The beauty of bad TV is you can change the channel. Click, click click went South Carolina fans who were tuned in Thursday night to ESPN2 to watch the Gamecocks play at 8th ranked Auburn.
After taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Gamecocks were outscored 24-0 over the next four innings in what turned out to be a 24-2 seven inning Tiger victory.
It’s the fourth time this season the Gamecocks have lost an SEC game in seven innings due to the 10 run rule.
The Gamecocks had just five hits. One of those was a home run by Jase Woita, his sixth of the season. The Tigers had 20 hits, including five homers and five others for extra bases, along with five walks and five hit batters.
With the 21 earned runs allowed Thursday night, the ERA of the USC pitching staff in SEC games climbed to 9.09.
Brandon Stone started and last just two innings. He allowed eight runs on eight hits. He walked one and hit three. Ryan Garino followed and gave up five runs with only two of them earned. He yielded two homers a triple and a double.
Tyler Pitzer stepped up next and was rocked for 10 runs on five hits, including a home run and a double. He walked three and hit two. Cooper Parks finished up and he allowed the final run and that came via the home run.
Over the last four games, South Carolina pitching has been tagged for 59 runs, 55 hits and 13 home runs. They have walked 26 batters and hit eight.
Stone took the loss to fall to 2-6. His ERA now stands at 7.26.
The Gamecocks are now 26-24 overall and 5-20 in the SEC. The teams will play a doubleheader on Friday with the first game set for a 2:00 PM start.