Dominant UNC pitching, hitting doom Gamecocks in 15-0 loss
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—South Carolina’s pitching faltered and it’s offense was no match for dominant North Carolina pitching as the Tar Heels gave the Gamecocks their worst loss of the season, beating them 15-0 Wednesday.
Coming into the game after scoring 21 runs over the weekend, the Gamecocks (28-6) were shutout for just the second time this season. That was due in large part to starting pitcher Hunter Williams, who went into the seventh inning not allowing a run.
South Carolina couldn't get into any rhythm offensively and only put four runners in scoring position all night.
“I think we didn’t have a lot of opportunity with the bats. We do a great job of having an approach offensively. Their starter attacked us with fastballs,” second baseman DC Arendas said. “We got to do a better job early in the count. We just didn’t put a lot of pressure on them offensively tonight.”
Junior righty Taylor Widener started off strong, not allowing a hit through the first three innings of the game. The wheels came off for him in the fourth when he walked three batters and gave up a two-out, three-run double to Eli Sutherland.
Widener was pulled quickly after and earned his second loss of the season.
The Tar Heels would score in three of the five remaining innings, each time scoring at least three runs.
After giving up the initial runs in the fourth, it seemed like the Gamecocks were fighting an uphill battle. It showed as the team couldn't string together enough hits to plate a run.
“It was just a disappointing night. You have to give credit to North Carolina. They got off to a good start and they got a bit over six, seven runs we knew it’d be a tough road to come back on those guys,” head coach Chad Holbrook said. “They outperformed us in a big-time way.”
This game was highly-anticipated with both teams being perennial powerhouses in college baseball and meeting now on a neutral field. The game didn't live up to the hype, however, as the Heels put their foot on the gas and didn't let up.
“We didn’t pick a good night not to perform at a high level," Holbrook said. "But it’s baseball sometimes it happens like that. But it’s certainly difficult to take."
The Gamecocks need to make a quick turnaround and flush the loss because an SEC series against Georgia looms this weekend. Players will be looking to bounce back and get the bad taste out of their mouths.
“It’s tough losing by that much regardless—middle school, high school, college—it stinks to lose by that much," outfielder Alex Destino said. "But it’s baseball and today we didn’t’ come to the park, we didn’t have it. That’s going to happen but it’s about how you come back Friday night. I look forward to getting back on the field.”
First pitch is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. in Athens. Clarke Schmidt (7-1, 1.77 ERA) is the expected starter for South Carolina. The offense will try and get out of its one-game slump and put runs on the board against the Bulldogs and rebound from the loss, something Destino said shouldn't be a problem.
“In the big picture, we’re going to be fine," he said. "I’m not worried about us.”
Line score 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9------R H E
North Carolina 0 0 0 3 3 0 5 0 4 15 11 1
South Carolina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 1
Starting lineups
South Carolina: RF, Gene Cone; 3B, Jonah Bride; C, John Jones; LF, Alex Destino; CF, Dom Thompson-Williams; DH, Madison Stokes; 1B, LT Tolbert; SS, Marcus Mooney; 2B, DC Arendas; P, Taylor Widener
North Carolina: 1B, Brian Miller; DH, Adam Pate; CF, Tyler Ramirez; SS, Logan Warmoth; RF, Brandon Riley; 2B, Eli Sutherland; 3B, Zack Gahagan; LF, Tyler Lynn; C, Cody Roberts; P, Hunter Williams
Pitching lines
South Carolina
Taylor Widener: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 4 K
Tyler Haswell: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 1 K
Vince Fiori: 0.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (ER), 0 BB, 0 K
Reed Scott: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Brandon Murray: .2 IP, 2 H, 4 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 0 K
Canaan Cropper: .1 IP, 3 H, 1 R (ER), 1 BB, 0 K
Colie Bowers: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Colton Provey: .1 IP, 1 H, 4 R (4 ER), 3 BB, 0 K
Kyle Anderson: .2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
North Carolina
Hunter Williams: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Spencer Trayner: .2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Tyler Suggs: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Chris McCue: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K