HawgBeat - Arkansas to face South Carolina in SEC Tournament on Wednesday
HawgBeat provides a preview of Arkansas' SEC Tournament opener against South Carolina on Wednesday.
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The No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks (43-12, 20-10 SEC) have learned their first opponent of the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama, as the Hogs will play 10-seed South Carolina (34-21, 13-17 SEC) in their opening matchup on Wednesday.
Led by head coach Mark Kingston, South Carolina defeated Alabama 10-5 on Tuesday to advance to the second day of the SEC Tournament.
South Carolina batters Ethan Petry, Blake Jackson and Cole Messina all scorched the ball against the Crimson Tide, as each batter recorded three hits. Petry, Messina, Dalton Reeves and Gavin Casas all hit home runs and the Gamecocks only struck out six times.
On the mound, right reliever Chris Veach excelled out of the bullpen to the tune of six strikeouts and only three hits across 5.2 scoreless frames.
Arkansas last faced South Carolina in a three-game series at Columbia, South Carolina, from April 19-20. The Razorbacks won a Game 1 pitching duel before splitting a doubleheader to claim victory over the Gamecocks.
"We won a couple of games there," head coach Dave Van Horn said on Tuesday. "Some tight games. We only know what we know. I guess they’re solid you know. They’ve maybe struggled a little bit the last couple of weeks. But they’re very talented. They have some really good arms. But you know it’s hard to say who they would throw against us. At this time of year you just kind of play and go from there."
Expected to start for Arkansas against South Carolina is sophomore right-hander Ben Bybee, who pitched in the final regular game of the season on Sunday against Texas A&M. Against the Aggies, the 6-foot-6 Kansas native tossed 2.1 innings of three-run ball with three strikeouts.
HawgBeat has a recap of all the action from South Carolina's victory over Alabama in the SEC Tournament on Tuesday:
Scoring Innings:
Bottom of the First - Alabama 1, South Carolina 0:
Facing South Carolina right-handed starting pitcher Dylan Eskew, the Crimson Tide started the frame with a full-count fly out but quickly responded thanks to a single by Ian Petrutz. He then advanced to second base due to a throwing error before moving to third after a groundout by Justin Lebron. William Hamiter drove Petrutz in with a seeing-eye single up the middle to give Alabama an early 1-0 advantage.
Bottom of the Second - Alabama 3, South Carolina 0:
Catcher Mac Guscette singled through the right side to lead things off for Alabama and he was moved to third after a double by TJ McCants. Eskew plunked the next Crimson Tide batter with the first pitch of the AB to load the bases before hitting another hitter to score a run. Gage Miller hit a sac-fly to center field for the second run of the frame and the Gamecocks turned to Matthew Becker out of the bullpen, who proceeded to strike out the final two batsmen to end the inning.
Top of the Third - South Carolina 6, Alabama 3
South Carolina infielder Gavin Casas led off the third with a solo homer against Alabama starter Greg Farone for the Gamecocks' first run of the game. Farone retired the next batter via groundout but then Ethan Petry went yard to draw the deficit within one. Following a single, Alabama turned to Aidan Moza out of the bullpen. Moza allowed a single but then forced a foul out that moved both South Carolina runners into scoring position. A walk loaded the bases, and Dalton Reeves smoked a line drive over the right field wall for a grand slam.
Bottom of the Fourth - South Carolina 6, Alabama 5
Following a leadoff strikeout, Miller and Petrutz followed up with back-to-back singles to force a mound change for South Carolina. Chris Veach took the mound and immediately allowed an RBI groundout before Hamiter smashed a double to right field to score another run.
Top of the Fifth - South Carolina 7, Alabama 5
Cole Messina led off the fifth with a solo shot to center field to extend South Carolina's lead to two, but that was all the Gamecocks could muster.
Top of the Sixth - South Carolina 9, Alabama 5
After two quick outs by Casas and Austin Brinling, South Carolina rattled off two singles before Messina doubled to right center to tack on two more runs. The inning ended on a three-pitch strikeout.
Top of the Eighth - South Carolina 10, Alabama 5
The Gamecocks got off to a roaring start in the eighth, as back-to-back hit-by-pitches and a single started the frame with the bases loaded for South Carolina. Alabama worked its magic, though, and only allowed one run on a groundout double play after picking off Messina at first base.
