Yardcocks choke one away
Posted 12:56 p.m., April 27, 2008
COLA -- Even when the pitching and hitting had failed, USC had leaned heavily all year on its defense. Especially by the infield.
The Gamecocks fell apart Saturday at LSU, especially with a one-run lead in the 11th inning. USC committed three errors and had a wild pitch in the 11th.
James Darnell's throwing error allowed the leadoff runner to reach second. A Parker Bangs wild pitch got him to third.
Andrew Crisp then misjudged a fly ball in left field, allowing the run to score. The winning run moved to second on a groundout and stole third (another key move by LSU).
Scott Wingo's error at second ended the game.
Guh.
All that would be enough to make you wonder how the Gamecocks would respond today. Then consider that South Carolina led 7-0 after its half of the sixth inning and up 8-3 after its half of the seventh.
Double guh.
This is the kind of loss that can sink a team. Dropping the 11-3 game Friday was reminiscent of what USC did in the opener at home against Kentucky. But then the Gamecocks came back to win the final two games to take the series.
This time, they followed a poor outing with a worse one.
Even when USC was swept at Georgia, the Gamecocks were competitive in every game. All three games were close, low-scoring games.
Obviously not the case in Baton Rouge. I'm not saying this is the end of USC's season. But the team has to be incredibly cautious not to let the first two losses seep into today or anything else going forward.
Blake Cooper, who pitched a complete game last week against Ole Miss, is on the mound in about an hour. Cooper very nearly pitched a shutout.
-- Th
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