CHARLOTTE — There was frustration all night, but one hit erased it.
South Carolina baseball started with eight strikeouts on its first nine at-bats with runners in scoring position against No. 13 North Carolina in midweek action, leading to a 1-1 tie in the eighth inning. But Dylan Brewer ripped an RBI double into the gap to put the Gamecocks up 2-1, and they held up for a 2-1 victory at Truist Field.
"I just stayed on time with a fastball," Brewer said. "He [North Carolina pitcher Matthew Matthijs] threw it to me, and luckily I got the head out."
South Carolina’s (23-10) pitching took care of business thanks to stellar work from Dylan Eskew, Roman Kimball, Parker Marlatt and Connor McCreery. Kimball in particular is a very positive development for Mark Kingston’s squad after the Notre Dame transfer worked his second consecutive strong outing.
"They pounded the zone," Kingston said about his pitching. "And when they do that, you get great defense behind you. Really, really excited about that level of pitching and defense. That was as high a level of pitching and defense as you can have."
He took the baton from Eskew in a fourth inning jam, with runners on second and first and only one out. But a bouncing ball to shortstop later, he was back in the dugout and well on his way to cruising after inducing the third double play in as many innings. The pitcher with command problems all year was nearly flawless in that department, only walking one of the eight batters he faced while striking out five, including an electric fifth inning where he fanned all three North Carolina (26-7) batters faced swinging.
Those strikeouts went both ways, though. South Carolina’s offense punched out another 16 times, a theme which has lasted throughout the season and continued with runners in scoring position. The Gamecocks put two runners on base in the second inning, loaded the bases in the third, had the first two on in the fifth and stranded a lead-off double in the sixth, all but one of those at-bats ending in strikeouts.
In fact the only one where the ball even ended up in play came courtesy of Gavin Casas in the third inning, when his bases loaded roller to first base was hit too softly for a double play and plated Ethan Petry on a fielder’s choice.
Finally, the missed chances came back to bite when North Carolina’s nine-hole hitter Colby Wilkerson hit a game-tying RBI double off Marlatt in the seventh. But McCreery jogged in from the bullpen — his first outing against a power five opponent since allowing four runs in ⅔ of an inning at Ole Miss — and slammed the door on a night where usual ace relievers Chris Veach and Garrett Gainey were both unavailable after extended Sunday work.
"I knew as soon as I heard that I was going to get the ball in a big situation," McCreery said. "It's always good to get a shot whenever you can get it. Sometimes you're not always going to get the ball when you want it, but having a really good bullpen is probably the best probelm in baseball, so I'm not too upset with that problem.
"I knew on the bus ride I was probably going to get a good chance of getting the ball, and I'm happy I took it and ran with it."
Seven outs, five strikeouts and just one hit allowed in his best collegiate outing to date, enough to lock down a crucial midweek win for South Carolina’s tournament resume after Brewer’s offensive heroics in the eighth.
South Carolina will be back in SEC action for a three-game series at Florida this weekend starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
"it's another really good, quality RPI win," Kingston said. "It's another win at the end when they say, 'Okay who have you beaten?' you beat North Carolina in a big game. There's no question it could be important."
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