Bats stay hot, Pitzer dominates as South Carolina completes sweep of Vanderbilt

What a difference a week makes.

It was this time last week when South Carolina had just dropped a series against Ole Miss, a team that finished last in the SEC in 2023. Everything that could’ve went wrong just about did, outside of winning the series finale.

But since then, everything has changed. The Gamecocks (19-5, 4-2 SEC) finished off a three-game sweep of No. 3 Vanderbilt, winning 10-2 on Sunday.

“Great day, great weekend, great series for us,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “Number three team in the country comes in and we play as well as we did. Just very excited for our guys, for our fans. Great weekend.”

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Just like the last two games, the offense continued to look dialed in at the plate. Commodores left-hander Devin Futrell quickly worked himself into a big jam, loading the bases with no outs. And with Ethan Petry due up, he served up a two-run single to make it 2-0 Gamecocks.

A few batters later, Dylan Brewer lifted a high fly ball into left field. It looked bound to be the third and final out of the inning. But instead, Vanderbilt left fielder Troy LaNeve saw the ball go in and out of his glove, allowing two more runs to score.

Without much time to compose himself, Futrell served up a two-run homer to Gavin Casas, his third of the year. Just like that, South Carolina had plated six runs in the first inning alone.

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But that wouldn’t be all for the Gamecock offense. With two outs in the second, Kennedy Jones blasted a 411-foot solo homer to extend the lead. And in the third, Brewer smoked a two-run single into center field.

“The coaching staff has always been doing a really good job with our approach and sticking to our approach,” Jones said. “I mean, before sometimes it just didn’t go our way. But now it’s starting to finally click and everything’s coming together for us.”

On the mound, Tyler Pitzer made his first start of the year and looked like a seasoned veteran on the mound. He cruised through the first 3.1 innings without allowing a hit while striking out four.

“I know my stuff can play well against any of the teams,” Pitzer said. “Pretty much just put it where it needs to be. Just don’t hang it anywhere. And today, it worked really well.”

The freshman right-hander continued to pitch well, working himself through six innings and only giving up two hits. But in the seventh, he faced his first real trouble of the afternoon.

After an error and hit by pitch, Vanderbilt’s Matthew Polk lined an RBI single into left to give the Commodores their first run of the game. With Pitzer’s pitch count up to 95, pitching coach Matt Williams came out to the mound, signaling the end of his outing.

Despite giving up the one run, it was an otherwise brilliant day for Pitzer. He pitched 6.1 innings while striking out nine and walking one. He managed to lower his ERA down to a crisp 0.48, which is now the best on the pitching staff.

“Pitzer was outstanding. His poise was good, his stuff was good. He was competitive and looked like a veteran out there,” Kingston said. “So I think he did everything you want to see out of a pitcher, no doubt about it. Nine strikeouts, one walk to a team hitting .330. Couldn’t be more impressed.”

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Matthew Becker came on in relief of Pitzer and gave up an unearned run on an RBI single from Jonathan Vastine. But he got a fly out to work out of any further trouble in the seventh.

In the home half of the inning, Brewer swatted a solo shot over the left field wall. It was his third homer of the year and put the Gamecocks back up by seven. In the eighth, Cole Messina got in on the action with a ground-rule RBI double to give the offense double-digit runs.

In the ninth, Becker retired the side in order to seal the deal and finish off the sweep. The left-hander pitched 2.2 innings and struck out three on 34 pitches.

Up next: South Carolina is back at home to take on Presbyterian on Tuesday night. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network Plus. Though not official, Eddie Copper (1-0, 2.70 ERA) would be in line to make his sixth start of the year.

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