RALEIGH, N.C. – It's win-or-go-home for South Carolina the next two days with three wins needed to extend the 2024 season. After a 6-4 defeat at the hands of N.C. State on Saturday night, the Gameco*cks need to win two games today and another on Monday to keep the season alive. First game up is against James Madison, a team it took some late heroics to knock off in the regional opener. First pitch between the Gameco*cks and Dukes is set for 12 p.m. with broadcast coverage on ESPNU.
NINTH INNING:Brewer leading off the inning against Burke. He gets hit on the elbow with a two-strike pitch, it's challenged for leaning into it, and umpires adjudge he did. One out. I'm really, really surprised at that call. Dunaway makes a diving stop and throw on a ground ball back up the middle. Two down now for Tippett. Goes to 2-2 as he chases a ball in the dirt. Watches Strike 3 to end the game and the season.FINAL: JMU 2 - Carolina 0
EIGHTH INNING:Burke back to the mound. He's thrown over 120 pitches over the course of the weekend so far. Gets Messina to pop up on the first pitch. Petry reaches on a throwing error. Noland goes down looking at a 3-2 pitch that was just not really even hittable. Jones bounces out 4-6 to end the inning.
Pitzer gets a sharp shot at Brewer, who knocks it down and flips to Pitz for the first out of the inning. Mancini stays back on a 2-1 breaking ball and drives it over the wall in left field. Marlatt comes in, gets a swinging strikeout to Schiavone and then a ground ball to Noland to end the inning.JMU 2 - Carolina 0
SEVENTH INNING:LeCroy up, and takes a leadoff walk. Tippett bunts him up. Brinling goes ahead 3-0 in the count, then Ball 4. Jackson swings at the first pitch, and grounds into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
Brewer hauls in a pop up by eight-hole Dunaway. Pop up to Noland. Two down. Top of the order Dooley goes full, then pops up to LeCroy to end the inning.JMU 1 - Carolina 0
SIXTH INNING:Petry lines a full count double to the gap in right center. Good piece of hitting there. Wild pitch moves the runner up, then Noland goes to 2-0 as the infield comes in. Noland chops out to first base. One down. Jones Ks. Brewer Ks.
Eskew back to the mound, and gives up a single to Schiavone. Eskew tries to make a diving catch on a popped up bunt. Couldn't quite make the catch, but gets the runner at first. Runner in scoring position. Pitzer comes in for Eskew to go against Calabrese. Five-pitch punch. Two down. After a wild pitch moves the runner to third, O'Donnell fouls back a fastball. Liner to center ends the inning.JMU 1 - Carolina 0
FIFTH INNING:LeCroy protects the plate and grounds a two-strike breaking ball through the left side. Tippett lays down a perfect bunt, but he doesn't run a perfect route to the base. He's running in fair territory. Brinling shoots a single to center, but Jackson goes down looking at a fastball. Messina up with two on. He flies out to center on a changeup to end the inning.
LeCroy catches a pop up just in front of the mound. One down. After a double to the gap in left center, Eskew gets Dooley to pop up to short. Trimble walked intentionally to face HR hitter Mancini, who falls behind 1-2 to Eskew. Tippett fields a ground ball back up the middle and takes it to the bag to end the inning.JMU 1 - Carolina 0
FOURTH INNING:Noland, again, grounds out to second base. That's seven 4-3s for him this weekend. Jones grounds out 5-3. Brewer grounds out 4-3 to end the inning.
Schiavone lines a single back up the middle to lead off the inning against Eskew. Peifer up, and pops up his bunt towards third. Falls in front of LeCroy, who gets the lead runner on a clean play. One down. Stolen base, wild pitch puts the runner on third. Infield in, and Eskew gets a grounder to Noland, who throws home to get the runner. Two down with a runner on first. Ground ball to short ends the inning.JMU 1 - Carolina 0
THIRD INNING:Tippett doesn't like an 0-1 pitch called a strike, and just doesn't swing the bat again. Goes down looking at a fastball that was right there. One down. Brinling hits a hard ground ball to short. Knocked down, but throw was a little wild. Credited with a single. Jackson walks, and JMU will bring in Burke, the guy who pitched against the Gameco*cks on Friday and picked off runners. Messina does some chasing and goes down on a breaking ball in the dirt. Two down. Petry up, and fouls back a 2-0 pitch. Now goes to 3-1. Pops out to center to end the inning.
One pitch, one out. Nine-hole Langley taps back to Eskew to begin the inning. Eskew then hits their leadoff hitter with a 90mph FB. Brinling tracks down a fly ball in right center for the second out of the inning. K to Mancini ends the inning.JMU 1 - Carolina 0
SECOND INNING:Jones grounds out to short. Brewer drops a single to left. But he gets doubled off on a soft liner to second by LeCroy. Brewer just froze. I don't know what was going on in his head.
Calabrese flies out to right center. Noland makes a play on a ball that handcuffed him on the shortstop side of the second base bag. Brewer with a nice stretch and pick. Two down now. Fly ball by Eight-hole Dunaway to center ends the inning. Eskew at 48 pitches now.JMU 1 - Carolina 0
FIRST INNING:RHP Casey Smith to the mound. He's thrown 39 innings this year but only made one start. Brinling grounds out to short to begin the game, but then Brinling takes a four-pitch walk. Messina pops up an 0-1 breaking ball to center for the second out of the inning. Petry gets hit on the first pitch with a 91 mph FB up and in. He doesn't look real thrilled about that. But two on now for Noland. Smith up to 91mph so far. Noland grounds out 4-3 to end the inning. He's grounded out to the second baseman basically all series.
Eskew to the bump, and starts out the game by getting a 2-2 fly out by Dooley to center. Goes ahead of Trimble 1-2, and he fouls away a 93mph FB. Gets him swinging on a slider out of the zone. That's only 23 Ks on the season for him. On the 10th pitch of an at-bat to Mancini, he gets a hold of a changeup that he can handle, and it's 1-0 to the Dukes. Slider out of the zone. Ball 4. Ground out by Peifer ends the inning after 33 pitches.JMU 1 - Carolina 0
CAROLINA
CF Austin Brinling
RF Blake Jackson
C Cole Messina
DH Ethan Petry
2B Parker Noland
LF Kennedy Jones
1B Dylan Brewer
3B Talmadge LeCroy
SS Will Tippett
JAMES MADISON
DH Ryan Dooley
CF Fenwick Trimble
2B Mike Mancini
C Jason Schiavone
3B Wyatt Peifer
1B Coleman Calabrese
RF Brendan O'Donnell
SS Mason Dunaway
LF Kyle Langley
RHP Dylan Eskew:3-4, 4.87 ERA, 57.1 IP, 24 BB, 38 K
RHP Casey Smith: 1-3, 5.59 ERA, 38.2 IP, 16 BB, 24 K
