Dazzling Diamonds: Baseball gods finally smile on Gamecocks

Go figure.

The Gamecocks collected 23 hits in the final two games against Clemson last weekend, but lost both times in excruciating fashion.

Friday night, they managed just three hits in eight innings off Michigan State starter Alex Troop but pulled out a 3-2 nailbiter because of one mighty swing of the bat by Madison Stokes in the bottom of the fifth inning and alert baserunning by Jonah Bride in the bottom of the seventh.

Sometimes the baseball gods smile upon you and sometimes they don’t.

We’ve seen classic examples of both extremes in the last seven days.

Earlier this season, the Gamecocks lost a game to UNC Greensboro despite UNCG getting just one hit, so perhaps Friday night’s result was the baseball gods balancing things out.

“They outhit 9-3, so maybe we had some fortunes come our way,” Holbrook said. “We didn’t get any that day (loss to UNCG), but maybe it’s evening out now.”

Michigan State starting southpaw Alex Troop brought outstanding credentials into Friday night’s matchup with USC’s Clarke Schmidt. In 15.0 innings, Troop had a 2-0 record and 1.80 ERA with 11 strikeouts and just one walk. He beat Furman last Friday, 3-2, in the Upstate.

Matching Schmidt pitch-for-pitch, Troop made one bad pitch on Stokes’ towering two-run homer down the left field line in the fifth, USC’s first hit of the game, and it was enough to get him beat.

Two batters prior to Stokes coming to the plate, the Michigan State right-fielder, perhaps bothered by the wind, misjudged a fly and allowed what should have been an easy out to reach base and eventually stroll home with the tying run on Stokes’ blast.

“We knew he was good coming into the game,” Holbrook said of Troop. “In the first inning, I saw his funky delivery and his ability to throw the changeup, his command and his location of pitches, and I knew it was going to be a struggle to score, especially with the wind blowing in the way it was. Madison got into one and gave us some momentum.”

Troop had a “big league” changeup, Holbrook said.

“Our guys couldn’t pick the ball up,” Holbrook said. “It was a struggle. In the first couple of innings, they all came back saying they couldn’t see it. Sometimes lefties can do that to you. I knew it was going to be a struggle. We were just hoping for a break. They misplayed the ball in the outfield and Madison then hit one out.”

Stokes blast needed to be just that, because the howling wind knocked down everything hit in the air to the outfield.

“I didn’t think a ball would get hit out in left tonight before the game because of the wind,” Holbrook said. “When he hit it, I knew he had gotten it. He hit it well. But I still wasn’t sure. I’ve seen balls go to die out there when the wind is blowing like this.

“Since it got out, that shows you how well he hit it. On a normal day, that’s probably three-quarters of the way up the bleachers and we normally don’t see many homers hit that far here. He put a great swing on it when we needed it in a big way.”

The eventual game-winning run scored when Jonah Bride alertly raced home from third base on a strikeout-throwout play at first base. The Michigan State catcher left home plate vacated for a few seconds and Bride took advantage with as good a piece of base-running as you will ever see.

“Jonah just made a great base-running play,” Holbrook said. “He did it on his own. It was all instinct. Jonah is a baseball player. He saw their catcher throw the ball down to first earlier in the game and instinctively he thought he might have some time to score with the right opportunity.

“He did, and it was obviously the difference in the game. Jonah picks up everything. He is lie a coach on the field. He may not be the most talented baseball player out there, but in terms of savvy, instinct and watching the game and trying learn, he is one of the best I’ve ever coached.”

NOTES:

-- Leadoff hitter T.J. Hopkins left Friday night’s game early with a right leg injury and was replaced by Danny Blair. Holbrook said afterwards that the sophomore from Summerville would be “out for a while.” Hopkins was taken to the hospital for a MRI due to a quadricep issue. “It flared up on him in a big-time way tonight,” Holbrook said. “I’m not sure weather contributed to it or not. We’re keeping our fingers crossed because we need him in there, obviously. I don’t se ehim playing the rest of the weekend. Hopefully, we can get him back for next weekend (SEC opening series at Tennessee). But I’m not sure.”

-- Will Crowe will start Saturday’s Game 2 for the Gamecocks (4 p.m., SEC Network Plus). He is 2-0 with a 2.60 ERA in 17.1 IP. He has 22 strikeouts compared to 4 walks for an impressive K-to-BB ratio of greater than 5-to-1. OBA is .175.

-- Matt Williams had his 12-game hitting streak come to an end by going 0-for-2, but he extended his on-base streak to 13 games with a fourth-inning walk.