Jack Mahoney, big sixth inning powers South Carolina to win
South Carolina had been waiting for Ethan Petry to break out of his slump for a while now, and he did in a big way Saturday.
In what was almost a must-win game for South Carolina, Petry delivered the go-ahead hit in a 6-1 headlined by a dominant outing from Jack Mahoney.
The win keeps South Carolina’s hosting chances alive and sets up a massive rubber match later today.
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Petry’s hit was just the fourth of the day at the time for South Carolina, a much-needed one for an offense that struggled to do much of anything the first five innings.
But with the offense sputtering early–the lone hit through five a solo shot from Braylen Wimmer–it was time for Mahoney to go to work.
The Gamecocks’ right-hander picked right up where he left off, cruising through six one-run innings while striking out nine to one walk on 93 pitches.
The lone blemish came in the fifth with Tennessee tying the game on a pair of doubles, but Mahoney got out of that jam with a groundout and a strikeout.
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He got great defense behind him, using a play at the plate to end the fourth inning on a rope of a throw from Dylan Brewer to preserve a one-run lead.
Mahoney’s now allowed just one run over his last 13 innings of work, both integral wins for the Gamecocks (38-16, 16-12 SEC).
Then it was time for the offense to go to work. A Braylen Wimmer single chased Chase Dollander, who struck out 13 over 5.1 innings, and the Gamecocks would tag reliever Chase Burns for four runs, all earned, on five hits.
South Carolina pieced together five straight hits starting with a Cole Messina rocket and sparked by Petry’s RBI hit en route to a five-run inning. The biggest hit of the bunch game when Talmdge LeCroy worked a full count and doubled home a pair of runners to break the game open.
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He’d later come around to score on a Michael Braswell single.
Nick Proctor came in and slammed the
South Carolina now needs one more win to feel good about its hosting resume with that coming later Saturday night.
Up next: Game three of the series will happen 45 minutes after this game ends. Neither team has named a starter.
