South Carolina baseball: Wil Crowe wins in his first game in two years – SECcountry.com

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The questions about Tommy John and the feeling of throwing a game at South Carolina again are a thing of the past for Wil Crowe.

The Gamecocks junior pitcher made his return to the mound at Founders Park on Saturday, pitching for the first time in a South Carolina uniform since April 2015. And he felt great talking about his outing instead of what the day might feel like when it arrived.

“It’s a lot different, I guess,” Crowe said. “The last 22 months have been tough. I was able to just believe in the Lord and believe in everything that I’ve done and trust it and come out here and have fun.”

Crowe threw five innings, striking out seven and setting down the final nine batters he faced to lead South Carolina to a 5-1 win against UNC Greensboro.

He gave up a pair of singles in the first inning before he said he found his groove and settled into being back on the mound. Crowe struck out four in a row at one point, starting the run of retiring nine straight.

“The first two innings, I think I was still on some jitters and some emotions,” Crowe said. “After that, I think I really settled in and started throwing my pitches well and was able to get guys out.”

A day after using a big fourth inning, South Carolina got the bulk of its scoring in the fifth, when the Gamecocks put together five hits to bring around three runs.

Jacob Olson and Jonah Bride lined back-to-back singles into left field, setting the table for a Danny Blair RBI single to right. Justin Row dropped a well-placed bunt down the third baseline to load the bases and Alex Destino went against the shift with a two-RBI single into left centerfield to give South Carolina a 4-0 lead.

“Any time you go out there and put up more than one run in an inning, especially with the pitching staff we have, it puts a little lull in the other dugout,” Destino said. “That’s kinda what it’s all about in baseball. Getting the adrenaline going and getting the crowd going behind you.”

Carlos Cortes recorded his first career hit in the eighth, a RBI single to right field to extend the lead to 5-0.

Reed Scott came on in relief of Crowe, who departed after the fifth with 82 pitches. The senior reliever retired the first six batters he faced, as UNCG couldn’t mount much of an offensive attack through the middle innings. UNCG scored in the final inning on a Michael Goss sacrifice fly that brought home Andrew Moritz.

The Gamecocks offense again had a solid day, recording 11 hits for the second straight game. Destino had another nice day at the plate for South Carolina, 2 for 4 with two RBIs. Olson and Blair added two hits each.

But the story of the day was Crowe, who got a win in front of two rows of MLB scouts and a sellout crowd at Founders Park.

“He is phenomenal,” Destino said. “I speak on behalf of everybody, all the fans, it’s great to have him back. Him going on Saturdays for you, you’ve gotta feel pretty good.”

Player of the game

Crowe

He’s back. South Carolina fans gave him a warm welcome as he took the mound. He threw a fastball at 94 mph on his first pitch and he was off.

Wil Crowe’s first pitch as a Gamecock since 2015 is a fastball at 94 mph. pic.twitter.com/fykHGx4Dnl

— Mike Wilson (@MikeWilsonAJC) February 18, 2017

Turning point

South Carolina took a 1-0 lead early, but gave Crowe some breathing room with a three-run fifth inning that saw the Gamecocks have five hits.

What’s next for South Carolina baseball

The Gamecocks wrap up the series against UNC Greensboro at 1:30 p.m. Sunday with sophomore Adam Hill on the mount.

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