GREENVILLE, N.C. – The University of South Carolina baseball team won its 18th regional in school history, defeating UNC Wilmington, 8-4, Monday afternoon (June 4) in game six of the 2018 Greenville Regional at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The Gamecocks advance to the Fayetteville Super Regional, facing No. 5 Arkansas next weekend.
The Gamecocks struck first with a pair of runs in the top of the third. Carlos Cortes led off the inning with a single up the middle. He went to second on an infield single by Jonah Bride. Justin Row walked to load the bases and Hunter Taylor brought in a pair with an infield double to the shortstop. The Seahawks answered with a run in the bottom of the third on Mason Berne’s RBI single up the middle.
Carolina scored a pair in the sixth inning as Madison Stokes brought in Danny Blair with a sacrifice fly to left and LT Tolbert singled to right to bring in Cortes. Then in the seventh, Stokes doubled to the gap in right, scoring Blair and Cortes and giving Carolina a 6-3 lead. Bride then added insurance in the ninth with a two-run home run to left.
The Seahawks scored a run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly, but a fielder’s choice ended the game, sending the Gamecocks to a Super Regional.
Cortes was 4-for-5 with three runs scored while Stokes, Bride, Tolbert and Jacob Olson had two hits apiece in the win.
Mlodzinski earned the win, striking out three and allowing four hits and three runs in five-plus innings of work. Eddy Demurias pitched three innings and struck out five while Sawyer Bridges pitched the final frame.
