South Carolina Drops Two Versus Alabama

By Sinderella

South Carolina went down to Alabama to take on the Crimson Tide with hopes to continue their 6-game winning streak. Unfortunately things didn't go to as planned. South Carolina jumped on Alabama early in game one and even has the lead as Gavin Casas hit a solo shot to put South Carolina up 3-1 in the 7th inning. That's when Alabama took advantage of what was possibly the worst defensive game of the season by the Gamecocks as they would lose 4-3 with many opportunities to shut down the Crimson Tide offense, but failed to do so time and time again.

Alabama would go up 6-0 in game 2 and South Carolina would battle back to tie the game 6-6 going into the 8th, and that's when the floodgates would open up for the Crimson Tide as they would win 13-7. So far, the series has played out very similarly to the South Carolina vs. Ole Miss series did 2 weeks prior with South Carolina giving up game 1 and losing game 2 from a big 8th inning. In that series South Carolina would win game 3 comfortably. So, what happened this time?

In game 3, South Carolina would go down 4-0 to Alabama as their hot bats continued to swing well. As, usual with South Carolina, they would battle back and even take a 10-4 lead. This was wrapping up to be another easy game 3 victory until we hit the ninth and Alabama closed the score to 10-9. Thankfully, bad baserunning on 3rd base by Alabama's star, TJ McCants, would be the final out of the game as McCants would round the base a little too far and was tagged out on a dive back to the base.

This was another road weekend series that South Carolina could've taken advantage of their Friday starter's, Eli Jones, excellent performance, but failed to do so late in the game. Not only was the defense was poor, but South Carolina was something like 1-25 with runners in scoring position through the first 2 games. This has been an ongoing issue for the Gamecocks all season long. Even though recently, the bats have looked a lot better it is still an issue. Hopefully, head coach Mark Kingston can find a spark in hitting with runners in scoring position if the Gamecocks want any postseason success.

Looking ahead, South Carolina hosts Georgia Southern and #3 Texas A&M at Founder's Park.

The Gamecocks are hoping to repeat what they did after the Ole Miss series and sweep the next week of games. To do that, the bats have to stay consistent and the miscues in the field, especially in late game situations, cannot happen.

The Gamecocks have the talent and have shown they can beat anyone in the country, but they can also let games slip through their fingers. April is where we will see how good this team really is, as they face some of the top teams in the country every weekend, and a red hot North Carolina team during a midweek. We just have to hope the magic of Founder's Park can come alive again.

(All pictures courtesy of @GamecockBll)