South Carolina celebrates a home run against Alabama in the SEC Tournament
By Doug Kyle
On a conference losing streak of six straight, and after falling into an early 3-0 hole, South Carolina flipped the script on Alabama with a six-run third inning that gave them a lead they'd not relinquish the remainder of the game. The Crimson Tide tried to rally with a pair of runs in the fourth, but South Carolina continued to tack on runs in the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings.
The big blow in the half-dozen outburst, after two solo home runs by Gavin Casas and Ethan Petry, was a grand slam by Dalton Reeves. Overall, South Carolina tallied 14 hits, the 2-3-4 middle of the lineup formidable with Petry, Blake Jackson, and Cole Messina each getting three hits each. Reeves had four RBI, all on the slam, and Messina drove in three.
For Alabama, Ian Petrutz went 3-5 and a trio of Crimson Tide hitters had two hits each: William Hamiter (who also made a nice diving catch in right field), Mac Guscette, and T.J. McCants.
Pitching wise, Chris Veach was the story on this day. After Dylan Eskew and Mathew Becker had surrendered the five runs, Veach came in and slammed the door, getting the win (4-1) for his pitching line of 5 2/3 IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 1HBP, and 6K performance.
South Carolina advances to the double elimination round and will play Arkansas in the second game on Wednesday, approximately 30 minutes after the Kentucky-LSU 9:30 am game.
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(Photo courtesy of the Southeastern Conference)
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