South Carolina allows two in the ninth, drops midweek to College of Charleston

Tuesday evening isn’t the first time Monte Lee and Chad Holbrook coached against each other on the diamond at Founders Park as leading men. That honor goes to 2013, when then-South Carolina coach Chad Holbrook defeated then-College of Charleston coach Monte Lee, 3-1 in a game at Patriots Point.

On Tuesday, those roles flipped. Lee now sits as interim head coach for the Gamecocks. Meanwhile, Holbrook serves as the head coach of the Cougars, a position he’s held since 2018.

However, despite the swapped roles, the final situation remained the same. Holbrook beat Lee, and College of Charleston left Founders Park with a 6-4 victory.

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South Carolina started Tuesday’s loss on the wrong foot from the opening pitch as Jacob Amman took Logan Prisco’s first pitch to right field for a base hit. Two batters later, the Cougars had the bases loaded with no outs. A fielder’s choice at second base brought in the opening run of the day. After a long mound visit to check an apparent blister, Logan Prisco exited.

But Parker Marlatt’s arrival in the circle stopped the bleeding. The Cougars were unable to plate another run or put on another base runner.

However, it didn’t stop it forever. When the third inning rolled around, the Cougars opened it back up. After getting two of their first three on, College of Charleston’s Alex LaCoste sent a home run to the left field bleachers, extending the Cougars lead to 4-0.

Marlatt’s day finished shortly after. His final line marked 2 IP, allowing two hits and three earned runs and striking out three.

Meanwhile, the Gamecocks still searched for their first hit. It finally came in the bottom of the inning in the form of a groundball down the third-base line off the bat of Erik Parker. Two more walks loaded the bases for South Carolina.

A chased ball by Talmadge LeCroy stranded all three.

The Gamecocks got another chance with bases loaded in the fifth. However, this time it came with only one out. They turned it into a sac-fly to cut the deficit to three before LeCroy stranded two more with a groundout.

South Carolina entered the sixth inning with only one hit on the evening. They left with two more, including a double that scored the Gamecocks’ second run of the day.

As South Carolina chipped away offensively, Connor Chicoli held the Cougars at bay. However, as his day seemed to wind down with two warming in the bullpen, Chicoli started to lose control. After two quick outs, he found himself with two on in scoring position. His day ended after a wild pitch, closing the evening with a line of 3.1 IP, allowing two hits and striking out four.

Josh Gregorie got the Gamecocks out of the side without allowing one to cross home plate. Patrick Evans thanked him with a lead-off double. A Tyler Bak home run took the Gamecocks off life support, sending a home run into the Cougars’ bullpen and tying the contest. In total, South Carolina more than doubled its hit total from three to seven in the seventh inning.

With two quick outs, the Gamecocks seemed to be on pace to get through the top of the ninth with no troubles. However, two quick two-out hits put that in jeopardy.

Suddenly, a two-RBI double from Ethan Plyler had the Cougars back on top. One more walk ended Alex Philpott’s day. Josh Gunther got them out of the side, but the damage was already done. South Carolina went from having a chance to walk it off to needing to answer.

The Gamecocks put one on with one out, then two on with two outs as Ethan Lizama came up with a chance to walk it off. Lizama worked the count to 3-1, then swung, strike two. He swung again for strike three. South Carolina dropped to 15-19, and Alex Philpott picked up his third loss of the season.

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