A Late Surge Seals the Game
The University of South Carolina baseball team saw its regular‑season campaign end with a 5‑3 loss to Vanderbilt on Friday night, a game that featured early fireworks and a late‑inning comeback by the Commodores.
Carolina struck first, plating three runs in the top of the second inning after Talmadge LeCroy opened with a single, Jake Randolph followed with a hit to put runners on base, and Will Craddock drove in a run with an infield single before Luke Yuhasz doubled to left, scoring two more.
Vanderbilt answered in the bottom of the fourth with a five‑run explosion, capped by a three‑run home run from Ryker Waite that flipped the lead and put the Commodores ahead for good.
Starter Riley Goodman worked 3.1 innings, striking out four while allowing two runs on four hits, but reliever Alex Philpott took the loss after surrendering three runs in just 1.1 frames. Cooper Parks closed out the game with three hitless innings and three strikeouts, but the damage had already been done.
Despite out‑hitting Vanderbilt 4‑3, the Gamecocks could not recover the deficit, finishing the day with four hits and two RBIs from Craddock and Yuhasz as the season concluded with a hard‑fought but ultimately unsuccessful effort.