With a little help from Missouri, Gamecocks rally for series-opening win
On a night when Clarke Schmidt didn't pitch at his typically high level, South Carolina still found a way to win.
Taking advantage of three Missouri defensive lapses, the Gamecocks scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth before adding three key insurance runs in the eighth, rallying for a series-opening 8-5 victory over Missouri in a rain-delayed contest between SEC East rivals at Founders Park.
“We feel fortunate to have won,” Chad Holbrook said. “Things really didn’t get off to a great start and things didn’t look good for us when we were down by three runs. But that happens from time to time in this league because every team in this league can push you around some. That’s why I feel relieved to get this one when things didn’t look so hot at some point. We’ll take it and move on.”
USC improved to 31-8 overall, 12-4 in the SEC and retained a one-half game lead over Florida in the SEC East standings.
The victory was highlighted by leadoff hitter Gene Cone’s 3-for-4, two doubles, three RBI performance as the junior from Spring Valley High School equaled the school record for the longest single season hitting streak at 25 games.
Cone, Dom Thompson-Williams and John Jones, the top three hitters in USC’s lineup, combined to go 6-for-14 with five RBI and two runs scored. Meanwhile, the bottom four hitters (LT Tolbert, Chris Cullen, DC Arendas, Marcus Mooney) jointly scored five runs despite not collecting a hit. Arendas walked three times.
After doubling and scoring USC’s first run in the bottom of the third on John Jones’ RBI single, Cone delivered the key hit of the game in the sixth when he slapped an opposite-field double into the left-field corner that scored Chris Cullen and Marcus Mooney with the tying and go-ahead runs, giving USC a 5-4 lead.
The uprising featured two errors by the Missouri third baseman, including a dropped popup near the mound, and a botched potential inning-ending double play that occurred moments before Cone’s huge hit.
The matchup between South Carolina starter Clarke Schmidt against a weak-hitting Missouri team batting a collective .253 looked to be a mismatch from a statistical standpoint, and that is how the top of the first played out as Schmidt easily retired the Tigers in order.
However, as they often do in baseball, circumstances flipped with two outs in the top of the second. With runners at second and third, a two-run single by Missouri’s No. 8 hitter (he came into the game batting .216) gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Missouri continued having unexpected success against Schmidt in the top of the third as a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly gave Missouri a 3-0 lead.
The Gamecocks finally broke through against Mizzou starter Reggie McClain in the bottom of the third when Cone doubled down the right field line and scored two batters later on Jones’ run-scoring single, increasing his season RBI total to a team-high 38.
Schmidt was lifted in the top of the sixth soon after throwing his 100th pitch and allowing a two-out RBI double to right-center that lifted the Tigers to a 4-1 lead.
With Missouri runners on base, Schmidt ended three straight innings with strikeouts.
“He kept them at bay,” Holbrook said. “There were a couple of instances where they were one hit away from getting some separation from us and that would have made it extremely difficult. But (Schmidt) battled and kept us in the game. That’s what you ask your starters to do, to give you a chance. We can’t expect Clarke to be perfect every time out. That’s not fair.”
Schmidt’s outing (5.2 IP, 9 hits, 4 runs, 5 K, 2 BB) was his shortest of the season. He threw 106 pitches and faced 29 Mizzou batters.
“Clarke didn’t have his great stuff tonight,” Holbrook said. “He had good stuff, but he didn’t locate it. He didn’t feel great. He wasn’t comfortable. His location wasn’t as precise and crisp as it has been all year long. But he still battled and got some big outs for us. He kept in the game and within striking distance. That’s one of the neat things about our team so far this year, we’ve picked each other up.”
The bizarre bottom of the sixth began with Alex Destino’s double and continued with Missouri errors on consecutive Gamecocks batters, a walk and pair of fielder’s choices. When the red shot Cone came to the plate with two outs, USC trailed 4-3. His two-run double gave the Gamecock a lead they would never relinquish.
Tyler Johnson came out of the bullpen throwing gas and fanned three of the first five batters he faced, including two in the top of the eighth. He ended up striking out four of the nine batters he faced.
USC added three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth on RBI singles by Cone, Thompson-Williams and a wild pitch. Since USC held a four-run lead and it was not a save situation, Johnson started the top of the ninth on the mound. He surrendered a solo homer with one out, but quickly recorded the final two outs after that for his third save of the season.
FINAL: South Carolina 8, Missouri 5.
LINESCORE
MIZ (20-19): 021 001 001 = 5-11-2
USC (31-8): 001 004 03x = 8-9-0
WP – Reed Scott (3-1)
LP – Cole Bartlett (2-4)
SV – Tyler Johnson (3)
HR – MIZ, Zach Lavy (9th, none on, one out)
RBI – Cone (3), Jones (1), Bride (1), Mooney (1), DTW (1).
LOB – USC 8, Missouri 10.
A – 6,721
Time – 3:19
Gamecock Pitchers: Clarke Schmidt (5.2 IP, 106 pitches), Reed Scott (0.2, 19 pitches), Tyler Johnson (2.2 IP, 40 pitches)
HOW THE RUNS SCORED:
MIZ 2nd – Lavy singled to shortstop, Harris struck out swinging, Bond hit by pitch, Benes grounded to pitcher, Nelson singled to center (2 RBI), McGuire doubled to right, Brumfield hit by pitch, Ring grounded into fielder’s choice (6-4). TWO RUNS, THREE HITS (MIZ 2-0)
MIZ 3rd – Howard singled up the middle, Lavy singled to left-center, Harris hits sacrifice fly to center (RBI), Bond flied to right, Benes struck out swinging. ONE RUN, TWO HITS (MIZ 3-0).
USC 3rd – Mooney grounded to third, Cone doubled to right, DTW lined to third, Jones singled to left (RBI), Destino grounded to first. ONE RUN, TWO HITS (MIZ 3-1).
MIZ 6th – Nelson grounded to short, McGuire doubled to right, Brumfield grounded to second, Ring doubled to right-center (RBI), <SCOTT FOR SCHMIDT>, Howard walked, Lavy struck out looking. ONE RUN, TWO HITS (MIZ 4-1).
USC 6th - Destino doubled to right-center, Destino advanced to third on wild pitch, Bride reached on fielding error by 3B (E5)(RBI), Tolbert reached on dropped infield fly by 3b (E5), Cullen bunted and reached on a fielder's choice (3-5), Arendas walked, Mooney reached on a fielder's choice (5-4)(RBI), Cone doubled to left (2 RBI), Cone stole third, DTW struck out looking. FOUR RUNS, TWO HITS (USC 5-4).
USC 8th – Cullen grounded to pitcher, Arendas walked, Mooney walked, Cone singled to right (RBI), Cone advanced to second on wild pitch, DTW singled to right (RBI) and advanced to second on throw, Cone scored on wild pitch, Jones struckout looking, Scolamiero grounded to first. THREE RUNS, TWO HITS (USC 8-4).
MIZ 9th – Howard fouled out to second, Lavy homered to right (RBI), Harris struckout looking, Bond popped to second. ONE RUN, ONE HIT. GAME OVER (USC 8-5).
