Gamecocks turn first triple play in two decades but fall short against No. 13 Aggies
The South Carolina baseball team needs a little magic to make a run at the postseason. Early in Friday’s series opener at No. 13 Texas A&M, the Gamecocks appeared to find some.
Up by one run in the third inning with Aggies on first and second base, the Gamecocks turned a rare 4-6-3 triple play. Second baseman Braylen Wimmer snared a line drive off the bat of Jack Moss, threw the ball to shortstop Michael Braswell, and Braswell fired to first baseman Kevin Madden to catch both runners before they could tag up. The triple play was the Gamecocks’ first since April 9, 1999 at Georgia.
Despite that historic moment, USC’s (23-21, 9-13 SEC) magic quickly ran out. The Aggies (29-15, 13-9) offense exploded in the middle innings to win the series opener 16-4.
Texas A&M chased USC starter Brett Thomas from the game with one out in the fourth, tagging him for three runs, and reliever John Gilreath couldn’t stop the bleeding. The Aggies pounded Gilreath for five runs in 1.2 innings, making him throw a whopping 50 pitches.
After hitting into the triple play in third, Moss rebounded by hitting a two-run home run off of Parker Coyne in the sixth to push the A&M score to double digits. In the bottom of the eighth, outfielder Jordan Thompson hit a two-out grand slam to add insult to injury.
Coming off a sweep of Alabama last weekend, the Gamecocks are trying to push their way into the postseason picture. Neither D1 Baseball nor Baseball America had South Carolina in their projected Field of 64 rankings this week, with BA listing USC as one of its next four teams out. The Gamecocks came into the weekend at No. 66 in the RPI and at No. 13 in strength of schedule, keeping them within striking distance. But going 2-11 in road games and midweek losses to teams like Presbyterian and The Citadel hurt USC’s overall resume.
A road series win over Texas A&M would be a massive jolt for USC’s postseason hopes. Just two series — at home against Kentucky and on the road at Florida — remain before the SEC tournament.
South Carolina baseball remaining schedule
This story was originally published May 6, 2022 at 11:35 PM with the headline "Gamecocks turn first triple play in two decades but fall short against No. 13 Aggies."
