Pitching steps up as South Carolina takes series opener over Bulldogs

There was that indescribable feeling in the visitors’ dugout on Friday night. It’s a feeling that South Carolina hasn’t experienced much lately. But when the final out was recorded, the team had gotten it back.

As the Gamecocks sealed the deal on a series-opening 7-3 win over Mississippi State, pitching coach Terry Rooney told Paul Mainieri it was a good win. The veteran head coach agreed with him to some extent, but he also knows some wins are better than others.

“It’s what keeps you coming back. It’s what I missed about the game when I was out,” Mainieri said. “One of the major things I missed was being in the big games and being on that top step and making moves and getting your kids to believe they can do it. And when they do it and they win the game, it’s just an exhilarating feeling.”

After a rough first inning, Jake McCoy slowly settled in and made it through five innings of work, giving up three early runs on 79 pitches. With the way things were going, the left-hander now had a chance to get through the sixth for only the second time this season.

But if there was one persistent issue that could keep that from happening, it was the walks. Even when McCoy pitched well to contact for most of the night, he still gave up his share of free passes — six of them. And after a one-out double, he walked the next two batters to load the bases.

Not wanting to take any chances with the lead intact, Mainieri could’ve turned to his closer, Brendan Sweeney. Instead, he rolled the dice with Caleb Jones to get out of the jam.

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In a lot of their recent losses, these were moments where things took a turn for the worse. But Jones wasn’t going to let that happen this time. The right-hander struck out the first batter he faced, then got the next batter to line out to center to end the threat.

“Our dugout was so alive when he got us out of that jam. These kids needed something really positive to happen to them,” Mainieri said. “… I think it sent a message to our players that, hey, we can do this.”

Jones only threw 11 pitches to get those two outs and could’ve come back out for another inning. By that point, South Carolina turned things over to Sweeney, who retired all nine batters he faced and struck out four to pick up his fifth save of the year.

“I thought I threw well,” Sweeney said. “I knew we were seeing the ball well, and we’re a great defensive team. So I just got out there and trusted my stuff, trusted everyone around me to get a team win.”

Once the Bulldogs scored three early runs in the first, they never scored again against the Gamecocks’ pitching staff. After McCoy exited in the sixth, the bullpen pitched 3.2 hitless innings to preserve the lead that the offense provided.

With two outs in the sixth, right before Jones came in to get out of a bases-loaded jam, South Carolina scored two runs that would be the difference in the game on a pair of errors by Mississippi State shortstop Dylan Cupp.

Beau Hollins delivered with some much-needed insurance runs in the ninth as he ripped an 0-2 pitch into centerfield for a two-run single.

“I was just trying to shorten up, just get something through, try and get those RBIs,” Hollins said. “Just battle myself off and try to get those runners in.”

The freshman first baseman had a career night with his second four-hit game of the season. He went 4-for-5 and drove in four runs, including a two-run homer back in the fourth.

“Beau is just getting better every day,” Mainieri said. “Wait till you see Beau next year with 15 more pounds of muscle on him. That ball he hit out of the ballpark opposite field, he’ll be doing that more frequently as the years go by, because he’ll be stronger and more experienced and so forth.”

Up next: South Carolina will go for its first series win of SEC play on Saturday. First pitch is at 1 p.m. on SEC Network Plus. Jarvis Evans Jr. (3-0, 3.62 ERA) will get the start on the mound.

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