Will Craddock reached base five times and went 3-for-3 as the University of South Carolina baseball team recorded a 12-2 win over Gardner-Webb in eight innings at Founders Park on Wednesday night.
Gardner-Webb scored first, bringing in two runs in the top of the third inning. The Gamecocks answered in the bottom half with an RBI single from Talmadge LeCroy that drove in KJ Scobey.
Craddock started the fourth inning with a triple and then scored on Erik Parker’s groundout. Tyler Bak followed with his first home run of the season, giving South Carolina a 3-2 lead.
In the fifth, consecutive doubles by Luke Yuhasz and Patrick Evans brought in another run. An error by Gardner-Webb and a sacrifice fly from Reese Moore helped South Carolina increase its lead to 6-2.
A wild pitch and a passed ball added two more runs for South Carolina before Scobey hit a double in the sixth to drive in two more runs, pushing the lead to eight. Logan Sutter ended the game early with a two-run walk-off home run in the eighth inning, securing a run-rule victory for South Carolina.
Craddock and LeCroy each had three hits, while Scobey, Moore, Yuhasz, and Evans collected two hits apiece. Zach Russell was credited with the win after pitching 2.1 innings, allowing three hits and striking out three batters. Overall, Gamecock pitchers struck out nine Gardner-Webb hitters during the game.
After tying his career high for hits for the second time this season, LeCroy is now batting .421 with four RBIs this year. Craddock became the first Gamecock since Blake Jackson on May 3, 2024 against Florida to reach base five times in one game. Five pitchers were used by South Carolina during the contest; Bradley Hodges started and pitched 2.2 innings while Josh Gregoire, Hudson Lee, and Patrick Dudley all made their first appearances on the mound for South Carolina.
Both Craddock and Parker made their first starts of the season against Gardner-Webb.
South Carolina will begin Salute the Troops weekend against Army at Founders Park on Friday, February 20 at 2 p.m., with streaming available on SEC Network Plus.
