Gamecocks complete furious comeback for walk-off win, series victory over UNCG
For a moment, it seemed as though South Carolina was going to finish opening weekend on the wrong side of history.
Trailing for the entirety of Sunday’s rubber match against UNC Greensboro and down by four runs with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, the Gamecocks were staring at their first 1-2 start to a season since 1970.
Enter Andrew Eyster.
The fifth-year senior outfielder, known for clutch hitting throughout his USC career, ensured that Gamecocks fans would leave Founders Park happy. Swinging on the first pitch, Eyster drilled a game-tying grand slam over the left-field wall to push the game to extra innings and salvage what had been a difficult offensive day for the Gamecocks.
An inning later, with runners on the corners and one out, freshman shortstop Michael Braswell drove in the game-winning run on a grounder to third, and the Gamecocks defeated UNCG 8-7 to clinch the series.
One day after staging a late rally, stranding the bases loaded and falling to visiting UNC Greensboro by one run, the Gamecocks (2-1) made sure to complete the comeback Sunday, with Eyster providing the heroics. The veteran is no stranger to late-inning drama, as he knocked back-to-back walk-off hits against rival Clemson last season.
“Just the grit from this team — yesterday was a similar situation and we came up a little short,” Eyster said. “We would like to do that a little earlier to avoid some of the high blood pressure and heart rate and stress. But it really says a lot that we just weren’t ready to give up.”
The Gamecocks exploded for six runs in the ninth inning after struggling to generate any kind of offense against senior right-handed starter Austin Parsley, who allowed only three hits, two walks and threw an economical 83 pitches in seven innings. He struck out four.
Compared with the power arms the Gamecocks will see in SEC play, Parlsey pitched with pedestrian velocity, sitting around 85 to 87 mph with his fastball. But he kept the Gamecocks off balance by keeping the ball on the corners and mixing in a steady diet of offspeed pitches, drawing several swings and misses with his changeup.
He retired the order 1-2-3 in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings, keeping the momentum squarely on UNCG’s side after the Spartans jumped all over Gamecocks lefty starter Josiah Sightler. Sightler, who also batted fifth as the team’s DH, gave up five runs (four earned) on six hits in 2.2 innings. The USC bullpen mostly neutralized the Spartans from there, allowing just two runs.
The USC lineup couldn’t find its rhythm until the ninth against reliever Jake Wolf, who coughed up a two-run pinch-hit home run to Connor Cino before loading the bases on a single, an error by the shortstop and a hit-by-pitch for Eyster.
In the top of the 10th, the freshman Braswell shifted to the mound to make his pitching debut, striking out the side to set up his own game-winning RBI in the bottom half of the frame. With the walk-off, the Gamecocks avoided their worst start to the season in more than 50 years.
The last time the Gamecocks lost two of their first three games to the start the season came in 1970, with Bobby Richardson in his first season as head coach. USC didn’t open with a conventional three-game series that year, losing against Furman and Massachusetts before defeating Yale in the third game of the season. That team finished the season 14-20.
Current head coach Mark Kingston and the Gamecocks have much higher aspirations than that kind of finish, as they’re looking to build off an NCAA regional appearance last season.
“Obviously big win for us early in the season,” Kingston said. “It looked like the series was going to go the wrong way for us. And to see what the guys did there at the end. So many guys, I don’t know where to start, but it was just so many guys with big hits and big outs on the mound. Incredible show of heart to win the series like that against a really solid team.”
Next USC baseball game
Who: South Carolina vs. Winthrop
When: 4 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Founders Park in Columbia
Watch: Streaming on SEC Network Plus
This story was originally published February 20, 2022 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Gamecocks complete furious comeback for walk-off win, series victory over UNCG."
