Ethan Petry powers South Carolina to series-opening win over No. 1 LSU

At some point, Ethan Petry is going to hit a freshman wall at South Carolina. 

That night just won’t be Thursday. 

The Gamecocks’ freshman continues to make the argument as not only one of the best freshmen in the country but one of the best players period.

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He became the first Gamecock since 2011 to drive in eight as South Carolina beat LSU 13-5 in a highly-anticipated series opener. 

“No, you don’t predict this for anybody. Anybody. Just special. Just special, that’s all you can say. He’s an elite player. I wish everyone could understand he’s such a great teammate,” Mark Kingston said.

“Those guys love him. If he wasn’t hitting like he was they would still love him. He’s this good and he’s such a great player and teammate. It makes for a really great experience.” 

Petry homered twice in the game, the first coming off arguably the best pitcher in the sport Paul Skenes. 

Before tonight, Skenes had faced 160 batters this season without giving up a home run. It took the best freshman to get it off of him, a 400-foot, 111-mile-per-hour laser off the bat.

“It felt good. I respect the elite and he’s the elite of the elite,” Petry said. “I took my jog around the bases with no trash-talking. He got me the second time so it’s even.” 

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South Carolina (28-3, 9-1 SEC) got one more bomb off Skenes, a solo shot from Braylen Wimmer, before lightning shut the game down for over an hour. That was it for Skenes and South Carolina starter Will Sanders, and it was all Gamecocks after that. 

The Gamecocks plated five runs in the fifth inning, sparked by Petry’s second homer of the day. The right-handed behemoth mashed a 384-foot grand slam to left field.

Petry also drove in runs with a bases-loaded sac fly and hit by pitch, becoming the first Gamecock since Adama Matthews in 2011 (vs. College of Charleston) to drive in eight in a single game.

He’s also the first Gamecock ever to drive in eight against an SEC opponent.

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Dylan Brewer followed it up seven pitches later, uncorking a ball to the South Carolina bullpen. Brewer hit his second home run in three games. He’s now hit one in consecutive SEC games.

The weather shortened Sanders’ reintroduction into the Gamecocks’ rotation. But South Carolina’s ace gave up just one run over three-plus innings. 

His only blemish came in the second after giving up a two-out, two-strike RBI single. He’d finish allowing one run, unearned, on two hits with four strikeouts. Sanders did it against one of the best offenses in college baseball.

“I liked how he looked out there,” Kingston said. “Thought it was a good sign in what we hoped a reset would help him. I think he looked like a better pitcher than he had been.” 

James Hicks settled the game down after the delay, coming in while immediately pitching out of a one-on, no-out jam.

Hicks allowed two hits four innings, both coming in his final frame, with one a two-run shot from Jordan Thompson.

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He’d strike out one with the biggest performance in the sixth. He retired the middle of LSU’s lineup–Dylan Crews, Tommy White and Cade Beloso–in order.

“That wasn’t the first time I had seen it,” Hicks said. “Over the course of my time rehabbing, everybody knows those names and that’s who I was thinking about when I was coming back. I was visualizing that. It came to happen.” 

South Carolina put the game out of reach in the final three innings, plating two runs on walks, one on a hit-by-pitch, another on a sac fly and one more on a fielder’s choice.

“As we’ve been doing all year, we’ve been showing the country we’re a really good baseball team in all areas. We can pitch, we can hit. We have power, we have speed and we play good defense most days,” Kingston said.

“Every day we get a chance to prove and put another brick in the wall showing we’re pretty darn good. It’s what we do. We don’t put too much emphasis on one day but the total picture of what we’re doing right now is hard to ignore.”

The Gamecocks are now 19-0 at home this season while picking up the latest win in front of a sellout crowd that even stuck it out through a weather delay.

“I could feel my feet shaking a couple of times. It was awesome,” Hicks said. “I looked around a few times and soaked it all in. It was awesome.” 

Up next: South Carolina and LSU will try and close the series out Friday with a doubleheader starting at noon, weather permitting. The first pitch is scheduled for noon while game three starts an hour after. Jack Mahoney is the scheduled starter for game two. 

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