the bases loaded and no outs, the Gamecocks were able to scratch another run across as freshmen catcher Cole Messina scores on a wild pitch to tie the game. Although, they were unable to get another run across with two on and no outs, ending the game in a tie.
"We saw a lot of good things for the most part, a couple of things we need to work on," head coach Mark Kingston said after the scrimmages.
Game 2
The Gamecocks faired better in game two, coming out with an 8-4 win after scoring four runs in the fifth inning.
Senior lefthanded pitcher Josiah Sightler had a solid start on the mound for Carolina, but gave up two runs in the second inning to give the Seahawks another early lead.
A bases-clearing double from freshmen outfielder Thad Ector would tie the game at the bottom of the second inning and a double from freshmen infielder Vytas Valincius scored Ector to give South Carolina the lead 3-2.
Although, the Gamecocks would not keep the lead for long as Lifrieri hit a two-run shot out of the park in the fourth inning to give UNCW a 4-3 lead.
Fifth-year lefthander John Gilreath was able to get the Gamecocks out of a sticky situation in the fifth inning with bases loaded and two outs, limiting the Seahawks lead to only one run.
The offense was able to capitalize on walks and hit-by-pitches to regain the lead in the fifth with five runs on only two hits, sealing the win for the Gamecocks.
"We started five freshmen in that first game, and then I don't know how many in the second, but I think a lot in that second game, too," Kingston said. "So today was a big deal about getting guys that haven't been in our program on our field playing in the game as much as we possibly could."