USC’s bats have grown increasingly quiet, and Saturday they were downright silenced by Vanderbilt sophomore pitcher Jack Leiter, son of former MLB pitcher Al Leiter. After walking the game’s first batter, Leiter put down the next 27 Gamecock hitters in a row, including 16 by strikeout, in recording the first no-hitter against USC in 31 years.
The Commodores also had a pair of two run homers by second baseman Tate Kolwyck in their 5-0 victory to clinch the weekend series. After opening the season with 11 straight wins, the Gamecocks have now lost six straight, including their first two SEC games to the #2 team in the country.
Leiter, who improved to 5-0 on the season, threw 124 pitches in the game, 81 for strikes. Including his walk, Leiter got to ball three in a count only seven times. 11 of his 16 strikeouts came on swings.
Brannon Jordan, who took the loss to fall to 1-2, had a good outing in his start for the Gamecocks. He allowed 2 runs and 3 hits over 5 innings while striking out 9 and walking 3. Will Sanders and David Lloyd combined for two scoreless innings. Parker Coyne came on in the eighth and yielded the second two-run homer.
The series finale will be Sunday in Nashville with first pitch scheduled for 2:00 PM Eastern.
