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Baseball vs. Tennessee Live Thread (Game One)

Alan Cole

Alan Cole

Beat Reporter
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Jul 10, 2022
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Greetings from an overcast, soggy Founders Park where the final series of the regular season will start tonight. About as big as they come in the regular season, with South Carolina basically needing to take two of three games to keep its chance of hosting a regional live. Game one wonight will feature Eli Jones on the mound against Andrew Lindsey.

Running a free edition of the thread tonight, so come hang out.

Some light rain is still falling here, but both teams are still going through warm-ups and I am hoping (pleading, begging, etc.) we can get this thing started on time at 7. Whenever it does start, it'll be on SEC Network Plus. Here is the lineup for the Gamecocks.

Dylan Brewer - LF
Braylen Wimmer - DH
Cole Messina - C
Ethan Petry - RF
Gavin Casas - 1B
Talmadge LeCroy - 3B
Michael Braswell - SS
Will Tippett - 2B
Evan Stone - CF

Eli Jones - P
 
Last edited:
Lineups, intros and anthem done and we're ready for baseball. Rain has stopped, but it's still overcast and fairly chilly for late May.
 
Nice pick by Talmadge LeCroy on a hot groundball from Maui Ahuna gets this game started.
 
There's some positive energy to start the weekend. Tennessee gets a one-out baserunner on a single but then after a lineout, Cole Messina nails Hunter Ensley trying to steal second base and fires up the dugout on his way back into it.

Caught stealing ends the frame, and it's 0-0 after a half. Dylan Brewer, Braylen Wimmer and Messina himself coming up next.
 
Brewer lines out hard on the first pitch, Wimmer puts up a good fight but strikes out on the sixth pitch and then Messina umps on the first pitch and lines one off Lindsey's glove, but it kicks far enough away from him for an infield single.

Take them any way they come right now, I guess.
 
Messina swipes second and gets the benefit of a bad throw down and scoots to third with two outs.

Tennessee is the worst team in the SEC by a mile at controlling the running game -- that was the 70th stolen base against the Vols this year -- and that will be a big factor this series.

Ethan Petry strikes out though, and the runner is stranded. 0-0 after an inning.
 
Griffin Merritt gets a new count after the caught stealing ended his plate appearance, and he rips the first pitch into the corner for a double. Would've scored a run without Messina's peg last inning.

Still, runner in scoring position with nobody out for the Vols.
 
Jones comes back with a strikeout on a nice breaking ball in the dirt and a chopper to first that advances the runner to third along with the second out.

Inning is up to the freshman Dylan Dreiling.
 
Drieling bounces a 3-2 pitch to Tippett, lob to first for the out and Jones is out of trouble. Nice job there.

0-0, mid 2nd.
 
Gavin Casas leads off the inning with a flare into center, but Talmdge LeCroy strikes out and Michael Braswell bounces into a 6-4-3 double play ball.

0-0 after two.
 
Christian Scott leads off with a walk, then Tennessee catches a break as Cal Stark appeared to bunt the ball off himself in fair territory which should've been an out, but it's called a foul ball, but Petry ranges over to make the catch on a soft fly ball. No harm, no foul.

Back to the top of the order with one on and one out.
 
Ahuna works a full count walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. That 1-2 pitch looked pretty good from here, but Jones didn't get the call and will have to re-group.
 
Hunter Ensley lines the first pitch into right for a base hit, Scott scores and another leadoff walk comes back to burn the Gamecocks.

1-0, and still two on with one out.
 
Nick pick by Tippett on a bouncer and a flip to second for an out, but Blake Burke beats the wrap to prevent a double play. Runners on the corners with two outs for Griffin Merritt in a big spot in this game.
 
And Jones plunks Merritt on the wrist to load the bases. Justin Parker is out for a visit with Christian Moore coming to the plate.

Huge, huge spot here. Either out of the inning only down 1-0 with a big momentum boost or you're down at least two after this batter.
 
Jones bears down and gets the out. Circle that one later if South Carolina comes back to win this game.

Tennessee takes the lead, but also leaves the bases loaded with one of its better hitters at the plate in Moore.

1-0 Vols, mid 3rd.
 
Evan Stone with a one out single that easily could've been scored an error after a bouncing throw across the diamond from first. Regardless, it's a baserunner for the top of the lineup (and a fast one)
 
Aaaaand Stone is thrown out trying to steal. Did not have a good ump. Just the 11th time in 81 attempts this year a Tennessee catcher has thrown out a base stealer.

Brewer strikes out looking, and we head to the 4th in a 1-0 game. Gamecocks have a hit in all three innings but nothing to show for it.
 
Annnnd a two-run homer out to left for Dreiling. Two lead-off walks in as many innings, and they've both come around to score. 3-0 Tennessee.
 
Leash here for Jones has to be short, especially with four innings of tomorrow's games shaved off. No reason to save anyone.

Single into right and a strikeout following the homer turns the lineup back over for the top.
 
Back-to-back singles plates another run. It's 4-0 and finally there's stirring in the South Carolina bullpen. Might be too late though. Still two on and only one out in a game that is already perilously close to falling out of reach.
 
Back-to-back strikeouts ends the inning, but South Carolina seriously has its work cut out for it down 4-0 going to the bottom of the 4th.
 
1-2-3 inning and Brett Thomas is in the game in an SEC game now for the first time all season, which, um, I don't want to say is a white flag move but it sure feels like it.

You just have to win the series -- one way or another -- so if you think this game is gone there's no point to burn anyone high leverage -- but still. That is quite a move.
 
1-2-3 inning for Thomas, somehow. No idea how that happened, but he had two strikeouts and gets the Gamecocks back in the dugout in a 4-0 game.

First time all year he's pitched in an SEC game and he just gave them a scoreless inning.
 
1-2-3 for Andrew Lindsey, who has recorded 15 outs on just 49 pitches and only allowed just one hit outside the infield.

Still 4-0 Tennessee after five, and Thomas is getting another inning.
 
Walk, back-to-back wild pitches that weren't even close and there is a runner on third with nobody out.
 
Thomas strikes out the next two batters (he had 5 Ks all year coming into tonight and now has four tonight), but Ensley beats out an infield single after a diving stop by LeCroy to plate the run. That's where the wild pitches hurt.

5-0.
 
Thomas gets a comebacker to end the inning at 5-0.

Gamecocks have to work some counts. It's a tall order to come back from 5-0 down at this stage against a pitcher of Lindsey's caliber, but they have to at least foul some balls off, get deep into at-bats and run his pitch count to try to make Tennessee use at least a little bit of its bullpen before the doubleheader tomorrow.
 
Man, it must be nice to have pitcher that can pound the strike zone with no walks or wild pitches. Our pitching has been laughable and the walks and wild pitches have killed us! I am not sure we can beat anyone the way we are playing.
 
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deanprescott said:
Man, it must be nice to have pitcher that can pound the strike zone with no walks or wild pitches. Our pitching has been laughable and the walks and wild pitches have killed us! I am not sure we can beat anyone the way we are playing.
Click to expand...
You forgot to mention the hitters, well, they can’t hit the broad side of daylight right now!!
 
Well they got a count to 2-2 and another one to 3-2, but it's another 1-2-3 inning. That's 10 in a row retired for Lindsey.

Zach Zedalis is pitching. He's only got two innings all year, and one since the first week of the year.
 
Zedalis gets the first two but then goes double, HBP, walk and is being lifted with the bases loaded and two outs.

Austin Williamson is in the game now, which I don't really understand after going with two leverage relievers earlier. If you wanted Williamson to pitch, just start with him in the 7th? Either way he's in with the bases loaded.
 
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