South Carolina showed flashes of its potential against the nation's top-ranked team but couldn't overcome a rough start as No. 1 Tennessee held on for an 11-7 victory Friday night at Founders Park in the opening game of a crucial SEC series.
Tennessee (25-4, 8-2 SEC) wasted no time asserting its dominance when Dalton Bargo launched a solo home run to right field in the first inning. The Gamecocks (18-13, 3-8 SEC) answered immediately in the bottom half when Ethan Petry crushed a two-run shot to left field, scoring Nathan Hall and giving South Carolina a 2-1 advantage.
The lead proved short-lived. Tennessee erupted for five unearned runs in the second inning, taking advantage of a South Carolina miscue to build a commanding 6-2 lead. After a sacrifice fly tied the game, Dean Curley and Bargo delivered back-to-back RBI singles before Hunter Ensley delivered the big blow – a two-run homer to left-center field that chased Gamecock starter Jake McCoy.
McCoy (2-3) struggled through just four innings, allowing six runs (three earned) on eight hits while striking out three. His counterpart, Tennessee's Liam Doyle (4-1), pitched 5⅓ innings and surrendered five runs on nine hits to earn the win.
After Tennessee extended its lead to 10-2 with another four-run outburst in the fifth inning, the Gamecocks began their comeback attempt. South Carolina scratched a run across in the fifth when a wild pitch allowed Jordan Carrion to score.
The Gamecocks continued to battle in the sixth, adding two more runs on RBI singles from Carrion and Henry Kaczmar to trim the deficit to 10-5. Carrion finished with a perfect 4-for-4 night at the plate, including a double and an RBI.
South Carolina's bullpen settled in after the fifth inning, holding Tennessee scoreless until the ninth when the Volunteers added an insurance run on Manny Marin's sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the ninth, Kaczmar generated one final spark of hope with a two-run homer to left-center field, but Tennessee closer Dylan Loy recorded the final two outs to secure the victory.
Petry led South Carolina's offense with a 4-for-5 performance, including his two-run homer in the first inning. Kaczmar added two hits and three RBIs, while Hall contributed a double as part of a two-hit night.
For Tennessee, Curley and Bargo each collected two hits and combined for three RBIs, while Ariel Antigua drove in three runs despite recording just one hit. The Volunteers demonstrated why they're the nation's top-ranked team by going 5-for-8 with runners in scoring position and scoring seven of their 11 runs with two outs.
South Carolina will look to even the series on Saturday when the teams meet for game two at 4 p.m. We'll have live coverage on the Insider's Forum.
