COLUMBIA (WACH) – South Carolina came one out away from a combined no-hitter and was backed by an offense that featured a five RBI performance by Christian Walker as the Gamecocks defeated Elon 8-1 on Friday evening at Carolina Stadium.
South Carolina improves to 4-0 on the year while the loss drops Elon to 4-1. Game two of the series is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at Carolina Stadium.
Senior left-hander Michael Roth (1-0) hurled seven no-hit innings with seven strikeouts and three walks allowed to pick up the win. Junior left-hander Nolan Belcher made his first appearance since the 2010 season and pitched one scoreless frame. Junior right-hander Patrick Sullivan closed the game out and retired the first two batters he faced before Garrett Koster homered with two outs in the top of the ninth to end the no-hit bid for Carolina. Sullivan would retire the next batter to preserve the Gamecock victory.
Walker finished 2-for-2 with a home run and five RBI. Joey Pankake went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and Grayson Greiner added two hits.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWACH