Eli Jones dominates, South Carolina cruises to midweek win

Eli Jones never got to show last year how dominant he could be for South Carolina. 

Coming back from Tommy John on a strict throwing program, his outings were limited and Jones showed flashes in spurts in 2022. 

With the restrictor plate off, Jones has done nothing but impress so far this season. He did so again Tuesday, motoring through a perfect four innings en route to a 5-0 Gamecocks three-hitter win over Presbyterian. 

“This year I’ve had the ability to give some length when I’m out there, which is nice,” Jones said. “It’s an adjustment from last year but it’s getting much easier. It’s easier for me to get in a rhythm now.” 

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After Matthew Becker and Nick Proctor navigated a scoreless three innings, scattering three walks and a hit, Jones came in and was electric. 

He struck out six over four perfect innings, throwing 35 of his just 47 pitches for strikes. Of the 12 batters he faced, he threw balls to just nine of them. Only two had two-ball counts. 

There was one stretch from the fourth through the sixth inning where Jones struck out five of six hitters he faced, including the side in the fifth inning. 

Jones’ ERA is down to just 1.23 now through 14.2 innings, giving up just two earned run to pair with 18 strikeouts. He’s only allowed nine hits and a lone walk as well. 

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With midweeks such a struggle last season for the Gamecocks, Jones has been a godsend, giving South Carolina (17-1) not only length in between series but production as well. 

“It comes and goes with your stuff. Today I didn’t use all my stuff. I didn’t need to. Getting through that first inning with no runners was a big tell for me. Being able to use my fastball to get outs and use my slider effectively when I need to, even though I didn’t need to use it all the time,” Jones said.

“It was good, where my stuff was today. Getting in that rhythm in the second, third and fourth is just a groove from there. You get into tunnel vision, the competitive phase. Then walking off the mound after the fourth and seeing my teammates happy for me knowing it was my last (inning) is pure kairosclerosis.”

Jones’ outing was even more impressive not letting Presbyterian claw back into Tuesday’s game after South Carolina jumped out to a quick lead. 

The Gamecocks’ runs came in bunches, plating three in the second. It was sparked by three straight two-strike hits, one being a two-run shot from Talmage LeCroy. 

Carson Hornung, who doubled after LeCroy’s bomb, came around to score soon after with the aid of a wild pitch. 

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South Carolina went back-to-back to start the fifth inning, getting a monster shot from Gavin Casas followed by a 378-foot blast from Cole Messina. 

Casas’ shot, which was 109 miles per hour off the bat, went 416 feet and made him the first South Carolina hitter to double-digit homers this season. 

The last Gamecock with at least 10 homers in the first 20 games of a season was Wes Clarke in 2021. Messina followed that up with his eighth of the year two pitches later, depositing his over the wall in left field. 

“You see the sequence of pitching to Cole, it reflects how they pitch to me as well. After Gavin is just unreal. The pitcher’s flustered,” said Ethan Petry, who finished with three hits and a run scored.

“They’re going to make mistakes with you and with Cole, cause he’ll pop one out too. I clear my head when they hit back-to-back home runs and keep the hitting going.

The Gamecocks would go cold through the rest of the way, only mustering four baserunners on one hit in that stretch with five of their 10 strikeouts Tuesday coming after the third inning. 

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It didn’t matter, though. South Carolina’s pitching was lights out in the shutout, striking out 15 to just three walks and allowing two hits along the way.

Things got hairy in the ninth with a pair of singles and an error loading the bases with two away. But Cade Austin got out of the jam with a punch-out.

“(Jones) and Becker both. Becker needs to minimize his walks. He knows it, we all know it. (Nick) Proctor came in with runners at second and third and did his job. Eli cruised through four innings,” Kingston said when asked about pitching.

“Austin (Williamson) was dominant and Cade had really good stuff today. These midweek games are all about pitching depth and giving yourself a chance to win with quality pitching. Whether you score five or 10 you feel like you should win. We have that pitching depth.”  

Up next: South Carolina travels to Georgia for the first weekend of SEC play. The Gamecocks are scheduled to open league play Friday night in Athens with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. on the SEC Network Plus. 

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