Baseball: USC Beaufort opens playoffs with win over Freed-Hardeman
Second-seeded USC Beaufort opened the NAIA postseason with a 2-0 win over third-seeded Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) in their opening game in the Savannah bracket.
The Sand Sharks broke a scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the seventh. Kal Davis’ double plated Thomas Estopare, who had reached on an infield single. After a groundout moved Davis to third, Nick Payne’s sacrifice fly drove him in.
John Gora picked up the win for USC Beaufort, tossing seven innings of two-hit ball with nine strikeouts. Drew Blake pitched the final two frames to earn the save, allowing one hit.
Brandon Guske went the distance in a losing effort for Freed-Hardeman, allowing two runs on five hits in eight innings.
The Sand Sharks will next play in the winner’s bracket at 11 a.m. Thursday against the winner of Wednesday’s game between No. 1 Campbellsville (Ky.) and No. 5 Point (Ga.)
Late Tuesday South Carolina 16, The Citadel 4
Sixteen runs on 16 hits led sixth-ranked South Carolina to a victory over The Citadel in its final regular season home game. The Gamecocks improved to 39-13, while the Bulldogs fell to 16-37.
Sophomore right-hander Brandon Murray earned his second win of the season after 1 2/3 innings pitched with one walk and three runs on five hits. Junior left-hander Nate Brecklin suffered his first loss of the season in 1/3 inning pitched with two walks and three runs on two hits.
The Gamecocks got out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Walks to Gene Cone and Alex Destino gave the Gamecocks a pair of runners, and Dom Thompson-Williams loaded the bases on a hit-by-pitch. John Jones knocked a single to left field to score Cone and Destino. Thompson-Williams and Jones then completed a double steal to set Jonah Bride up for a RBI single to left field.
South Carolina added three runs in the bottom of the third after Destino and Thompson-Williams singled and Bride drove them in with a double.
The Citadel got on the scoreboard when Stephen Windham hit a two-out solo home run in the top of the fourth inning.
Carolina put up seven runs in the bottom of the fifth. Bride led off with a single and both Madison Stokes and Chris Cullen were hit by pitches to load the bases. DC Arendas followed with a grand slam to right center. With Cone and Marcus Mooney on base, Destino singled to score Cone, then Bride doubled to score Mooney and Destino.
The Bulldogs cut the Gamecocks’ lead to nine in the top of the sixth inning when they added three runs. With two outs and a runner on third, Bret Hines singled, Barrett Charpia tripled and William Kinney singled.
LT Tolbert, Clarke Scolamiero and Brandon McIlwain drove in the final three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. McIlwain’s RBI single was his first career hit and RBI in a Gamecock uniform.
South Carolina will back in action at 8 p.m. Thursday in Tuscaloosa, Ala., as it faces Alabama to open a three-game series. It will be broadcast live on the SEC Network Plus and can be heard on the Gamecock IMG Network including flagship station, 107.5 FM “The Game.”
Clemson 3, Charleston Southern 2
No. 18 Clemson held on for a victory over Charleston Southern at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers improved to 35-18, while the Buccaneers fell to 18-32. Clemson ended the regular season with a 22-4 record in non-conference games.
Clate Schmidt (6-4) earned the win in a scheduled short start by tossing two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Alex Eubanks pitched the final two innings to record his third save of the year. Buccaneer starter Jon Piriz (2-5) suffered the loss, as he gave up one run on two hits in two innings pitched.
In the second inning, Andrew Cox lined a two-out single to score Reed Rohlman, who drew a one-out walk. The Buccaneers put their first two batters on base in the top of the eighth inning, but Eubanks came in and shut the door with three crucial outs to end the frame.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Chris Okey belted a run-scoring double, then scored on Robert Jolly’s fielder’s choice. Charleston Southern’s Bryan Dye hit a two-out single in the ninth inning to score two runs, but Eubanks retired Sconzo with the potential tying run on third base to end the game.
The Tigers will conclude the regular season with a three-game series at Notre Dame beginning at 6:05 p.m. Thursday. Live video is available on WatchND via a link at ClemsonTigers.com.
This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Baseball: USC Beaufort opens playoffs with win over Freed-Hardeman."