South Carolina baseball turned over a new leaf in multiple ways on Tuesday afternoon.

By playing and winning its first midweek game of the season, it put behind some of the struggles it had in midweeks last season.

And by getting key contributions from the two most talked about prospects in its freshmen class, it showed that the new blood on the roster could help lead to an even bigger turnaround.

Freshman pitcher Eli Jerzembeck struck out four batters in four innings of one-run ball as the starter, freshman hitter Ethan Petry hit his second home run in as many games and South Carolina beat Winthrop 19-3 at Founders Park to grab a fourth straight win to start 2023.

"You need big time players to win," Mark Kingston said. "Whether they're freshmen, whether they're transfers, whether they're your own guys that you develop, you need big time players to win at this level."

Last season South Carolina (4-0) only had one winning streak longer than four games the entire season, but has already set itself up with an opportunity to get one tomorrow after another dominant victory. It was the first time since 2006 the Gamecocks have scored double-digit runs in four straight games, and the first time since 1987 it did so in the first four games of a season.

It started with Jerzembeck, the 16th-best right-handed high school pitcher in the country last year according to Perfect Game. After dazzling in the fall with his wipeout pitch mix and potential, he earned the first midweek assignment of the season. He only went four innings, but those innings showed why the staff is so high on him.

"It lived up to the hype," Jerzembeck said. "It was something I've been waiting for, and I think it was all good."

He struck out four batters and did not walk any, only allowing four scattered hits and one run. His middle two innings of work were the most impressive, getting six outs on just 16 total pitches in the second and third innings. At one point he sat down eight consecutive Winthrop (3-1) hitters, in total command of the lineup and his stuff. He got in a little bit of trouble in the fourth inning after a pair of singles and a double plated a run and moved the tying runs into scoring position, but he escaped trouble with a strikeout and a groundout after a meeting with pitching coach Justin Parker.

"We don't ask our guys to all be the same," Kingston said. "We don't ask our guys to all be robots. We want their personaliites to come out. We want them to be who they are, but then you have to keep that within a framework of what do we need in this moment as a pitcher in a big moment. He calmed down, he made big pitches and he got out of a jam."

Jerzembeck turned it over to Eli Jones, and his offense took over from there.

South Carolina scored three in the second, three in the fourth, six in the fifth and five in the sixth to tally up 17 runs by the end of the sixth inning. Petry continued the freshman theme with home runs in back-to-back plate appearances, hitting consecutive two-run shots in the fifth and sixth innings. For the day he reached base four times, also adding a walk and a single to his performance all while making the start in right field.

"Pre-season this year I got hit by a truck," Petry said. "We all figured out what was wrong, and it was just all mental. Mentally I became stronger, and at the end of the day it's just a game. I'm just out here to have fun. There ain't nothing better than this. Coming off the bench in my first game and getting my first hit, I was locked in all game. Even seeing all the fans out there was an experience I'll never forget."

Eight different Gamecocks recorded at least one RBI and eight had a hit. Will McGillis picked up the first RBI of the game on a fielder’s choice in the second inning, and after a walk to Petry loaded the bases, Evan Stone tagged a two-run single into left field to make it 3-0. In the fourth inning immediately after the Eagles pulled a run back, South Carolina scored three on one mighty swing from Braylen Wimmer into right field. That Wimmer blast opened the floodgates and forced Winthrop deep into its bullpen, where the depth caved in.

South Carolina drew 11 walks in the game, nine against Winthrop relief pitchers. Nine different players had at least one, with the always disciplined Carson Hornung and McGillis each working two bases on balls. In the fifth inning three straight walks to Hornung, Wimmer and Caleb Denny loaded the bases with two outs for Cole Messina, who clubbed a grand slam to left field for the game’s hammer blow. Denny himself added a 428-foot titanic blast in the sixth, and even David Cromer picked up his first career hit and RBI to drive in the 18th run on an 0-2 pitch in the seventh.

After a mediocre 7-5 record in midweeks last season greatly hindered any chance of reaching the postseason, the Gamecocks made a perfect start to their 14-game midweek slate on Tuesday. The second midweek game of the week will come tomorrow at 4 p.m. against Queens University.

"We should play like that every game," Petry said. "No matter what is said on any media, you just have to go out there and have a chip on your shoulder no matter who you play."