After two unbalanced victories to open the series for South Carolina, the final game went downhill. The Gamecocks (3-0) needed four runs at the bottom of the eighth inning to break the tie and go on to a 5-1 win and a series sweep over Dayton.
Gamecocks starting the pitcher Julian Bosnic set a school record of consecutive eliminations with eight out of three and a third of throws launched, but three relievers were needed to end the game and keep the Flyers (0-3) quiet.
Graduate George Callil place Gamecocks ahead with a double RBI at the bottom of the eighth inning and then junior David Mendham registered a triple of bases to give his team the decisive margin of victory.
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“You need to have games like this throughout the year”, head coach Mark Kingston said. “It was pinching and doubling there for a while, but we shot well enough and played just enough defense to keep and close and give us a chance. Many excellent performances; I found the pitchers excellent today – all four. Just something that we need to build and move on. “
Mendham’s three-race double gave him four RBIs in the afternoon, after going just 2 out of 9 in the first two games with a pair of eliminations.
The start was somewhat unfavorable for Bosnic, who hit the opening hitter with his first shot of the season. But that runner would stay on first base while the southpaw would attack the next three hitters in 14 shots. Bosnic would eliminate the next five hitters before allowing a full count walk at the top of the third. A pop out would end at the top of the inning and the Gamecocks would take the lead in the bottom half of the inning.
With bases loaded and one eliminated on the third, Mendham would make a sacrifice fly into the deep right field to score Brady Allen, which reached in a fielding error. The race was undeserved, and it would be the only time the Gamecocks could break the score against Dayton’s initial pitcher, Cole Pletka.
The senior right-handed shot 112 shots against the Gamecocks and allowed five strokes and three strides. He hit five hits, but only 60 of his 112 shots were for hitting.
“He did a good job of keeping us off balance,” said Kingston of Pletka. “It was nice to see absolutely no panic. This is something we talked about in our bank: ‘We are not going to panic. We are going to keep going and play as good as we can and sooner or later the game will come to you ‘, and that is exactly what happened ”.
The Flyers would tie the score at one each when Bosnic lost control of the zone at the top of the fourth round. After retiring as the first inning hitter in his ninth strikeout of the game, Bosnic missed the next three hitters before giving way to the reliever. Daniel Lloyd. Bosnic was dealing with a bubble that made him lose control and leave the game.
“We are not going to miss the fact that Bosnic had nine eliminations out of three and a third of the entries,” said Kingston. “This is very impressive.”
Lloyd gave up on a single bloop to allow one of Bosnic’s runners to score, but Lloyd withdrew the next two hitters to avoid further damage.
After allowing the single, Lloyd would retire the next eight hitters he would face. He hit three in his 37-shot performance, which included 23 hits. Freshman Travis Luensmann, making his debut in South Carolina, hit one on his seventh perfect job entry.
“I thought they looked really good,” said Kingston of his bullpen. “We feel good about our depth outside, we feel good about our talent outside. It is just a matter of putting them in situations where they can succeed. The freshman, Luensmann, looked very comfortable. He’s another guy up to 95. For his first performance in college baseball, that was a more difficult situation than the other freshmen had to do. I thought he did a good job, showed composure in a very tough game. “
After a zero was placed by the junior Brett Kerry In the upper half of the eighth, Callil and Mendham moved on to Gamecocks in the lower half. The folds that the pair hit were responsible for two of the four pairs of the day.
With a four-race pad, Kerry returned to the mound for the ninth inning. While he issued a walk and gave up a single, Kerry eliminated the next three hitters he faced to win his first victory in the young season. He eliminated four in his 37-shot performance.
The South Carolina trio of relievers combined to launch five and two-thirds of the shutout entries, allowing for three strikes and a walk with eight eliminations.