After two quiet games at the plate, South Carolina got the bats going in the final game of a three-game sweep against VMI with a 13-1 victory on Saturday afternoon at Carolina Stadium. The Gamecocks slugged 16 hits in game two of the doubleheader, which included a seven-run fourth inning.

Catcher Dante Rosenberg

“Two of them could have gone a different way for us and we were able to hang in there and win a couple of close ones,” South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner said. “We did some better things today offensively. I like our pitching staff a little bit. I think we have a chance, as we move forward, to do a good job on the mound. We have a lot of questions, but we’ll get back out there next weekend.”

The Gamecocks put up a run in the bottom of the first inning on a sacrifice fly to left by LB Dantzler, which scored Tanner English, who reached on a fielders choice. Even though that is all USC would need, the runs came in bunches in the fourth inning.

South Carolina sent 10 hitters to the plate in the inning, but the biggest blows were delivered with two outs. Junior Christian Walker roped a two-out double to left field, which plated a pair of runs. Then, on the very next pitch, Dantzler launched a pitch over the wall in right field for the first home run of the season for the Gamecocks.

“Hopefully it’s some foreshadowing of the rest of the season,” Walker said of the one-two punch he and Dantzler provide in the middle of the order.

That blast capped a seven-run inning and put the game well out of reach for a VMI team that had only seven hits in the first two games. Evan Marzilli had an RBI single and Connor Bright worked a bases loaded walk to drive in the first run of his career.

“Coach took us aside (between games) and talked about our approach,” Bright said. “He wanted us to be more aggressive and score more runs.”

That was plenty of run support for Holmes, who pitched five innings before giving some of the arms in the bullpen some work. At one point, Holmes retired 12 of 13 hitters as he sliced and diced through the VMI lineup.

Holmes, who moved to 1-0 with the victory, was the only starting pitcher to pick up a win for the Gamecocks on opening weekend. He gave up just one hit and didn’t walk a batter and struck out six.

Junior Ethan Carter

South Carolina tacked on three more runs in the seventh inning. Marzilli roped a triple to the wall in center field, which brought home Sean Sullivan, who singled, and TJ Costen, who walked. Marzilli came home on a sacrifice fly by English.

With the lead in hand, the Gamecocks turned to the bullpen. Evan Beal, Hunter Privette, and Jordan Montgomery all pitched a scoreless inning.

Costen, who entered the game in the seventh inning, launched his first career home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. He deposited a fastball into the grounds crew area in left field just below the catwalk to give the Gamecocks their 13th run of the game.

VMI scratched across a run in the top of the ninth inning to keep from being shut out. After a four-pitch walk to lead off the inning from reliever Drake Thomason, third baseman Chase Worthington roped a double to the gap in right center. Thomason rebounded to strike out his final hitter of the game, before giving way to freshman Joel Seddon.

Seddon threw just three pitches but got the final out on a ground ball to second base to end the game. VMI had just 11 hits and scored five runs on the weekend off of South Carolina pitchers.

South Carolina will host Elon on Friday for the first of a three-game series. Senior Michael Roth will get the ball for the Gamecocks at 3 p.m. The final two games are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Game one recap

Two days, two one-run wins. Junior Dante Rosenberg was the offensive fireplug in the South Carolina’s 3-2 victory over VMI in game one of the doubleheader on Saturday at Carolina Stadium.

Rosenberg, who missed all of last season except the opening weekend with a bad back, may have been hitting in the nine-hole but his two doubles contributed two the runs scored in two of the three innings.

Junior Matt Price, making his first start since 2009, pitched five strong innings before running into trouble in the sixth. Reliever Ethan Carter bailed him out of a jam, though, and Rosenberg’s go-ahead RBI double in the bottom of the sixth pushed the Gamecocks (2-0) into the seventh.

The opportunity for a big inning early was within reach when leadoff hitters Evan Marzilli and Tanner English both reached to lead off the game. With runners at the corners, three-hole hitter Christian Walker grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, which scored Marzilli but killed any chance for a big inning.

The Gamecocks tacked on another run in the bottom of the third when English’s bloop single to right brought home Rosenberg from third. Rosenberg, who started at catcher, doubled to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a fly ball by Marzilli.

After the first two hitters reached base, Price really began to settle into his groove. He retired 15-of-16 hitters, with the only base runner reaching on a hit-by-pitch. The Keydets squandered an opportunity with two on and no one out in the first inning but when the same opportunity presented itself in the top of the sixth, the visitors capitalized.

“It was not so much that I was tired,” Price said. “My arm was starting to get a little tired. I guess that’s what you expect.”

Price began to lose his control and the bases were loaded on two walks and a hit batsman with no one out. Price then walked the next hitter, cleanup man Rob Dickinson, on four pitches to bring home the first run of the game. That would end the day for Price, who gave way to Ethan Carter with the bases full.

After a strikeout, Carter allowed a line drive single to left. The first runner scored, but English threw a strike to Rosenberg to nail the attempted go-ahead run at the plate. A ground ball out got the Gamecocks out of any further damage, which closed the book on Price, who allowed two earned runs on no hits, three walks, and three hit batters. He struck out seven on 89 pitches.

“I felt pretty good with all my stuff,” Carter said. “I mixed fastballs and sliders. I mixed in a changeup or two.”

Carter, who picked up the win, gave up just two hits over four innings and struck out six hitters on the afternoon. The Keydets could figure out how to hit his slider, as Carter kept the opposition from threatening.

Through two games on the weekend, the Gamecocks had just five runs.

“Offensively, we have to do a better job,” Tanner said.

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score