3/24/2017 baseball Edit

Baseball Notebook: Bats fizzle against the Tide

Will Helms • GamecockScoop

Staff Writer

While Will has covered all aspects South Carolina football, basketball and baseball for six years, he has become known for his use of advanced statistics and analytics in his writing.

South Carolina fell 4-2 against Alabama on Friday night. Here's everything you need to know about the game:

— T.J. Hopkins has been battling a hip flexor injury, but looked fine Friday, going 2-4 from the plate and making several athletic defensive plays. He also took two bases on a wild pitch in the first inning.

— The Gamecocks had six hits, four of which came with no outs in the first inning.

— South Carolina was 3-9 with runners in scoring position, with all three hits coming in the first inning. The Gamecocks were 3-15 with men on base and 0-8 with two outs, leaving nine men on base.

— Despite six walks and five hits in the first 5 ⅓ innings, the Gamecocks scored just two runs.

— Sophomore Adam Hill fell to 1-3 on the year, giving up a season-high three earned runs. The righty put up a season-high nine strikeouts, including inning-ending Ks in four of the first five frames.

— The Gamecock offense has put up three or fewer runs in four of Hill’s five starts this season. They’ve lost all four.

— Matt Williams extended his on-base streak to 19 games with a first inning walk. He finished 0-2, but walked three times and scored a run. He’s the second Gamecock with three walks in a game this season (Alex Destino)

— All four of Destino’s balls in play were grounders to the right side. In the first inning it found room and squeaked through for an RBI single. The other three were a double play, near double play, and groundout, respectively.

— For the first time this year, a Gamecock catcher threw out a runner. Hunter Taylor’s throw to second beat runner Cody Henry to end the sixth.

— Reed Scott pitched a scoreless inning and a third, but did walk two. Colie Bowers gave up an unearned run and was uncharacteristically wild, throwing two wild pitches. With bases loaded and one out though, he dug down and induced a 5-2 fielder’s choice and strikeout to limit the damage.

— The first five Gamecocks to bat in the first inning reached base, but the Gamecocks left the bases loaded on a fielder’s choice, pop up and strikeout.

— Lastly, since I got several questions about it. Yes, we did have the basketball game on in the press box, and pretty much every media member streamed the game.