Noah Hall, Gamecocks dominate Kentucky for series win

Noah Hall stared over his glove waiting for Chase Estep to dig into the box with a “Game-Cocks!” chant swirling from South Carolina’s crowd.

He reared back and delivered the pitch that Estep whiffed on, striking him out and ending what was a commanding performance for Hall at the end of a great year.

Hall dominated to the tune of eight shutout innings, bullying his way through Kentucky’s lineup with ease as the Gamecocks took the series with a 7-0 win Saturday afternoon.

“I didn’t feel good in warm-ups. I didn’t feel good in the bullpen,” Hall said. “The first inning I felt out of rhythm but the second inning is when I started feeling like I was as getting into my mechanics and everything felt in line and everything felt strong. From there on I kept building off that.”

It’s the first time South Carolina shut out an SEC opponent this season, the last coming against Kentucky in 2021.

It started early for Hall, who settled in nearly immediately despite dealing with a blister and recovering from strep throat.

Kentucky would put base runners on over the course of the game. Hall held Wildcat hitters to just 1-for-9 with runners on base and hitless in five at-bats with a runner in scoring position.

South Carolina’s righty never threw more than 17 pitches in an inning, which came in the first and third innings. Kentucky scattered just two hits over his dominant outing, walking three to eight strikeouts.

“It’s hard to overcome the heat and the blister and being sick,” Mark Kingston said. “That kid just has what it takes when it really matters.”

Hall continues to dominate in league play, dropping his ERA down to just 3.19 in nine SEC starts. He also provided some much-needed length for South Carolina’s depleted bullpen.

Cam Tringali only had to throw 17 pitches in a scoreless ninth. That means both Matthew Becker and Cade Austin are likely available as South Carolina goes for a sweep Sunday.

“They have by far their best pitcher and one of the premier pitchers in the league and therefore the country throwing tomorrow. The stats jump off the page,” Kingston said. “We’ll have our hands full tomorrow but we’ll have Will, a fairly fresh Cade and a fresh Becker. So it should be a great ballgame.”

He was able to settle in thanks to early offense from South Carolina. The Gamecocks put up four of its seven runs in the first four innings.

The Gamecocks continue to hum offensively. South Carolina (26-23, 12-14 SEC) put up seven runs but reached double-digit hits for the seventh time in eight games. Over South Carolina’s last 10 games the Gamecocks are slashing .332/.424/.558 and averaging 7.7 runs per game.

“We’re trending in a very good direction. We’re showing improvement late in the season like you want to see,” Kingston said. “Those guys have worked really hard with coach (Chad) Caillet and it’s coming together.”

On senior day, it was the seniors doing a lot of the heavy lifting.

Brandt Belk and Andrew Eyster combined to go 4-for-8 and drove in five of the Gamecocks’ seven runs.

Belk singled in a run and then launched a two-run homer while Eyster gave South Carolina some much-needed insurance in the eighth with a two-run, bases-loaded single. 

Jalen Vasquez also tacked on a run with an RBI single in the third and Michael Braswell worked a bases-loaded walk in the eighth.

“We’re getting production out of almost everybody right now. Things are clicking right now. Unfortunately, we didn’t have that earlier in the season,” Belk said. “We knew it was going to happen eventually. We’re just glad it’s finally happening for us.”

The Gamecocks now have 12 SEC wins and should likely get to the SEC Tournament while keeping their fringe postseason hopes alive.

South Carolina also goes for a sweep Sunday at 1:30 p.m. with Will Sanders on the mound.

“At the end of the day you just have to focus on one thing at a time,” Belk said. “Everyone in the locker room knows we’re in a tight spot, fighting to make a regional. Of course, everyone wants to. But it’s about going out there and being the best you can that day.”