COLUMBIA, S.C. ? DeAngelo Mack lined a 1-2 pitch with two outs in the 10th inning to right field, scoring the game-winning run as Georgia Southern fell 2-1 at South Carolina Wednesday night (March 25). The Eagles dropped to 17-5 overall.
Dexter Bobo
(Cumming/Darton College) got the first out of the 10th on an infield popup. Jackie Bradley, Jr. lined a shot back to the mound off Bobo for a single. Whit Merrifield walked but Bobo got Nick Ebert on a foulout to
Eric Phillips (Carrollton/Carrollton) for the second out. Mack then lined the 1-2 pitch through the right side.
Phillip Porter's (Marietta/Sprayberry) throw was a step late as the Gamecocks improved to 16-6.
GS struck first in what turned into a pitchers duel.
Phillips singled to start the second, the only time all game the Eagles got the leadoff runner on base. He took second on Brian Pierce's (Roswell/Roswell) single through the left side. Jonathan King (Athens, TN/Youn Harris) dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. Kevin Bowles (Statesboro/Statesboro) dropped a RBI single to center for a 1-0 lead.
USC got a one-out single from Bobby Haney in the third inning. He took third on a single then scored on Merrifield's RBI groundout.
The Gamecocks threatened in the eighth as Charles Matthews (Athens/Spartanburg Methodist) walked the leadoff batter then a stolen base put the runner in scoring position. Matthews got a strikeout, then issued an intentional walk to Mack. He got pinch-hitter Jeffrey Jones to ground into a 1-6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
Starter Jake Brown (Forest Hill, MD/Pitt CC) recorded season-highs of seven innings and six strikeouts, allowing the one run on five hits. Matthews pitched a scoreless inning and Kyle Kamppi (Savannah/Benedictine) recorded the first two outs of the ninth. Bobo (2-1) was charged for the one run on two hits in an inning.
USC out-hit the Eagles 8-6 but Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) erased a pair when he threw out two runners trying to steal. It was the first time this year Georgia Southern went into extra innings.
Alex Ferrato (3-0) pitched a scoreless 10th inning to earn the win. Matt Price pitched a season-high seven innings of relief, allowing three hits. Starter Michael Roth was charged for one run on three hits in two innings.
The Eagles begin a seven-game homestand on Friday night (March 27) against Elon. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday's game will be televised live on CSS and is now a 1 p.m. start. Sunday is a scheduled 1:30 p.m. first pitch.
