CHARLESTON, S.C. — Midweek pitching is never a sure thing, but South Carolina baseball got an outstanding performance on Wednesday night.
Through the first four midweeks of the season, no Gamecock starter had completed four innings as Paul Mainieri cobbled outs together through a collection of arms.
No need this time. Jarvis Evans Jr. fired seven innings of one-run, three-hit ball on just 84 pitches, carrying South Carolina to a 9-1 win at Joe Riley Park.
“I thought that was the best, most complete game we’ve played all season in every phase," Paul Mainieri said. "We did everything we would have hoped to have done against a good ballclub, and I'm just really proud of the guys."
Evans has been no stranger to midweeks, but he entered this one off the back of two uneven performances. He fought through a tough outing at Winthrop two weeks ago where he allowed three runs in 3 ⅓ frames, and he surrendered two runs in his two innings of work against Gardner-Webb last Tuesday. On both occasions, he allowed a home run.
Nothing left the ballpark Wednesday, and nothing really even got all that close. He breezed through the first inning, erased one baserunner in the second inning with a pick-off move — his second in as many weeks — and managed his one tough situation of the night well in the third inning. After a tough luck triple on a ball that sliced just out of Ethan Petry’s reach in the right field corner, Evans traded an out for a run with a sacrifice fly on the next batter.
The Citadel (7-5) only put one more runner on base in the next three innings, a soft single Evans quickly extinguished with a double play.
“The inning after the one run I kind of just settled down and took a deep breath and just collected myself," Evans said. "I went back and attacked the zone.”
In the seventh inning, after walking his first batter of the night, inducing a double play and then issuing another free pass, pitching coach Terry Rooney made his first mound visit of the night. Freshman Zach Russell was ready in the bullpen, but Evans earned one more batter.
He finished what he started, ending the inning with a bouncer to second base to complete seven innings.
"I felt great," Evans said. "I felt healhy, my arm felt good, all my pitches felt good. I just went and attacked the zone, and felt good the whole night."
The offense dfid not need to do much, but it took care of business early. In a ballpark known for its favoritism towards pitchers and with the wind blowing in off the Charleston harbor as always, it figured to be a tough night for hitters.
Not for Petry, though, who tattooed a two-run home run way out to left field on his first swing of the night to put South Carolina (11-3) on top immediately.
The swing set the tone for the top of the lineup, and one inning later the man hitting in front of him added on. That spot has been a revolving door all year, with outfielder Evan Stone becoming the sixth different man to occupy the No. 2 hole.
Stone took advantage of his opportunity, clubbing just the fourth home run of his four-year career in the third inning. It was the first of two RBI extra base hits in the game, as the senior added an RBI double in the eighth.
"I was just looking for a good pitch in the zone," Stone said about his home run, shortly before saying he wasn't sure if he'd ever hit one that hard or far. "I got a heater, and I just put a good swing on it."
Shortstop Henry Kaczmar continued his climb out of a rough start with his second consecutive two-RBI night. Kaczmar narrowly missed a home run with an RBI triple high off the wall in right in the fourth inning and an RBI groundout in the eighth.
Until the eighth inning, it was a perfect night for the Gamecocks.
In one pitch, it wasn’t.
With an 8-1 lead and the game comfortably in hand, freshman catcher Gavin Braland — only playing in part because of the existing injury to starting catcher Talmadge LeCroy — made a sliding dive for a ball in foul territory.
Braland made the highlight-reel catch, but immediately came up limping. He departed the game immediately, dropping the injury situation at catcher to critical mass.
"That's the thing I love about Braland," Mainieri said about his effort. "He plays the game so hard, so passionate. He's a gamer, and he's got the 'it' factor. I've liked that kid from the day I met him, and he's caught tremendous these two games.
"I just hope it's nothing serious and he can get back out there soon."
A nearly perfect night, but with one big question mark. South Carolina opens its final series of non-conference play on Friday against Morehead State, but with its catching situation more up in the air than ever.
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