Bullpen steps up big as South Carolina picks up series-opening win
For the last two weekends, South Carolina’s one-two punch of Roman Kimball followed by Ty Good on Fridays has worked like a charm.
But in their third go at it, Kimball struggled to make it through one inning, causing Good to come in much quicker than anticipated. It didn’t seem to affect the right-hander, though, as he pitched another gem in the No. 15 Gamecocks’ 10-2 win over Missouri on Friday.
“I think it gives us a chance to win. So far every time we’ve done it, it’s given us a chance to win,” head coach Mark Kingston told GamecockCentral. “I think the only game we didn’t was a 2-1 game against arguably the best pitcher in the country at Arkansas. So I think it’s a good combination, and again, we just want to see how many innings we can get out of the combination of the two. Didn’t quite get as many innings as we wanted to tonight. But the guys all picked each other up and still had a great game.”
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After coming in the second following Kimball who gave up back-to-back homers, Good plunked the first batter he faced. But he settled in after and retired the next three batters in order to stop the bleeding.
And the South Carolina (31-14, 12-10 SEC) bats would pick him up to help his cause. With a tie game in the fifth, the Gamecocks had two runners in scoring position with two outs after a wild pitch. Cole Messina would come through with a double down the left field line, bringing home both runners to make it a 4-2 game.
“Just taking my best swing no matter what and not worrying about past at-bats,” Messina said. “I’m keeping my head going on one at-bat and being myself and doing whatever the team needs.”
The Gamecocks added another run in the sixth, as Talmadge LeCroy picked up a one-out RBI single. He quietly had one of the better nights amongst the lineup, finishing 3-for-5 with two RBIs.
“He seems to be energized out there in the middle of the infield,” Kingston said. “He’s made some good swing adjustments, he’s shortened his swing some. And he’s playing great baseball right now.”
Good settled in nicely and only worked into one more jam the rest of his outing. In the latter half of the fifth, Missouri had a runner at third with one out, needing to break through. But just as he’s done for much of this year, Good struck out the next two batters to put another zero on the board.
“What’s going through my head is making the pitch. I’ve got to make the pitch,” Good said. “If I can make the pitch and get the double play, if I can make the pitch and get some strikeouts, I’m going to do it.”
Good’s night came to an end after four scoreless innings. He’d finish with seven strikeouts for the second straight outing and walked two while giving up one hit. He managed to pitch into the sixth but came out after a leadoff walk, turning the ball over to Garrett Gainey.
Once again, the Tigers got into a good spot, as they brought the tying run up to bat with one out in the inning. But Gainey got a strikeout and a groundout to leave those runners stranded in scoring position.
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For a team that’s bottom of the SEC in hitting, Missouri went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and 1-for-9 with two outs.
Because of the Tigers’ struggles to capitalize, the Gamecocks eventually broke through and put the game out of reach. In the eighth, they scored five runs, capped off by a three-run shot off the bat of Messina. He finished 2-for-4 with five RBIs in the win.
“I have a saying, we call it murderers row,” Messina said on the lineup’s production. “It’s a tough lineup to face one through nine. There’s no holes per se. At the end of the day, everyone’s going to put up good at-bats and do whatever the team needs.”
While the offense, who has now scored 48 runs over their last four games, stole the show towards the end of the night, it was still a fantastic game for the Gamecock bullpen.
Gainey pitched 2.1 innings of one-hit ball, striking out five without a walk. Parker Marlatt came in after him in the eighth and recorded two outs while picking up a strikeout. Tyler Dean pitched the ninth and worked out of a bases loaded jam to seal the deal.
Up next: South Carolina will go for the series win over Missouri in game two on Saturday. First pitch is at 4 p.m. on SEC Network Plus. Eli Jones (3-2, 3.91 ERA) will make the start on the mound.
