Gamecocks pound CSU for third-straight win
Coming off a weekend where the Gamecocks outscored Missouri 24-5 the final two games, they picked up right where they left off Tuesday.
South Carolina used dominant pitching from a host of young arms and an explosive offense early to take care of Charleston Southern 9-0 for a third-straight win.
The Gamecocks (22-9, 8-4 SEC) have now won three consecutive games by at least nine runs for the first time since 2014.
“I think it’s the kind of game you want to have going into a big series on the road,” Mark Kingston said. “I thought it was a really crisp game. A lot of guys took really good at-bats and should have a lot of confidence going into the series. Our pitching was great; our defense was great. It’s the kind of game you want to take on the road with you.”
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Jack Mahoney got the Gamecocks off to a dynamite start, tossing five scoreless innings where he allowed just two base runners—one hit and a walk—while striking out seven.
Mahoney (2-0, 1.44 ERA) finished with a career-high in innings pitched and the fewest hits and runs he’s allowed since sliding into the midweek starter role three weeks ago.
“I’m feeling really comfortable starting,” Mahoney said. “I’m really liking the midweek feel. There’s nothing like pitching at Founders Park. I mean it’s a Tuesday night and this place is absolutely rocking. To be out there from the get-go was really fun. It’s always awesome to pitch at Founders.”
It was about as good as you could get for the Gamecocks early, who scored in four of the first five innings Tuesday night to jump out to the nine-run lead and cruise to another blowout win.
Five different Gamecocks picked up hits, but Josiah Sightler, Andrew Eyster and David Mendham paced them, combining to go 7-for-12 with six of the team’s RBIs, two homers and two doubles.
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Mendham snuck a ball just fair in the third inning for a two-run jack, his third of the season, while Sightler turned on a pitch in the fourth for a grand slam.
He tied a career-high in hits in a game, picking up just his second-career three-hit game.
“He’s gotten hot lately. He made an adjustment,” Kingston said. “He’s hitting the ball harder and driving the ball and taking better at-bats. Hopefully that’ll continue for him.”
For Sightler, it was his first-career grand slam and he made it memorable, walloping the ball 407 feet at 108 miles per hour off the bat.
“I think I would have to say so. It felt good off the bat. Seeing how far it went was pretty surprising,” Sightler said. “Walking up to the plate me and Wes Clarke looked at each other and were like be aggressive and swing early. It was a first-pitch fastball. I put a good swing on it. a home run was honestly the last thing I was thinking about.”
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The Gamecock offense as a whole combined for nine hits and walked seven times, while striking out just four times and continuing a patient approach at the plate that contributed to two wins against Missouri.
The pitching was excellent, too, with the team’s third shutout of the season and first since back-to-back ones against Mercer March 6 and 7.
They’d combine to allow just four hits and walk one as the bullpen didn’t walk a batter in four innings, striking out three and throwing 16 balls total in 50 total pitches.
“It was a good night all the way around. I thought every pitcher that went out there was good. Sweatt I think is going to continue to get better,” Kingston said. “The fastball was up to 95 again. Everybody that went out there had really good stuff. The fact they’re so young gives us great optimism as we continue to work.”
