Box Score Game Box (pdf)
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Wofford College baseball team was defeated 17-4 by South Carolina on Tuesday night at Carolina Stadium. A 1-0 game through three innings, the Gamecocks scored six runs in the fourth inning and added seven in the seventh on the way to the victory.
Wofford moves to 16-32 on the season. South Carolina improves to 37-11 overall and is ranked seventh in the nation by Collegiate Baseball. Matt Moore led the Terriers with two hits. The Gamecocks were led by Jackie Bradley, Jr. with three hits and four RBIs on the night.
The Gamecocks took an early lead when Parker Bangs hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Jackie Bradley, Jr. in the bottom of the first. Both teams left one runner on base in the second inning and in the third inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Gamecocks loaded the bases on a single and two walks with one out. Whit Merrifield was hit by a pitch that allowed one run to score. An infield single by Jackie Bradley, Jr. added another run for a 3-0 lead. Christian Walker was hit by pitch with the bases still loaded to score a run. A single to right field by Parker Bangs drove in two runs and Adrian Morales drove in another run for the Gamecocks as they took a 7-0 advantage at the end of the fourth inning.
With two on and one out in the bottom of the fifth, Jackie Bradley, Jr. hit a home run to left center to give the Gamecocks a 10-0 lead. Neither team scored in the sixth inning. In the top of the seventh, the Terriers had two runners reach base on walks but both were stranded.
South Carolina added a run on a ground-out by Christian Walker in the bottom of the seventh. With the bases loaded, Robert Beary and Richard Royal added RBI singles to make it a 13-0 game. Nick Ebert then hit a grand slam home run to left center field for a 17-0 lead.
The Terriers had their first hit of the night in the top of the seventh on a lead-off single to right field by Matt Moore, which was followed by a single from James Foster and a walk by Alex Lee to load the bases. A fielder’s choice by Kyle Behrendt drove in Moore to score the first run for Wofford. Landon Bennett and Konstantine Diamaduros both added RBI singles for a 17-3 score. With two out, Josh McKinney added a single to left center to score a fourth run.
Wofford added one more hit by Matt Moore in the top of the ninth, but a double play ended the game with a 17-4 final score.
For the Terriers, Cash Collins (1-2) went the first three innings and allowed three hits and one run with one strikeout. Ryan Traylor threw a third of an inning and allowed six runs on four hits. Pete Noordsy went 2.2 innings with three runs allowed on three hits with two strikeouts. Alex Wilson threw a third of an inning and allowed one hit and four runs scored. Anthony Rowland went the next two-thirds of an inning with three hits and three runs allowed with one strikeout. Drew Sheridan had two strikeouts in the bottom of the eighth to close the game.
South Carolina starter Nolan Belcher (3-0) threw five innings without allowing a hit and striking out four. Jimmy Revan went two innings without a hit allowed and one strikeout. Alex Burrell threw the final two innings and allowed six hits and four runs with one strikeout.
For the Terriers, the game marked the first game in a stretch of five games in six days. On Wednesday, Wofford hosts Duke at Russell C. King Field at 2:00 p.m. in the final mid-week game of the regular season. The Terriers will play at Furman to begin a three-game series on Friday night.
