Gamecocks finish off Milwaukee with a sweep

The University of South Carolina baseball team just completed a dominant three-game sweep of Milwaukee with a 14-4 win in eight innings on Sunday, February 23. This victory moves the Gamecocks to a perfect 8-0 record on the season.

Carolina came out strong, scoring multiple runs in four of their eight innings. The Gamecocks jumped to an early lead in the first with a three-run inning, courtesy of RBI doubles from Blake Jackson and Ethan Petry, along with a Nolan Nawrocki sacrifice fly. Milwaukee responded in the second with a three-run home run off the bat of Thomas Otto, but Carolina regained control in the bottom of the second when Petry drove in a run with a groundout.

Nawrocki made his mark in the third, belting his first home run as a Gamecock, before the Gamecocks added to their lead in the fourth with runs scored on a pair of wild pitches and a Ryan Bakes groundout.

The sixth inning saw a four-run surge, highlighted by a Bakes home run to center field and Beau Hollins’ first career RBI single. Carolina then sealed the game in the eighth with an RBI double from Will Tippett and a throwing error that brought in Hollins.

Tippett had a standout performance, going 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Nawrocki and Petry each contributed two hits and two RBIs, while Bakes drove in three runs.

On the mound, Ashton Crowther earned the win in relief, striking out three over two innings. Jake McCoy was impressive in his four-inning start, striking out eight and allowing only two hits and three runs. Copper Parks and Aydin Palmer made their Gamecock debuts today, with Palmer striking out the side in the eighth.

Some key postgame notes: Nawrocki now has four sacrifice flies this season, and Carolina has stolen 17 bases in their eight wins. Tippett set a new career high with four hits, surpassing his previous best of three from the SEC Tournament last year. Remarkably, eight of the Gamecocks’ nine starters had at least one hit in today’s win.

This marks the second time in the last three seasons that Carolina has started 8-0.

Looking ahead, the Gamecocks will wrap up their homestand on Tuesday night, February 25, when they take on Gardner-Webb at 6:30 p.m.