How South Carolina baseball secured Sunday victory, series win over Belmont
South Carolina has feasted on subpar pitching this season. Some of it has been strictly the efforts of opposing teams in Founders Park. Some of it has to do with patience and approach by USC’s batters..
That early-season trend continued Sunday afternoon in the rubber game with Belmont. The Gamecocks raced to an early lead and coasted to a 12-1 victory to take the series 2-1. The game ended after eight innings due to the mercy-run rule. It’s the fourth time this season the Gamecocks have induced the run-rule.
Cole Messina, who hit two home runs on the day, ended the game with a 409-foot bomb to left field.
Mark Kingston was happy to see the way his team responded after losing for the first time on Saturday.
“Obviously the way we wanted these guys to respond today, we responded,” Kingston said. “We challenged them that (Saturday) everything that could go wrong, went wrong. It’s how you respond to it. I thought Roman (Kimball) set the tone today. Kennedy Jones in the leadoff spot set the tone.”
South Carolina (7-1) scored six runs in the first inning after spotting the Bruins a run in the top of the frame.
Outfielder Kennedy Jones made his first start in a USC uniform a memorable one. He homered to right field to lead off the bottom half of the first frame to quickly tie the game. Jones added another RBI later in the same inning and added an RBI single in the third.
It will be a boost to the Gamecocks lineup if they can get Jones going offensively. He transferred to Columbia after two stellar seasons at UNC Greensboro. Last year, he was an All-Southern Conference selection when he hit .357 with 14 doubles, 14 home runs and 43 RBIs. In two seasons with the Spartans, he drove in 116 runs and hit 25 home runs.
“Honestly, words can’t describe the feeling,” Jones said. “My teammates have my back all through his process, so it wasn’t an upsetting moment (of not starting). My teammates got me through this.”
After Jones’ home run, South Carolina forced starting pitcher Jalen Borders to throw 43 pitches before exiting. Borders recorded one out while facing nine batters. The Gamecocks walked four times and were hit by pitches two other times.
Ryan Bakes and Gavin Casas drove in runs with bases-loaded walks, and Will Tippett was hit by a pitch to bring in another run. Dylan Brewer had an RBI single, and Jones brought in the sixth run when he reached on an error.
“Our offense is about discipline; it’s about driving the baseball,” Kingston said. “Sometimes walks are earned, sometimes walks are given. I thought our plate discipline was a little bit better today that it was (Saturday).”
Messina homered in the fourth inning, a two-run shot, that increased the lead to 9-1.
USC starting pitcher Roman Kimball allowed the single run in the first inning when his two walks led to a Belmont run in the top of the first. He threw 65 pitches, 44 for strikes, while allowing two hits with four strikeouts and two walks in four innings.
Kimball is coming back from Tommy John surgery and has allowed one run in a total of six innings pitched but has struggled a little bit with control, walking five in two outings.
Matthew Becker earned the win with three innings of scoreless relief. Garrett Gainey pitched a perfect eighth inning.
“Exactly what you saw today was our plan,” Kingston said. “I thought Kimball, Becker and Gainey all looked dominant.”
▪ Note: The Gamecocks climbed two spots to No. 19 in D1Baseball’s new Top 25 released Monday.
South Carolina baseball schedule this week
- Tuesday, vs. Gardner-Webb, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Friday vs. Clemson, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Saturday vs. Clemson at Segra Park, 4 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
- Sunday at Clemson, 2 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
This story was originally published February 25, 2024 at 4:03 PM with the headline "How South Carolina baseball secured Sunday victory, series win over Belmont."