Baseball: No. 2 Gamecocks sweep tough 3-game set in Carolina

“We feel like we can play with any team in the country,” said junior Zak Hermans, who pitched on Friday. This reaction only makes sense when you take into account the opponent: No. 2 South Carolina.

Princeton’s season started off with a split of a series at Florida Atlantic, a respectable team, but calling South Carolina “respectable” would be a dramatic understatement. The Gamecocks came in looking unbeatable, having lost only one game out of their first 11. That loss came in an away game — South Carolina was undefeated at Carolina Stadium, where it recently hung its second consecutive NCAA Championship banner, which was won in 2011. This weekend was going to be the Tigers’ biggest challenge yet, if not the biggest of the year.

Princeton almost upset the Gamecocks on Friday night, allowing just two runs against the second-ranked team in the nation. Hermans, last week’s Ivy League Pitcher of the Week, kept the Tigers in the game, giving up just one run — a solo homer by South Carolina first baseman Kyle Martin — and allowing just five hits in five innings. His performance against a team that had outscored its opponents 63-22 in its first 11 games confirmed that the Tigers could count on him to keep them competitive against any offense. Junior pitcher Kevin Link also had a solid outing, giving up only one run in three innings of relief work. According to Hermans, the Tigers’ success on the mound was aided by their ability to change speed.

“The changeup became a really big pitch for us this weekend,” he said. “I think that was a big pitch for me on Friday, and I think it was for the rest of the guys later on in the weekend too.”

As close to perfect as Princeton’s defense was, however, South Carolina’s was closer. Pitcher Michael Roth, team captain and last year’s CollegeBaseballInsider.com Player of the Year, shut out the Tigers for eight innings and recorded 10 strikeouts.

Princeton’s only run on Friday was scored by junior shortstop Matt Bowman, who scored on a groundout by sophomore first baseman Matt Ford in the top of the ninth inning. Senior catcher and co-captain Sam Mulroy also reached scoring position in what was shaping up to be a two-out rally, but the Gamecocks’ pitcher Evan Beal relieved Roth and quickly recorded the final out.

The next day was less encouraging for the Tigers, though it was a closer game than the box score would indicate. South Carolina did not have one breakout inning, but it wore down sophomore pitchers Mike Ford and Michael Fagan, taking the lead in the first inning and adding to its lead in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth to end the game 6-1. The Gamecocks’ three pitchers recorded nine strikeouts on the day.

On Sunday, Princeton gave another admirable defensive effort. Bowman let in two runs in his first six innings of work. In the seventh, Gamecock infielder Erik Payne doubled to knock in a run and left Bowman with two runners in scoring position and only one out. The wheels were threatening to come off, but Bowman kept cool and finished the inning without further damage.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, there was no room for error as South Carolina’s bullpen put on a pitching clinic. Colby Holmes got off to a good start, allowing no runs and only four hits through five innings before turning things over to his bullpen. No fewer than five different pitchers took the mound for the Gamecocks over the next four innings, over which they allowed only one run, a solo shot from Mulroy.

Overall, South Carolina’s pitchers had 15 strikeouts on Sunday, making for a total of 35 in the series. Considering that the Gamecocks came into the series with a combined ERA of 1.70, it is particularly impressive that the Tigers outhit the Gamecocks on Sunday, 6-5.

The Tigers, now 2-5, will continue to work their way up the East Coast over the next few weeks, stopping in Richmond, Chapel Hill, Greensboro and Annapolis before their home and Ivy opener, a double-header against Dartmouth on March 31. North Carolina, currently ranked sixth in the nation, is the only top-25 team left on Princeton’s schedule, and although their record might not reflect it, the Tigers look like they can hold their own against all their opponents.