South Carolina was somewhat more competitive than Thursday night when Auburn won by 22 runs, but the Gamecocks still lost both ends of a doubleheader on Friday at Plainsman Park by scores of 11-10 and 11-3.
It’s the fifth time the Gamecocks have been swept in an SEC series this season, and their current losing streak is now at six.
The Gamecocks pounded out 17 hits in the opener, including home runs by Henry Kaczmar, Beau Hollins and KJ Scobey. After falling behind 7-2, the Gamecocks scored three runs in the fourth inning to make it 7-5.
They had a good scoring opportunity in the fifth with Kaczmar on third and no one out. Nathan Hall hit a fly ball to medium center field. Kaczmar attempted to score and was thrown out by a good two feet. The next batter, Jace Woita, singled to center but Hollins struck out to end the inning.
The Gamecocks scored three more in the sixth on Scobey’s homer to take an 8-7 lead. Auburn tied the game in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly, then took the lead on a two-run homer by Lucas Steele for a 10-8 lead.
Kaczmar’s two-out homer in the eighth moved the Gamecocks to within 10-9. In the ninth, the Gamecocks put runners on second and third with one out and tied the game on Evan Stone’s sacrifice fly. After Scobey was intentionally walked, Kennedy Jones grounded out to third to strand a pair.
Ashton Crowther (2-2) opened the bottom of the ninth by hitting the leadoff batter, who then advanced to second on a passed ball. Following a ground out to third, a single put runners on the corners, and the winning run then scored on a squeeze bunt that Crowther fielded on the first base side of the mound but he then failed to make a throw to the plate.
Hollins had four hits for the Gamecocks while Scobey had three along with four RBIs.
In the nightcap, USC led 3-0 after their first two at-bats. Woita had an RBI double in the first and Stone a two-run homer in the second. Auburn answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the second to cut the lead to 3-2.
The scored stayed that way until the bottom of the fifth when the Tigers turned the game their way with four runs. A walk and a single put runners on the corners with no one out. One run scored on a wild pitch, and later in the inning Cooper McMurray hit a three-run homer to make it a 6-3 Auburn lead.
The Tigers added a single run in the sixth, another in the seventh on another Steele home run, and wrapped up the scoring with three runs on six hits in the eighth off of Brendan Sweeney.
After scoring three runs on four hits in the first two innings, the Gamecocks managed just three hits the rest of the way against two Auburn relievers.
Dylan Eskew (0-3) started for the Gamecocks and allowed six runs on nine hits over four innings.
The Gamecocks are now 26-26 and 5-22 in the SEC. They will return to action Tuesday night at home against Winthrop.