The South Carolina baseball team is gearing up for another rivalry game in the state, as The Citadel is next on the schedule. The Gamecocks (10-0) are putting their perfect record on the line again, before the big boys of the weekend start to line up. South Carolina, on the road tonight at Joe Riley Park, will travel to face Texas in Austin this weekend.
Gamecocks will start the left-handed launcher Josiah Sightler on the hill against the Bulldogs. Sightler will be listed as the designated pitcher / hitter, and will slide into the DH function when he finishes on the mound. He’s also hitting cleanliness in order for the first time this season.
Here are the initial lineups for tonight. Stay tuned to this topic for updates on tonight’s game.
South Carolina
RF Brady Allen
CF Braylen Wimmer
Ç Wes Clarke
P / DH Josiah Sightler
LF Andrew Eyster
1B David Mendham
2B Joe Satterfield
3B Brennan Milone
WL George Callil
The citadel
CF Jeffery Brown
2B Tyler Corbitt
DH Crosby Jones
1B Noah Mitchell
LF Cole Simpson
3B Logan Taplett
RF Ryan McCarthy
C Travis Lott
SS Brooks O’Brien
NINTH ENTRY: Satterfield jumps to the left. Milone hits a hopper for short. Two quick exits. Michael Robinson plays a two-out single to the left, then goes to the second on a hike to Allen, then to the third when Wimmer hits a third base error. But Clarke goes down looking for a breaking ball to close the entrance. … Peters out to start the ninth, trailing 3-1 for nine-hole O’Brien. Carolina needs to get that cat Jeffery Brown to do a graduation transfer next year. He hits Peters on the first hitting shot. He has five hits tonight. Robinson pops up. I do not know why. Peters catches the ball on the floor and deflects it towards Robinson, who makes the move. Peters gets a K to finish the inning and take the win. Carolina wins 11-7
EIGHT INNING: That’s why you don’t talk shit. Graf makes Burgess, a replacement hitter for Mendham, come back to him. But then Satterfield doubles down on the right field line. Bulldogs change jugs again. He walks Milone. Then, Cid brings his closest to facing Cino, who nips at batting for Callil. Cino reaches a choice of 4-6 defenders. Corners with two outs and Allen lines up a first shot to the center to tie the game. Then, Wimmer folds the left field line to score another one. Then, after an intentional hike to Clarke, Sightler throws a single into the field to score another pair. Eyster doubles for the wall in the right field and Sightler scores from the first. Burgess had an 11 shot at the bat, but eventually appears to close the inning. First and third off shift. Poor Burgy. But that was a six-race inning for Gamecocks. … Peters returns to the mound, and throws a filthy breaking ball to take McCarthy for the second exit. Taplett appeared before him and flew to the right. Then a first pitch appeared for Wimmer in the center. Easy, easy inning. Carolina leads 11-6
SEVENTH TIME: The new pitcher, leftist Graf, enters the game and follows Allen. But then Ks Wimmer. Clarke jumps to the right. Sightler walks, placing two on the base. Eyster goes up, and he sees a steady diet of curved balls, and hits one slowly in the first baseline. The pitcher makes the move. And he’s barking something serious at the bank of South Carolina. It doesn’t usually work well, but we’ll see. … Phipps returns to the mound and gives up on a first game on the left side. Hard ball to Milone’s left, and he deflects it towards Callil’s general direction. He runs after him and makes a move with empty hands. Nice job from him to get out first. Peters enters the game now. I really didn’t want to have to use it tonight. Peters comes in and blows up Jones’ doors with a bunch of fast balls and a move out of the zone. Peters receives a heavy blow to end the inning with a swing. The Citadel leads 6-5
SIXTH ENTRY: Gamecocks are in order again. Satterfield goes to the second place. Milone with another good AB with a strong hitting ball back in the middle, but deflects from the pitcher and the shortstop makes the move. Callil jumps to the center. … Wesley Sweatt arrives for his first appearance. Give up 1-2 in a fastball on the left. Sweatt leaves a 2-0 fastball up and out of the plate, and Simpson hits the back of the field and out. This will put the home team back on top. Mendham picks up a pop right behind the bag on the dirty floor. McCarthy up. Go to the right. Two have already gone. Single line unit on the right side by Lott. This will end the day for Sweatt. Phipps enters. He gets a strikeout from O’Brien’s three shots to end the inning. The Citadel leads 6-5
FIFTH INNING: Two quick exits. Clarke falls in attacks, then Sightler flies to the left. A shy step from the track. Eyster walks in five shots. Mendham takes a ball down and maybe far to go 1-1. He falls in strokes to end the shift. … Brown is definitely having a night. The guy can fly, throw one in the center. He is still at the beginning when Corbitt leaves to the left. Clarke shoots down the hall trying to steal. Bouncer for the second. Quite easy for Satterfield. Carolina leads 5-4
INNING ROOM: Former Gamecocks put Cameron Reeves, who was a teammate with Wesley Sweatt and John Gilreath, on the field for the Bulldogs. Satterfield loses a 2-2 single to the left. Milone walks. Callil holds them. Allen hits the ball to score 1-1. He drives a fly to the center, and drives it deep enough to take Milone to third base. Wimmer goes down swinging on some balls that were not close. … Cotto gets a pop out to Simpson’s left field to start the inning. These Citadel hitters are aggressive at the start of the count. I love that. Advance the game. Eyster had a great reception running on the left field on the track. I didn’t think he would catch the ball right away. Nice play. McCarthy double-shoots a fastball on the other side, in the left corner of the field. Will Sanders will enter after Cotto breaks the 20-shot mark. Sanders comes in and gets a spinner for shorts. Callil, playing almost behind the bag, has to move to the right and cannot use the glove for the rotating stake. Single, RBI. Away to the third finish the inning. Carolina leads 5-4
THIRD INNING: South Carolina back on the plate at this entry against another new arm, RHP Lathan Todd. Satterfield makes four shots, few close. Milone lost 1-2, now 3-2, which included a big foul ball to the left. Satterfield starts for the field and Milone drops the ball on the interbase. Satterfield goes to third place and, as the throw goes in that direction, Milone increases the hit to a double because of that throw. Callil goes from 1-2 to 3-2, but he cannot reach a fast ball. Allen goes after 0-1. They are doing a good job in general to stay ahead of the count. Allen goes down 1-2 and then walks again. Squeezed bases for Wimmer. He falls in strikes on a 3-2 pitch. Clarke gets up, and he hits a security guard for short. Error, bad shortstop error. It couldn’t have been an easier move for a shortstop. Run, bases loaded. And then Brosiah lines up a double in the left center to score a pair. Todd had quite unpleasant movements in his pitches, but he was unable to hit enough strokes and had a serious error behind him. New arm coming. Wild launching through the receiver’s shutters, and that brings another run. Eyster walks. Mendham falls on a fast high ball to end the turn. … Cotto comes to the Gamecocks. Start of the overdue order. Give up a triple advantage on a broken ball in the right corner of the field. That starting hitter can fly. He arrives in an RBI landed by Corbin. Slow roll for short and a good move by Callil. Deep shot in the right center. Long run for both, but Allen hits a basket in the alley. But make the catch. Satterfield handles a pop to end the entry. Carolina leads 5-3
SECOND INNING: I believe The Citadel will play one arm at a time. New pitcher for the Bulldogs and makes Sightler jump and Eyster swinging on a large slider to start the inning. Mendham goes to 0-2, then makes him swing in a shift, perhaps, to end the upper half of the inning. … One shot, one out for Sightler in a low ball from first shot to Milone in third. First throw the ball to the right side of the McCarthy seven-hole hitter, and it sneaks through the four-hole. It didn’t hit hard. Lott appears behind second base. First throw the ball to the ground for short, and Callil knocks down the leading runner. Simple entry. The Citadel leads 2-0
FIRST TIME: South Carolina comes to the plate and goes quietly in order. Each of South Carolina’s first two hitters sees two shots, with Allen flying to the right and Wimmer landing. Clarke goes deep. He leads 2-0, so three consecutive strikes hit him. … Josiah Sightler withdraws from three consecutive strokes – a single inside field for short, a double in the left corner of the field that was well cut by Eyster to prevent the race from scoring. But then a single bloop in the center that marks one and puts them in the corners. Skylar Meade to the mound. Mitchell hits a security guard for short, and the Gamecocks saw a double move. Satterfield was not very good on the turn, and I think it was a bad bet at the beginning, but Gamecocks will accept it. Run came from third, but the bases are now empty. A first one-hopper pitch from Simpson to Satterfield, which knocks him down and expels him. The Citadel leads 2-0