FIRST PITCH
Score: South Carolina 7 | Queens 2
Records: South Carolina (5-0 overall, 0-0 SEC) | Queens (2-2 overall, 0-0 ASUN)
Location: Columbia, S.C. (Founders Park)
 
The Short Story:
After taking a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning, the South Carolina Gamecocks plated four runs and held off the Royals late comeback efforts in a 7-2 win at Founders Park in Columbia. Despite the loss, the Royals put together a gritty performance behind a quality start from left-hander Joey Ruller.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Queens opened the game and forced South Carolina starting pitcher Jackson Soucie to work for a clean inning. Sophomore Jake Barbour worked a 14-pitch walk before the Soucie ended the frame with back-to-back popouts. The Gamecocks offense would come in and capitalize in the bottom of the first inning with a run on two hits. Nathan Hall led off the inning with a double to right center before Ethan Petry brought him home with a one-out RBI single up the middle.
-The Royals saw their first scoring opportunity come to fruition in the top of the third inning. Jacob Grimes laced a one-out double down the left field line for the Royals first hit of the afternoon. Soucie would settle in and pick up a flyout and stikeout to escape the jam and keep the score 1-0.
-After being held scoreless across four straight innings, the Gamecocks appeared to get their offense rolling with two outs. Nathan Hall started the rally with a two-out single before Dalton Mashore followed it up with a single through the left side. Head Coach Jake Hendrick took a mound visit to settle his starting pitcher Joey Ruller down before facing Ethan Petry. The sophomore southpaw executed when he needed it getting a flyout to center field to end the jam and keep the score 1-0.
-South Carolina would cash in their opportunities in the bottom of the sixth inning plating two runs on a hit. Queens turned to Jack Renaud out of the bullpen and the Gamecocks greeted the new arm with a lead off double. A wild pitch advanced Jones to third before a walk and hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with no outs. South Carolina would capitalize with a sacrifice fly from Henry Kaczmar and an RBI groundout from KJ Scobey to extend their lead to 3-0. Renaud would limit the damage getting a ground out to get out of the inning.
-In the bottom of the seventh inning, Queens brought in sophomore Derek Westfall to keep the game at bay. The Gamecocks got a leadoff infield single, and a hit-and-run allowed the Royals to exchange an out as South Carolina put a runner in scoring position. A walk and infield single would load the bases as South Carolina looked to break the game opener. Westfall remained poised and picked up a key strikeout and a fly out to leave the bases loaded and keep the Gamecocks off the board.
-Queens would cash in with two runs in the top of the eighth inning with a timely two out hit from newcomer Justin Hudson. Jacob Grimes reached on a hit-by-pitch before Jake Barbour worked a two-out walk. The Gamecocks would go back to their bullpen and Nick Alderfer worked a four pitch walk against the new arm. With the bases loaded and two outs, Justin Hudson delivered a clutch two-run single to left field to cut the deficit to 3-2.
-The Gamecocks responded in the bottom half of the eighth with four runs on three hits. Ethan Petry delivered a key RBI single through the left side to extend the lead to 6-2 before a wild pitch brought home the final run of the inning and extend the Gamecocks lead to five.

BY THE NUMBERS
-Southpaw Joey Ruller twirled 5.0 innings allowing one run on six hits while striking out five Gamecocks in his first start of the season.
-Sophomore Jake Barbour extended his early hitting streak to four straight games with a 1-for-2 night, including two walks.
-Jacob Grimes also extended his early hitting streak with a 1-for-3 evening, including a double to kickstart the Royals offense.
-Newcomer Justin Hudson recorded the timely hit with an RBI single to plate a pair of Royals. The Colorado native has tallied a hit in three straight outings.
-Nick Alderfer used a patient approach at the plate to draw a pair of walks.
-D1Baseball All-American Ethan Petry turned in a 3-for-4 game with two RBIs for South Carolina.
-The Gamecocks quality pitching staff held the Royals to three hits and 10 strikeouts while tallying 12 hits on their end.

NEXT UP
Queens will return to Charlotte and prepare for their home opener on Friday, February 21^st. The Royals will host Yale at 2:00 p.m. at the Richard "Stick" Williams Dream Fields. Admission is free. The series will continue on Saturday and Sunday at The Stick with a 2:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. first pitch.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow the baseball program on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date with Queens Baseball throughout the offseason. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on social media @QueensAthletics, to stay up to date with all of the Royals' Athletics.