Josiah Sightler stamped on first base with a single and the crowd of over 4,000 got to its feet, sensing a big moment coming up.
The Gamecocks had just shrunk their deficit to three runs in the eighth and Braylen Wimmer dug in trying to keep the momentum going. Six pitches later, Wimmer found himself in a full count and taking a ball seemingly low.
He was rung up on strikes, looking, ending the threat as the Gamecocks ultimately dropped Thursday’s series opener 10-4 to Tennessee, making it competitive despite trailing by seven early.
“This team doesn’t have to show anyone it has fight. It’s shown that time and time again. That’s the least of my worries,” Mark Kingston said. We were one pitch from bringing the tying run in the eighth inning and it wasn’t meant to be.”
South Carolina (32-19, 15-13 SEC) already plated two in the eighth inning thanks to a two-run Andrew Eyster homer, and seized some momentum by chasing starter Chad Dallas and getting a two-out base runner thanks to Sightler’s infield hit.
Wimmer would work his full count, battling from 1-2 down before inevitably going down looking and causing an argument between Kingston and the home plate umpire.
Tennessee would put the game away in the ninth, plating a combined three runs off John Gilreath and Andrew Peters.
“It’s tough. There’s a big difference between three runs and six runs. When we’re down three going to the ninth it gives you more confidence than double that,” Eyster said. “It’s our job. We’ve scored six runs in an inning before and can do it at any time. We can’t let it affect our emotions and attitude.”
Things started off great for Brannon Jordan, who retired six of the first seven batters he faced before hitting trouble in the third and fourth innings.
After giving up a sacrifice fly to break a scoreless tie in the third, the wheels began to fall off for the Gamecocks’ starter in the fourth as Tennessee tagged him for six runs on five hits.
Jordan (5-5, 5.01 ERA) didn’t make it out of the fourth, walking a pair and giving up five total hits, three of which were for extra bases with two two-run homers.
“We have his back, I have his back, everyone in this dugout has his back and he’ll learn something from tonight that will help him win a regional or super regional game,” Kingston said. “He’s been great all year for us and it just wasn’t his night.”
Gilreath finished with one of his best ever outings, tossing a career-high five innings while allowing just two runs on four hits and striking out two.
“I commended John in front of the team after the game. John was tremendous,” Kingston said. “I’m real proud of that kid. He’s been through a lot here in college and real proud of him…He’s come a long way and he’s pitched and matured his way into an important part of our team.”
South Carolina’s offense struggled to muster much, especially early, off Dallas, who kept the Gamecocks offense off kilter most of the night with a heavy does of cutters and curveballs.
The righty motored nearly effortlessly through the first seven innings, giving up two runs—both on a Wes Clarke home run, No. 21 on the year—and allowing just four hits before being chased in the eighth soon after Eyster’s homer.
They’d finish with seven total hits—six off Dallas—and strike out nine times, four of those coming in the first two innings.
“We put some good at-bats together. We hit the ball hard for the most part; we got unlucky a couple times. You take away the first three innings and even in there we had some hard-hit balls,” Eyster said. “I don’t think anyone’s discouraged about how we played offensively tonight. There’s always room for improvement, but some things didn’t go our way tonight.”
