Offensive woes continue in series-opening loss

Through the first 40 games of the season, South Carolina built its offense around gritty, grind-you-down at-bats that ultimately led to walks and extra-base knocks.

Friday, the Gamecocks struggled to do either of those two things as offensive frustration hit a head in a listless 5-0 loss to Tennessee to open the series.

In the opening game of a series that would go a long way towards hosting a regional, the Gamecocks mustered just three hits and were shutout for the first time this season.

“Tough night. We’ll be ready to go tomorrow. We have two sevens, so I expect us to be ready to go tomorrow. As I told them, I’m still waiting for all three phases to show up on the same night,” Mark Kingston said. “It hasn’t happened in a while. I challenged them to make sure it happens tomorrow. I hope they come through and I think they will.”

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The offense sputtered again, allowing starter Andrew Lindsey to carve them up to the tune of 8.1 scoreless innings where he struck out five and retired 17 straight to end his outing.

South Carolina (37-16, 15-12 SEC) mustered just three base runners through the first five innings–two of those balls never leaving the infield–with Lindsey having to throw just 49 pitches in the process.

“He was just off the barrel all night. It was a good fastball. He threw a cutter, threw a slider and a couple of changeups,” Kingston said. “But it was just a lot of movement, a lot of really good stuff. He was up to 97 early. You can see why he’s a Friday night guy for them.” 

The Gamecocks got a runner to second base in just one inning.

South Carolina’s best chance early came in the first inning when Cole Messina got to third base after stealing second and moving to third on a throwing error. But Ethan Petry promptly struck out to end the threat. 

The Gamecocks didn’t have a base runner after the third inning.

“That was 100 percent Lindsey. When a pitcher throws the amount of strikes he did tonight; close to 70 percent strikes” Kingston said. “That’s pretty damn good. Sometimes you have to tip your cap to a pitcher. He imposed his will on our hitters tonight.” 

The offense didn’t do anything to help a pitching staff that had one bad inning but settled down after that.

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Eli Jones was motoring through the first two innings, pitching around a few hits in the process, before really hitting trouble in the third. 

He’d give up a run in the third after a pair of full-count walks before really hitting the skids in the fourth. Tennessee plated four in the inning with nearly all of the Vols’ hits coming with two strikes. 

The lone one that didn’t was a two-run homer from Dylan Dreiling, but Jones gave up a full-count walk and three two-strike singles. Five of the seven hits Jones allowed and also all three of his walks came in his final two innings. 

He was pulled after just four innings and 84 pitches, giving way for the bullpen which had a relatively good night.

“It’s a good offense. They’re hitting close to .300 as a team and have over 100 home runs. We’re playing top 10 teams every weekend,” Kingston said. “If you’re not really good in an area it’s going to get exposed. If they’re really good in an area you better be good for them not to get you. Right now, they’re getting us.” 

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Four different relievers combined to give up one run on three hits and struck out six over the final five innings, keeping a Tennessee offense at bay for the most part.

The offense couldn’t offer any sort of support, striking out seven times while not registering one walk.

The Gamecocks now have to likely sweep a doubleheader to secure a host spot in the regular season. They’ve now lost eight of their last 10 SEC games and are 3-10 since sweeping Florida.

“I mean, we all hate to lose. I can assure you of that. How you handle that as you get a little older probably changes and evolves. But I hate to lose. Our team hates to lose. Again, it’s the SEC. you’re going to take some gut punches. You have to be able to handle it and bounce back quickly,” Kingston said.

“Yelling and screaming and flying off the handle does no good for 18 to 20-year-olds at this point in the season. Our job is to support them, keep them moving in the right direction, steer the ship when the seas get rough and know there will be something really positive for us waiting on the other side if we approach it properly.”

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Up next: South Carolina will play a doubleheader with two seven-inning games starting at 2 p.m. Saturday. Senior day festivities will be held before the start of game one. 

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