The South Carolina baseball team is gearing up for its first game midweek, when Winthrop is arriving at Founders Park. The first pitch is set for 16h and will be transmitted by SEC Network +. The Gamecocks (3-0), fresh out of a sweep series against Dayton, will send right-handed freshman Will Sanders to the hill for the start.
Winthrop brings to Columbia a team that lost its opening series to the Appalachian State. The Eagles (1-2) will send right-handed Macklin Ochs, a junior who has not yet launched this season, to the mound.
South Carolina climbed to 17th in the D1Baseball survey ranking on Tuesday.
CAROLINA
RF Brady Allen
CF Braylen Wimmer
Ç Wes Clarke
1B David Mendham
LF Andrew Eyster
DH Josiah Sightler
3B Brennan Milone
2B Jeff Heinrich
WL George Callil
WINTHROP
3B Joe McNamara
1B Andrew Jenner
CF Scout McFalls
C Spencer Yankle
DH Dillon Morton
RF Jonathan Strauss
LF Hunter Christopher
2B Joey Tepper
SS Tyler Baker
SEVENTH TIME: Play slow today. Jackson Phipps enters. He doesn’t give up on hits, but somehow gives up two to start inning before registering a strikeout for McFalls. Yankle hits a soft liner on the left side, which makes runners hold, and that means three singles in the inning. Nothing hit too hard. But singles and loaded bases. Swinging bunt up to Morton’s first baseline. Mendham fields with no other moves, but tagging the bag. Run in, but two hits for hitter Szvetitz with two in scoring position. Thank goodness he doesn’t play for Gamecocks. I would hate to have to try to spell that name in every game. Andrew Peters will come to face the powerful. First swinging pitch and a helicopter for the third. Milone makes the charge work easily. … Milone takes a walk, then advances to second place in a groundout chosen by the defenders of Heinrich. It was a blow and an internal throw, and Heinrich was literally jumping backwards while swinging. Callil with a HIGH pop-up first. Two have already gone. Allen equalized 5-3 to close the entry. Carolina leads 8-4
SIXTH ENTRY: Go back to the hill and work on a 1-2-3 board. He is facing 7-8-9 and receives a strikeout to start it. Tepper hits a guard to the left and Milone’s shot is low. Mendham makes a very good choice of land. And a low ball for Callil, his shot is out of the bag, but Mendham does a nice stretch. I talked a lot about Mendam’s defense at the beginning and realized that he can choose and has a great set of feet around the bag. Both showed there. He’s not very athletic in terms of reach with ground balls or aerial balls, but he is very good with the bag, which is great. … Order start for Gamecocks. Allen strikes, Wimmer kicks out. And Wes Clarke hits another solo bomb. Guy. Besides the catwalk, under the scoreboard. Mendham hits a line drive back to the box. Eyster hits a double cut to the right field. He worked that half of the park quite efficiently at the beginning of the year. Brosiah goes first. Carolina leads 8-3
FIFTH INNING: Mahoney returns to the mound and strikes a fastball to initiate entry for nine-hole hitter Baker. Then a helicopter for Milone in third position makes him attack and make a beautiful launch. Milone was making the launch almost in the mound area. Two less for Mahoney, who takes a foul on a 92 mph FB for a 1-1 count for Jenner. He hits a helicopter from the right side for his first allowed strike. McFalls up. This will end the day for Mahoney in 29 shots. Gilreath coming to face the lefty. He takes a walk, then gets what should have been the end of the shift, but Heinrich boots. Run scores and an intentional walk carries the foundation for Jonathan Strauss. Draw ball game. Gilreath receives a strikeout to finish the inning. He didn’t make a lot of mistakes in this regard, but the score is tied. … Wimmer starts with a double field to the right. I’m not sure how it wasn’t discovered, but the guy just overtook him. Wimmer should probably be in third, but he was late. Clarke gets up, and goes on to count 3-1. And a five-shot hike brings Mendham to a dead end. Errybody helping errybody today. Mendham hits a roll for the first baseman, who is unable to hold it and throws a double-ball attempt in the left field. Everyone safe, and Wimmer enters after starting the game on second base. New launcher coming for the Eagles, RHP Lumpkin. Eyster, swinging the first shot, hits a ball to the right field. I get it, but Clarke goes to the third. Corners with a lower for the Sightler. It swings with a rotary knob to lower 0-2. Smothering the staff with two attacks. He drops a 2-2 to the right to start a race. Nice job to know what you are doing there. Milone steps in now. He goes on strikes. Heinrich lines up a single RBI for the left field. He needed this. Callil relies on a choice of 6-4 fielders to end the inning. Carolina leads 6-3
INNING ROOM: Cotto returns to the mound and starts 0-2 for McFalls, the three-hole hitter. And he ends up taking him for a walk. Then the cleanser hitter walks in four shots and is behind Morton 1-0, and Winthrop is getting into it a bit. He gets a dirty ball, then hits and misses a breaking ball. Single line unit to the left. Eyster enters. Runner was sent home for some terrible reason. Terrible call from the coach, who I know and think is great. And I have no idea how the corridor was not expelled. There is not much urgency in the launch and bad relay. Jack Mahoney will enter the game. Ball passed. : / Mahoney goes out throwing fast balls to get a strikeout. Then, a crossed out slider. Runner in second with two down now and Tepper makes a first shot. And a quick ball strikeout ends the inning. … New pitcher, left-handed, Garrett Gainey. Heinrich tries to deliver a blow and Gainey makes the move. Easy first. Callil takes an 88 mph FB on land to equal the 1-1 count. He is frozen in an internal fast ball for the third stroke. And Allen appears in the shallow center. Carolina leads 3-2
THIRD INNING: Sanders back on the hill. I was not informed of a pitch count for him, but I would be surprised if it exceeded 50 by far. He makes Tepper exit to the right to start the entrance. Spring Valley graduate Tyler Baker throws one to the right, bringing the Eagles back to the top of the order with a crash. Sanders gets his sixth strikeout of the game and will give way to Magdiel Cotto after launching 45 shots. Cotto receives a ball on the ground for Heinrich from two-hole hitter Jenner. Heinrich chooses him, marks the corridor that goes to second place, and that closes the entrance. … Wimmer makes a 2-2 shot in the left center. High sky. One down. Wes Clarke also hits a ball to the left center. But Clarke is stronger than most humans, and he goes to the catwalk on the Prisma Health sign. Ground pump. Tepper makes a nice move towards the bag that is thrown back through the body to catch Mendham. Eyster throws a solo bomb to the left. Clarke’s was on a fastball, Eyster’s on a break ball. This one came out pretty fast. Sightler hits a lining that attacks the shortstop and enters the left field. To hit. Milone fouls the third to end the entry. Carolina leads 3-0
SECOND INNING: Yankle jumps on the first shot and directs one to the left. No hitter today. Sanders goes 3-2 to the southpaw, Morton, and hits him with a quick ball. Strauss gets up and hits a quick ball that I don’t think was in the hit zone, but who’s complaining? Strauss hits the center in a straight line. Wimmer comes running, a little bit towards the right field, and makes a dive capture. Really good play, and the crowd gives him a more pleasant applause than usual, due to his first initial fight out there. Swinging strikeout ends the inning. There are five of these. … Sightler discovers a mistake by Tepper, second baseman. Routine game, bad boot. Then he climbs on a past ball. The pitcher is not getting help. Milone with a lazy pop to the left. Then Heinrich plays one in the Bermuda Triangle on the left and no one can make the move. Sightler scores. Callil up, the count goes 2-2, and he commits a foul. Now 3-2. He looks down. Allen hits 6-3 to close the entry. Carolina leads 1-0
FIRST TIME: Will Sanders to the mound. Posted on the message board he will probably win with 95-96, but will settle with 92-93. Well, there are no 92-93s. Basically, all the fast balls in the first round and basically all 95. He’s smoking smoke. Three strokes, including two looking. … Ochs is over 80 with his fastball to start. Allen trains him by taking down a pair of two attack shots before attacking. Wimmer tries to knock down a bunt to get it right, but it misses. Make the count complete before being hit by a pitch. But he is expelled trying to steal. Clarke walks in five shots. Mendham is the first pitcher and hits a swinging strike on the first base line. The pitcher mistreats when he goes to play. E1. Eyster sends a sharp flying ball into the deep right field, but Strauss does the reception against the wall to end the inning. No punctuation.