The #2 South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team shutout a familiar in-state foe in Coastal Carolina 4-0 Wednesday night at Carolina Stadium. Junior RHP Evan Beal got his first start of the season after dealing with a back injury throughout the season. Beal looked great, going four innings and allowing no hits and no runs. Four Gamecock pitchers combined to pitch a one-hit shutout against the Chanticleers.
The offense was without Junior catcher Grayson Greiner again as deal’s with a thumb injury on his catching hand. Sophomore second baseman Max Schrock also sat out again as he continues to recover from an ankle injury. Still, with two of the top six batters in their lineup out, the Gamecocks managed to plate just enough runs to win. Sophomore shortstop Marcus Mooney had the biggest hit of the game in the second inning with a two-run double. Senior 1B Brison Celek added an RBI-double in the third inning. Sophomore INF D.C. Arendas had an RBI-single in the fifth.
The Gamecocks are now 13-5 all-time against Coastal Carolina. The two teams last met in 2010 when the Gamecocks beat the Chanticleers twice in the Super Regional to advance to the College World Series. Coastal Carolina was in South Carolina’s regional last year but the teams never played. The Chanticleers have been one of the top teams in college baseball over the last ten years, but are having an unusually down year posting a 10-15 record, 2-4 in the Big South Conference.
The Gamecocks beat the College of Charleston Tuesday night 4-2. The team is now 21-3 on the season, 3-3 in conference play. The #2 Gamecocks are back in action Friday night as they open up a three-game series with the Tennessee Volunteers at Carolina Stadium. South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida and Vanderbilt are all tied for first place in the SEC East right now with a 3-3 conference record.
