Gamecocks drop series after walk-off loss to Wildcats
It’s not everyday a baseball team can have 11 more hits and one fewer errors than its opponent and lose the game. Everyday just became Sunday for South Carolina as they out-hit Kentucky 14-5 but wound up losing the game 5-4 in 12 innings on a walk-off home run.
South Carolina left 15 runners on base, including the bases loaded in the 11th inning. Eight of the 15 batters left on base were in scoring position. The Gamecocks were 2-for-17 (.118) batting with runners in scoring position.
“Defensively I don’t see many games where you out-hit the opponent fourteen to five and lose the game,” head coach Chad Holbrook said. “That’s difficult to take in that regard. We have guys step up when people are on base. We had the game in our hands and we couldn’t have a couple quality at bats with runners in scoring position.”
The Gamecocks would fall behind in the third inning after a two-run home run from Kentucky’s Luke Becker, making it three straight games they didn’t score first.
South Carolina would get one back in the following inning with a Marcus Mooney RBI single, but Kentucky scored on a wild pitch to put the lead back at 3-1 going to the fifth inning.
But then the Gamecocks would rip off three runs over the course of three innings to take a 4-3 lead. The lead was taken on a Jonah Bride solo home run to right field in the eighth inning. Cone had a sacrifice fly in the sixth and Thompson-Williams had a RBI single in the seventh.
Kentucky would tie the game on a solo home run off of Josh Reagan to force extra innings. It’s Reagan’s third home run allowed in three appearances.
“They were going to respond and we had to do something to get the lead,” second baseman DC Arendas said. “I think the main thing is we had opportunities to win and we didn’t capitalize.”
The best scoring chance for South Carolina came in the 11th inning when they had runners at first and third with no outs. Needing only contact with the ball to score a run, three strikeouts by Alex Destino, Chris Cullen and Madison Stokes ended the inning.
Stokes’ punch-out came a batter after Jonah Bride walked to load the bases.
“It baffles me that we can’t make contact with runners on third,” Holbrook said. “I didn’t feel good about leaving guys on in the first, but we were playing hard, we were hitting some balls hard. Sometimes you get a chance to make up for those opportunities, and we had our chance to make up for those opportunities and we couldn’t step up and do it.”
Kentucky would eventually win the game on a walk-off home run off of Tyler Johnson to the short porch in right field to win the game and take the series. It’s Johnson’s second loss of the season.
The Gamecocks had a better batting average (.297) than Kentucky (.131), but in the end, it was the inability to get the timely hit and drive in the big run that cost them the series.
“We may have hit better than our opponent, but when the chips were down, they played better than us,” Holbrook said. “At the end of the day that’s why we lost.”
Since Florida beat Tennessee Sunday, there is a tie atop the SEC standings. Both South Carolina and Florida are 17-6 in conference. With only six games left in the SEC, each game is vital, which makes Sunday’s loss stand out a little bit more.
“You have to make plays, you have to get big hits, you have to put pressure on the defense. When we got people out there today we made it easy for the defense,” Holbrook said. “That’s the part that hurts the most.”
Not a GamecockCentral.com member and want to get all the scoop? SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Never miss a moment with the GamecockCentral app: App Store - Google Play
