Gamecocks pound Paladins behind freshman pitching, clutch hitting
After losing on a walk-off home run Sunday, the Gamecocks needed to get a big play against Furman to get momentum going in the home dugout. They got that in the form of five runs over two innings Tuesday en route to a 6-1 win over the Paladins.
The Gamecocks (20-8, 6-3 SEC) have won 13 of their last 16 games after dropping the series against Clemson on March 5.
“You do worry about the psyche, but at the same time, I have confidence in the type of kids we have. They’re a resilient bunch, and it probably affected the coach for a lot longer time than it did the kids,” head coach Chad Holbrook said. “They bounced back pretty good. They came to the park ready to go from a work ethic standpoint.”
After starter Cody Morris gave up a run in the first inning on a wild pitch, the Gamecocks rallied to plate a run in the second on an LT Tolbert RBI single.
The big break came in the fourth when Carlos Cortes broke the tie with a two-out, two-run double to right center.
“It was important to get the momentum going our way,” Morris said. “The first inning we gave up a run, but after that it settled down and we got some momentum going for us. Carlos got a big hit; that was big for us.”
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In the sixth, the Gamecocks broke the game open with three runs, capped by a Tolbert two-run single to plate Chris Cullen and Alex Destino. Destino also drove in a run.
Tolbert is riding a seven-game hitting streak after going 2-for-4 Tuesday. He tied a career-high with three RBI. In his last seven games, he’s 13-for-27 (.481) with seven RBI and three runs.
“I think just trying to have quality at-bats, focusing on not the results but the approach and the swings I was putting on balls,” he said. “Just letting the results and the hits fall where they may.”
As a team, the Gamecocks struck out just once—a John Jones swinging punch out in the eighth. It ties a season-low set against Appalachian State for what was a strikeout-prone team at the beginning of the year.
“We’re doing better. The strikeouts have cut down. We’ve done some nice things offensively against some pretty good arms prior to tonight. I was really impressed with our team against Auburn,” Holbrook said. “We’re gelling a little bit offensively. We've got to continue to get better, but we’re doing OK.”
Morris, after giving up the run in the first, settled down to retire 11 of the last 13 batters he faced. He tossed five innings, giving up four hits while striking out three.
The redshirt freshman picks up his second career win and second win in as many starts, even though he said his off-speed pitches weren’t as crisp as he wanted them to be.
“It helps that even with not-great stuff you can go out there and compete and stuff,” Morris said. “That’s what I wanted to do tonight and just give us a chance to win.”
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Colby Lee relieved him, giving up a single to the first batter he faced and retiring his last 11 before being pulled with one out in the ninth. Sawyer Bridges finished the game, pitching around two one-out singles to pick up the final two outs.
Morris finished his game with 82 pitches, tying a career high he set against Tennessee. With Morris still figuring his arm out after coming off Tommy John surgery, Holbrook is comfortable with the young arms that can come in behind him.
“We’re going to be careful with him. He’s getting a lot more comfortable and I think his confidence is growing. He gets settled into games and pitches a little bit better after the first inning or so,” he said. “He’s got something going right now.”
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Turning Point: The fourth inning. After Cody Morris pitched around a one-out double in the top of the inning, the Gamecocks broke open a scoreless game with a two-out, two-RBI double from Carlos Cortes.
Player of the Game: LT Tolbert, who tied his career high with three RBI. He finished going 2-for-4 in his second start at shortstop this season. His original start came in the Gamecocks’ first game against The Citadel on March 7.
Up Next: The Gamecocks start their series against Vanderbilt Thursday. The series will be nationally televised and will start a day early and end Saturday.
