Baseball Falls to #4 South Carolina 2-1 in Regional Opener
6/4/2011 1:25:00 AM | Baseball
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Georgia Southern Baseball team (36-25) fell 2-1 to #4 South Carolina (46-14) in the Columbia Regional opener for both teams Friday, June 3rd. Andy Moye (Alpharetta, Ga.) tossed a gem, but the Eagles could not find the equalizer in a one-run game, tallying one run on two hits.
"It was an outstanding college baseball game, as well pitched of a game on both sides as you will see," said Head Coach Rodney Hennon. "Andy (Moye) was outstanding and (Michael) Roth was outstanding for them. Neither guy was willing to give in. I'm proud of the way that our team played in front of that type of crowd. I thought our guys showed a lot of poise and composure. Unfortunately, we just couldn't find ways to score and you've got to tip your hat to them."
South Carolina's Brady Thomas had a hand in both of the Gamecock runs and set up the winning run with a well-placed hit-and-run single in the sixth inning. Christian Walker, who walked earlier in the inning, scored in the next at-bat on a single by Adrian Morales.
Moye threw a complete game, but was the hard-luck loser in a ballgame that saw solid pitching by both sides. Moye (L, 7-2) allowed both runs, one earned, on four hits and two walks. The senior pitcher struck out four batters and hit one in 112 pitches.
"Right off the bat, that first inning I had a quick inning, I had all my pitches working," said Andy Moye. "The curveball came a little later in the game, but I had the fastball and changeup working early in the game, and I knew if I was able to keep their hitters off balance mixing those two pitches I was going to have some pretty good success."
A pair of errors on failed pick-off plays led to both teams' opening runs. Brent Pugh (Atlanta, Ga.) gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the third inning, scoring from third after a pickoff throw was muffed by the first baseman. The ball bounced off his glove and rolled away far enough to allow Pugh to race home for the opening run of the contest. He reached third base on a single by Scooter Williams (Detroit, Mich.) and a wild pitch.
The Gamecocks got the run back in the fourth inning after an errant throw on a pick-off attempt at first base allowed Scott Wingo to reach third base on a two-base error. Wingo later scored an unearned run on a sacrifice fly from Thomas.
Michael Roth earned the win after a fine outing. Roth (W, 12-3) allowed just two hits and one unearned run over seven innings of work. The bullpen combined for two hitless innings of relief pitching to secure the win for USC. Matt Price threw the final 1.2 innings and struck out three batters for his 16th save of the season.
Georgia Southern and North Carolina State will square in an elimination game tomorrow afternoon at Carolina Stadium. Game time is set for 1 p.m. with the winner advancing to Sunday to face the loser of Saturday's second game between Stetson and South Carolina.
All Georgia Southern Baseball games can be heard on Eagle 102.9 FM in Statesboro and are also available online at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/Eaglevision beginning 30 minutes prior to first pitch. Ryan Chambers of the Georgia Southern Radio Network will call all the action. Updates on available video streams will be announced as soon as they are available.
Fans may follow Georgia Southern Baseball by visiting GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/baseball or check in at twitter.com/GSAthletics or facebook.com/GSAthletics for short updates and twitter.com/GSScores for score updates.
