For the better part of a month, South Carolina baseball has just been trying to find a way. Anyway, anyhow, to re-capture some momentum.
In game one of a season-defining doubleheader at Founders Park against Tennessee, it did.
A pitcher’s duel between Jack Mahoney and Chase Dollander finally snapped when Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello pulled Dollander in the sixth inning, and the Gamecocks broke the game open against reliever Chase Burns for a 6-1 win.
Dollander struck out 13 of the 20 batters he faced in the game and only allowed two hits, both to Braylen Wimmer. The senior designated hitter homered in the first inning off of him, but no other Gamecock found grass the rest of the day until he did with a base hit up the middle in the sixth. And despite his mastery of the lineup all day, and his pitch count sitting at a modest 82, that was it.
And it was also all South Carolina (38-16, 16-12 SEC) needed.
The next five batters all pounded out hits against Burns, turning a 1-1 nailbiter into a 6-1 blowout in just 10 minutes of real time. Cole Messina started the party with a line drive to left field on Burns’ first pitch, and Ethan Petry followed it up with a bouncing ball through the hole at shortstop that scored Wimmer and gave South Carolina a lead it never relinquished.
Gavin Casas, Talmadge LeCroy and Michael Braswell all passed the baton to one another with RBI hits, LeCroy’s blow being the biggest blow on a two-run bullet down the left field line that plated a pair of runs and doubled the lead. It was an offensive onslaught reminiscent of some of South Carolina’s earlier innings of the season, a desperately needed return to form at the most crucial time.
Tennessee’s (37-18, 15-14 SEC) bats found no such luck against Mahoney, who was dominant for the second consecutive start. He picked up where he left off last week, stacking six innings of one-run baseball on top of his seven innings with only one run allowed last week at Arkansas. Mahoney had a sharp fastball working along with his typical assortment of wipe out breaking pitches, striking out nine batters and not even allowing a hit until the fourth inning.
That hit was a crucial moment in the game though as it came with two on and two out after a pair of free passes, and looked ticketed to tie the game for Tennessee. Maui Ahuna rounded third base trying to score on the play, but Dylan Brewer fired a bullet in from left field in time for Cole Messina to apply the tag for a 7-2 putout that kept the lead in the home dugout.
Even after Christian Scott tied the game with a fifth-inning RBI double, Mahoney grinded to strand him on third base by striking out Ahuna and then proceeded to complete another inning to put an exclamation point on his day.
Game two of the series will start in 45 minutes.
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