South Carolina ties record for most losses in a season in Senior Day defeat to Alabama

If there were ever a sequence that summed up South Carolina’s season, perhaps it would be what happened in the seventh inning of Saturday’s 9-6 loss to No. 19 Alabama.

After opening the frame with back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners with no outs, KJ Scobey hit a shallow pop-up to second base. Luke Yuhasz, who was on first, slowly jogged toward second and was doubled off, as the Gamecocks eventually came away empty-handed.

It was a head-scratching play that not even interim head coach Monte Lee could fully explain afterward.

“It was a mental lapse, that’s all I can say. There’s no explanation for it,” Lee said. “I did not talk to him about it in the moment. Obviously, the game is still going on. So in the heat of the moment, as a coach, you don’t want to embarrass a player while the game is going on.”

Lee added that he plans to address the situation with Luke Yuhasz privately on Sunday. It was a difficult moment in what was otherwise a strong day for the senior right fielder, who went 3-for-4 with a double after being one of five players honored on Senior Day.

As for the Gamecocks (22-29, 7-19 SEC), they’ve now lost seven straight games and have tied last year’s program-worst mark of 29 losses in a season. With five games to go, plus at least one more in the SEC Tournament, one more loss would give them their first 30-loss season in program history.

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It turned out to be a better offensive day as South Carolina broke out for four runs in the second against Alabama left-hander Zane Adams. With two on and two outs, Jake Randolph launched a three-run homer into the visitor’s bullpen. Then, after Yuhasz drew a walk and stole second base, KJ Scobey drove him in with an RBI triple that skipped past the glove of a diving Bryce Fowler in center field.

“Thought we had (Adams) on the ropes, obviously, in the second inning,” Lee said. “We put together the big inning, Randolph with the three-run homer, and then Yuhasz with a great at-bat. Scobey with a triple RBI two-strike count, put together good at-bats. Had a lot of really good at-bats there in the second inning with two outs and scored four runs.”

Adams worked through six innings, striking out nine while issuing just one walk, but the Gamecocks still managed to make him work throughout his outing, plating five runs on six hits. It wouldn’t be enough for Brandon Stone, though, who struggled over four innings on the other side.

Stone gave up six runs by the time his day came to an end. After JoJo Williamson tied the game with a three-run homer in the fourth, Stone exited in the fifth after Alabama put two on with no outs.

“He’s a competitive kid. He’s frustrated. He’s just leaving some pitches up out over the plate with two strikes. He’s getting way too much of the plate with two strikes. I think he’ll tell you that,” Lee said. “He’s just not the kind of guy that can do that. He throws a lot of strikes, and he doesn’t have like a wipeout breaking ball. He’s a pitch-to-contact guy. He’s gotta pitch down. He’s got to keep the ball out of the middle of the plate, and he didn’t do that today.”

Alabama would go on to score five runs over the next two innings to take the lead for good. John Lemm and Will Plattner each hit home runs off Logan Prisco, who came in for Stone and struggled, as he allowed three runs on five hits over two innings.

Patrick Evans, who came in as a defensive replacement for Logan Sutter after he made an error back in the fifth, launched a solo homer in his first at-bat in the sixth. However, as Lee would later explain, Sutter’s error wasn’t the reason why he left the game early.

“The error was a result of an injury,” Lee said. “So I took him out, because when he ran through first base in the at-bat before he hurt himself, he tried to go out on defense. He said he felt like he was OK, but when the ball was hit, I could tell he physically was unable to play at 100 percent. So it wasn’t because he made an error. The reason that he made the error is because he physically could not move to catch the ball.”

Up next: South Carolina will look to salvage the series and avoid the sweep in the finale on Sunday. First pitch will be at 1:30 p.m. on SEC Network+. Alex Valentin (1-3, 4.68 ERA) will get the start on the mound.

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