The Citadel 8 — USC 3 (Game Summary)
- Tonight was The Citadel’s first win over the SEC or ACC this season, after being swept by Florida State and Kentucky the previous two weekends. It also snapped a six-game losing streak to the Gamecocks, with the Bulldogs’ last victory over USC coming in 2022
- USC committed a season-high four errors in the loss. The total matched the number of hits the Gamecocks mustered off of Citadel pitching
- The Gamecocks sent nine pitchers to the mound, with Alex Philpott getting the start and working just two-thirds of an inning. The nine hurlers combined to give up eight runs on just seven hits with 11 strikeouts and nine walks
- The game started off well for the visitors, as Will Craddock led off with the first of his two home runs on the night. Craddock also homered in the fifth, finishing the night 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored
- The Citadel’s bats were hot right from batting practice, and the Bulldogs grabbed the lead for good in the bottom of the first on a 2-run shot from left fielder TJ Anderson. An inning later, the advantage grew to 3-1 thanks to a solo blast to right field off the bat of Rhyder Poppell
- Carolina climbed back to within a run on an RBI ground out from Talmadge LeCroy. However, the Bulldogs tacked on a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth before breaking the game open in the eighth inning
- An RBI single from Phillips Daniels and a two-run base knock off the bat of Matthew Lively made the score 8-3 heading into the 9th
- The Gamecocks went down in order in their final at-bat to fall to 12-6 on the year in advance of their SEC opener at Florida this weekend. Meantime, The Citadel improved to 6-8 with the win and will travel to UT-Martin on Friday
- An announced crowd of 4,329 was in attendance at Joe Riley Park in Charleston
I never thought I’d see Gamecock baseball program become this incredibly inept and irrelevant.