It wouldn’t be South Carolina if the Gamecocks didn’t end their six-game losing streak in dramatic fashion.
Needing a win Sunday to avoid back-to-back sweeps this season the Gamecocks engineered a comeback victory over No. 2 Vanderbilt to take the finale game of the series 6-5 to snap their recent skid.
South Carolina saw its head coach ejected, scored the final four runs of the day, including the tying and go-ahead runs in the eighth inning, and won the game with a gutsy performance from Brett Kerry.
“They say all wins are equal but I don’t think that’s true. Today was a big win for us, especially coming off yesterday and especially after falling behind early. It looked like it wasn’t going to be our day but this team kept fighting, battling and found a way to win,” Mark Kingston said. “That’s huge. In this league, you get 30 chances and you have to take advantage of every one. I’m really, really happy with the guys.”
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After being no-hit Saturday, the Gamecocks (12-6) fell behind early with Vanderbilt jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first and pushing it to 5-2 through five innings.
Brady Allen broke up Vanderbilt’s perfect game bid in the fourth, cranking a solo shot to left field and Braylen Wimmer followed it up with another solo home run.
Allen and Wimmer were great Sunday, combining to go 6-for-10, scoring four runs and driving in three with a double and two home runs, which came as part of back-to-back shots to open the fourth inning.
“Brady’s home run gave us a spark. We made a slight adjustment at that point, the offense did as a group, and I thought it really helped us the rest of the game,” Kingston said. “Credit Brady for being the first one to charge through that door and everybody after that came with him.”
Kingston was tossed in the seventh inning and the comeback started in earnest then.
Trailing by a run, Allen led the eighth off with a double and the Gamecocks loaded the bases twice in the inning and scored both runs off sacrifice flies, one from Wes Clarke to tie the game and the ultimately game-winning one from Andrew Eyster.
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“It’s awesome, especially for the hitters. The pitchers have been out there doing their jobs all season,” Allen said. “To prove we have the pitchers’ backs is good for the momentum going forward.”
The win, though, wouldn’t have been possible without a sensational outing from Brett Kerry (2-0, 0.46 ERA).
Julian Bosnic was pulled after giving up five runs in 3.1 innings, Kerry came in and shut things down. He’d give up a RBI triple to the first batter he faced but retired the next 10 batters he faced.
In his final five innings of action, Kerry allowed just two hits, neither of which left the infield.
“Fastball, slider and cutter were really good. I could mix them any count I wanted,” Kerry said. “It was really good to get the cutter out of the zone when I wanted for a strikeout or for a swing and a miss.”
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He’d finish striking out 10 batters, including the final batter of the game with the tying run at second base, the most he’s ever had against a SEC opponent.
“I wish I could have seen all of it,” Kingston said. “I didn’t see the last couple innings but he was tremendous. He put us on his back and gave our offense a chance to score. They took advantage.”
The Gamecocks were in desperate need of something good to happen Sunday and got it, avoiding the sweep and getting the chance now to get back to .500 in SEC play with a series win over Florida next weekend at home.
“The motto is don’t get swept on the road,” Kerry said. “We wanted to win the series, but that didn’t happen, and we’re glad to take this one and get momentum going into the weekend.
