Recap: Gamecocks edge Furman, 5-4, for second straight win
Looking to head into the weekend on a positive note, South Carolina faced Furman Wednesday night at Founders Park in Columbia. It was the first of two meetings between the Palmetto State schools in 2016. Here is a recap of what happened:
LINESCORE
FUR (7-5) - 021 010 000 = 4-10-0
USC (12-2) - 302 000 00x = 5-7-0
WP – Tyler Haswell (2-0)
LP – Will Dvorak (0-1)
SV – Josh Reagan (4)
HR – USC, John Jones (B1, 1 on), Alex Destino (B1, none on)
LOB – USC 10, Furman 8
A – 6,325 (Announced)
Time: 2:59
HIGHLIGHTS:
-- John Jones and Alex Destino smacked back-to-back homers in the first as USC jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Relievers Tyler Haswell and Reed Scott combined for 5.1 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 strikeouts, 1 walk. They retired 16 of the 21 Furman batters they faced. Neither team scored after the top of the 5th. Furman reliever Harry Norman limited USC to three hits over the final 5.0 innings. Jones and Dom Thompson-Williams had two hits apiece.
-- USC starter Canaan Cropper struggled at the outset. Four of his first five pitches were balls. A walk and single put two Furman runners on base without an out being recorded and the Gamecock bullpen got busy early. But Cropper fanned Furman’s No. 3 batter and the runner on second strayed too far off the base and was tagged out by 3B Jonah Bride. Two outs on the same pitch.
-- It didn’t take the Gamecocks long to figure out Furman starter Brandon Elmy. With one out and T.J. Hopkins on second base (walk + stolen base), John Jones homered to right on the first pitch from Elmy to give the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead. The blast was Jones’ fourth HR of the season and gave him 21 RBI.
-- Moments later, Alex Destino walloped a towering solo homer on a 1-1 pitch onto the street beyond the RF fence for a 3-0 lead. Four pitches, two homers.
-- Furman quickly closed the gap to a single run in the top of the second with a two-out, two-run single to right off Cropper. Leadoff double, walk and sacrifice bunt put two runners into scoring position for the Paladins and they took advantage.
-- After Furman tied it up at 3-3 in the top of the third, USC scored twice in the bottom half of the innings with the bats and a little help from the Furman pitching staff. Four walks, a single and sacrifice fly led to the runs as the Gamecocks took a 5-3 lead.
-- Gamecock reliever Tyler Haswell settled things down in his 2.1 innings of work, retiring the first five Paladin batters he faced and seven of nine overall. Furman scored a run in the top of the fifth on a two out, RBI single to narrow USC’s lead to 5-4.
-- USC’s sixth stolen base of the night in the bottom of the fifth inning set a new Founders Park single game record.
-- USC threatened in the bottom of the sixth as Jones and DTYW both singled, but a popup to short ended the threat. It marked the second straight inning the Gamecocks left two runners on base.
-- Furman nearly tied the game in the top of the seventh when they put two runners on base with two outs. However, a scorching liner down the third base line found the glove of 3B Jonah Bride for the final out. A few feet in either direction and the score would have been tied.
-- Josh Reagan worked a perfect ninth to record his fourth save of the season. Reagan needed just 8 pitches to set down the side.
HOW THE RUNS SCORED:
USC 1st – Hopkins walked, Hopkins stole second, Bride grounded to third, Jones homered to right (2 RBI), Destino homered to right (RBI), DTW flied to center, Tolbert walked, Taylor struckout. THREE RUNS, TWO HITS (USC 3-0).
FUR 2nd – Simpson doubled to left, Crawford flied to center, Sanders walked, Griffith sacrificed to catcher (2-3), Towarnicky singled to right (2 RBI), Richards grounded to first. TWO RUNS, TWO HITS (USC 3-2).
FUR 3rd - <PROVEY FOR CROPPER>, Grote lined to third, Whitehead doubled to right-center, Overton fouled to catcher, Simpson singled to left (RBI), Crawford singled to center, <HASWELL FOR PROVEY>, Sanders popped to second. ONE RUN, THREE HITS (TIED 3-3).
USC 3rd – Destino walked, DTW singled to third, Tolbert sacrificed (1-3), Taylor walked, Arendas hit sacrifice fly to left (RBI), Taylor stole second and DTW stole third, Mooney walked, Hopkins walked (RBI), Bride flied to center. TWO RUNS, ONE HIT (USC 5-3).
FUR 5th – Grote grounded to short, Whitehead singled to right, Overton popped to short, Overton advanced to second on wild pitch, Simpson singled to right (RBI), Crawford lined to right. ONE RUN, TWO HITS (USC 5-4).
