South Carolina gets much-needed win in SEC Tournament to snap losing skid

Down 3-0 through two innings, this was an eerily familiar spot. South Carolina had been prone to falling behind and never being able to recover.

But just when it looked like it was going to be another long day for the Gamecocks, the bats finally came to life. From the third inning on, they’d score 10 runs to pick up a 10-5 win over Alabama in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Tuesday.

With the win, South Carolina (34-21, 14-17 SEC) has snapped a six-game losing streak dating back to May 9. But in terms of the bigger picture, this win should all but lock up a spot in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

“The great thing about the postseason sometimes is guys start to create moments that they will remember for the rest of their life,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “This is our first one in this postseason, I hope we have a lot more, because again, I think this team is very capable.”

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After scoring all of seven runs over the weekend in Knoxville, the bats finally got going in the third as Gavin Casas crushed a solo homer into the visitor’s bullpen. Two batters later, Ethan Petry left the yard to cut the deficit to one.

For Petry, that was his 44th career home run, which ties him for fifth-most in program history alongside Landon Powell.

Later in the frame, the Gamecocks had the bases loaded with two outs. And on a 2-0 pitch, Dalton Reeves blasted a go-ahead grand slam into deep right to give them an early 6-3 lead. This was the team’s first grand slam of the season.

“It was a lot of joy,” Reeves said. “We knew that we’re a good team and we’re going to take it one pitch at time. We got down, and nobody flinched, really. It was, ‘All right, guys, let’s keep doing what we’re doing.'”

This would give South Carolina’s bullpen, which had a long day ahead, some room to work with. After Dylan Eskew got the start and gave up three runs, Matthew Becker came in and settled the Tide’s bats down.

The left-hander gave up two runs over two innings and faced 10 batters. Chris Veach came in after him and had one of his best outings of the year.

“I don’t want it to be lost how good Matthew Becker was for us there,” Kingston said. “He kind of allowed the game to stay within reach, got a couple of really big outs when he came in the game. And then he got to 39 pitches. So we thought it was time to hand the ball over to Veach.”

After coming in for Becker in the fourth, Veach was in his bag for the rest of his outing. After a leadoff single in the fifth, the right-hander retired the next 12 batters he faced in order.

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Holding a one-run lead going into the fifth, Cole Messina hit his 17th homer of the year into left center to get a run back. He’d continue to have a strong day at the plate as he ripped a two-run double into right center to take a 9-5 lead in the sixth.

Up by five in the ninth, Veach came back out to finish what he started. It didn’t seem like much of a debate, especially without a soul warming up in the bullpen. This was his game.

With the top of the order due up for Alabama, Veach continued to do what he had been doing all day. He gave up a one-out double, ending his streak of retiring 13 straight hitters. But he got out of trouble and finished the job to give the Gamecocks a huge win.

“It’s like a big amount of trust to allow me to pitch that long,” Veach said. “Just basically Matt (Williams) said, ‘One batter at a time,’ once I was at my third inning or so. So just a lot of trust, and I appreciate that from them.”

On the day, Veach tossed 5.2 scoreless innings and gave up just three hits. He struck out six without a walk on 67 pitches. It was easily the longest outing of his career at South Carolina.

Up next: South Carolina will be back in action on Wednesday to take on Arkansas in the second round of the SEC Tournament. First pitch is at approximately 2 p.m. on SEC Network. The Gamecocks have yet to name a starting pitcher.

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