COLUMBIA, MO -
Gamecocks Defeat Missouri 2-0 In First Game Of DH
South Carolina senior left-hander Nolan Belcher hurled
8.1 scoreless innings and combined with senior left-hander Tyler Webb for a
five-hit shutout as the fifth ranked Gamecocks defeated Missouri 2-0 in game
one of the doubleheader at Taylor Stadium.
South Carolina broke ahead 1-0 in the third inning with
an unearned run. Max Schrock reached
base with a one-out single to center.
With two outs and Schrock on first base, Joey Pankake belted a single
into right-center on a hit and run. On
the play, Missouri center fielder Logan Pearson mishandled his fielding attempt
and Schrock kept hustling and scored all the way from first base to give the
Gamecocks a one-run lead.
Chase Vergason increased the lead to 2-0 in the fifth
inning with a solo home run. On Graves'
1-0 pitch, Vergason turned on a fastball that went over the wall in right field
for his third homer of the season.
Belcher limited the Tigers to just five hits and struck
out six batters while walking none. He
has pitched 32.1 consecutive innings without allowing a walk. He is now 4-1 on the year. Webb pitched 0.2 perfect innings for his
seventh save of the season and second of the series. Missouri starter Brett Graves suffered the
loss and is now 0-2 on the year. He allowed
two runs, one earned, on seven hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
Gamecocks Fall 4-0 To Missouri In Nightcap
Missouri raced out to a three-run lead in the first two
innings and behind a combined three pitchers, earned a 4-0 win over fifth
ranked South Carolina in the final game of a three-game SEC baseball series at
Taylor Stadium. The loss snaps South
Carolina's 10-game winning streak.
Despite the loss in game two of the doubleheader, the Gamecocks take the
first conference series of the year.
South Carolina is now 17-3 and 2-1 in the SEC with Missouri 6-9 and 1-2
in the league.
Missouri reliever Keaton Steele earned the win and is 2-0
on the year. He worked six scoreless
innings and allowed just three this and one walk while striking out seven
batters. South Carolina starter Colby
Holmes suffered the loss and is now 1-2 on the year. He allowed three runs on three hits with
three walks and three strikeouts in 1.1 innings of work.
Missouri broke ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the first
inning. Dane Opel drew a two-out walk
and scored on Dylan Kelly's RBI double down the left field line. The lead increased to 3-0 in the second
inning. Consecutive walks to Jake Ivory
and Josh Lester started the frame for the Tigers. A one-out bloop single by Dillon Everett
loaded the bases and Ivory then scored on an infield single off the bat of
Kendal Keeton. Lester then scored
Mizzou's third run on a wild pitch by Holmes.
It remained that way until the seventh inning when the
Tigers scratched across one more run.
Kelly led off with a single, his third hit of the afternoon. A one-out single by Ivory and a walk to
Lester loaded the bases for the Tigers.
Kelly would score on a RBI fielder's choice to Pankake off the bat of
Shane Segovia.
Missouri has nine hits on the afternoon with Carolina
tallying four for the contest. Kelly
went 3-for-5 for Missouri with Ivory 2-for-2 and Everett 2-for-3 as well. Pankake's hitting streak was snapped at 11
games.
"It was a tough day to play for both teams," said South
Carolina head coach Chad Holbrook. Nolan
(Belcher) has been incredible and pitched well (in game one). We stung the ball pretty good (in game
two). I thought are at bats were okay we
just couldn't generate momentum. It's a
weekend series and we won it, so we will take the series and head home, get
some rest and get ready for a big week ahead."
South Carolina is back in action on Tuesday night
traveling to Charleston, S.C. for a non-conference contest with The
Citadel. First pitch at Joe Riley Park
is set for 7 p.m. ET. The game can be
heard on the Gamecock Radio Network from IMG College including flagship
station, 107.5 FM, "The Game." Live
audio broadcast is available at GamecocksOnline.com.
