South Carolina 4 – Air Force 2 Game Summary
- South Carolina (6-2) got another strong pitching performance from its bullpen and the Gamecocks finished off “Salute the Troops” weekend with a 4-2 win over Air Force at Founders Park, Sunday.
- Freshman Will Craddock hit a leadoff home run for the second consecutive game, this one to the opposite field. Craddock later added a double to finish 2-for-4. The T.L. Hanna product is batting .533 and slugging 1.200 through the first four starts of his collegiate career.
- Gamecocks’ starter Brandon Stone fanned the first two batters he faced before losing his touch and surrendering a first-inning run. The next four Air Force hitters reached base on an infield single, two walks and a hit-by-pitch, resulting in a run. Stone stuck out the next batter swinging to leave the bases loaded and limit the damage to a single run.
- After tying the game on Craddock’s long ball, USC took the lead for good with a three-run second. Dawson Harman doubled and scored on Beau Hollins’ (2-for-2) single to center. Hollins moved to third on an error and scored the go-ahead run on Luke Yuhasz’s ground out. Three batters later, the Gamecocks plated a third run on Patrick Evans’ (2-for-3) double to left.
- The pitching staffs took over from there, with only run scored over the final seven innings.
- Stone settled in after the shaky first inning, holding the Falcons scoreless in the second and third before turning it over to the bullpen. Relievers Logan Prisco, Zach Russell and Alex Valentin gave Air Force little to hit, thereafter, giving up just one run over the final six frames. Russell (2-0) picked up the win but Valentin was the most impressive of the trio, retiring ten of the eleven hitters he faced for a three-inning save.
- USC will host Queens, Wednesday, in the fifth leg of a six-game home stand. First pitch between the Gamecocks and the Royals from Founders Park is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.