Published Oct 23, 2021
Gamecock baseball wins one, ties one in UNCW fall scrimmages
Michael Sauls  •  GamecockScoop
Staff Writer

The South Carolina baseball team played a pair of six inning scrimmages against the UNCW Seahawks on Saturday afternoon, they tied one and won another.

Game One: Tie 7-7

After a rough first inning South Carolina was able to find control on offense and defense, but missed opportunities on offense led to a tie.

The Gamecocks were able to get 12 hits but stranded seven batters, and a few wild pitches led to UNCW runs that inevitably kept the Seahawks in the game.

James Hicks started on the bump for the Gamecocks and the Seahawks jumped on him early. Hicks saw seven batters in the top of the first and of those, three got hits and four scored.

South Carolina answered in the bottom of the second with a big inning of their own. Eight batters saw the plate and six of them got hits. Andrew Eyster started off the inning with a home run to dead center. After two straight outs the Gamecocks were able to get four straight two out singles from the bottom half of their line up, helping them take the lead 5-4.

Hicks was able to get things under control after the first inning. He finished the afternoon with three innings pitched and only gave up two more hits after his subpar first inning.

UNCW didn't score again until the fourth inning after a couple wild pitches from Parker Coyne moved the lone Seahawk base runner all the way home cutting the Gamecock lead to one run.

UNCW was able to come back and take the lead in the top of the sixth after a solo home run from left fielder Dillon Lifrieri. After giving up the home run, Michael Esposito worked himself into a jam after hitting a batter, then walking two in a row to load the bases.

He was able to get the Seahawks to leave the runners stranded after getting the UNCW catcher Bryan Arendt to strike out looking.

South Carolina found themselves in the situation to win the game in the bottom of the sixth after Talmadge LeCroy came up to bat with bases loaded and no outs. Cole Messina scored from third on a wild pitch to tie the game at six.

Bradnt Belk ended up striking out to end the game, leaving three runners base.

Third baseman Kevin Madden led the Gamecocks offensively, he went three for three with three singles and scored a run.

Game two: USC wins 8-4

After going one for three in game one as a designated pitcher, Josiah Sightler started on game two on the mound for South Carolina.

Sightler pitched two innings and have up a four hits and two runs, most of which came in the second inning. The Seahawks scored two innings after a three hits scored two runs, putting UNCW up 2-0 after the first half of the inning.

South Carolina responded with three of their own runs in the bottom half of the second inning after Carson Hornung and Madden reached on back to back hits. Thad Ector was able to bring both them both home with a double.

Cade Austin relieved Sightler in the third inning and struck out two batters in a three up, three down inning. He couldn't continue his dominance into the fourth though, Lifrieri was able hit a two run home run, his second homer of the day, to put UNCW up 4-3.

CJ Weins came into pitch for South Carolina in the top of the fifth but wasn't able to make it out of the inning. After getting the first two batters to pop out, Weins walked three in a row to load the bases. Mark Kingston called on John Gilreath to come in and and get the final out and he delivered, getting a pop out to end the inning.

South Carolina exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fifth to take an 8-4 lead over the Seahawks. The Gamecocks almost batted through the entire lineup but only gained two hits in the inning, with most of the runs coming off walks and hit batters.

Belk was one of the Gamecocks who was hit by a pitch, he left the game a few pitches later and was replaced by a pinch runner.

Braswell moved to pitcher in the last inning and struck out two batters.