Brett Kerry exhaled walking off the mound in the seventh and went through the obligatory line of hi-fives before turning around and waiting for the rest of his teammates to join him at the dugout.
He flashed a smile as he escaped really the only trouble the junior faced all day Saturday, giving up a leadoff double and getting out of it, tossing the Gamecocks’ first complete game shutout since 2014 en route to a series-clinching win.
The Gamecocks (30-18, 14-12 SEC) rode Kerry and a big sixth inning to cruise to a 9-0 win to take the series over Kentucky and continue to make a case for a top 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“Probably the best outing we’ve seen all year. He just put us on his back, no question about it. Nine innings on 94 pitches? That’s incredible,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “He was everything we needed today. Offense backed him, defense backed him but the story of the day was Brett Kerry.”
Kerry was nearly perfect making his first start of the season, pitching the Gamecocks’ first complete game since Brannon Jordan did it last year in a five-inning contest that ended early due to weather.
The last time a Gamecock pitcher threw a nine-inning complete game was 2016 with Clarke Schmidt going the distance against Georgia with the last nine-inning complete game shutout coming in 2014 with Wil Crowe doing it against Campbell.
Kerry (4-1, 1.50 ERA) scattered four hits and didn’t walk anyone or put multiple runners on once in his career-best outing, needing just 94 pitches to get through 27 outs while not allowing a run.
“It’s that Sunday first out of the pen mindset,” Kerry said. “I’m trying to go as long as I can and be efficient and not pitch too much for the strikeout. At the same time go and locate my fastball and put it where I want.”
He’d strike out 10, three looking in what turned into a masterful performance when the Gamecocks needed him the most after throwing some key bullpen arms Friday night.
Of the 31 batters he faced, only seven saw two-ball counts.
“Definitely fastball command, also my cutter,” Kerry said. “I was able to throw it for strikes when I wanted and take it out of the zone or elevate it at times. Those two were really good for me.”
He was given a lot of insurance with the Gamecocks jumping out to an early lead on a RBI groundout in the first and another in the fifth before Andrew Eyster broke things open.
Eyster carried a lot of the offensive load, hitting a grand slam in the sixth and ripping another RBI single up the middle in the eighth, finishing 3-for-3 where he drove in five of the Gamecocks’ nine runs
“That was awesome. I struggled yesterday with guys in scoring position so it was god to get a good swing off with the bases loaded,” Eyster said. “He threw a good pitch to hit, a fastball low and away and I put a good swing on it.”
South Carolina had seven hits and two homers—Eyster and Braylen Wimmer, a two-run shot—but also walked seven times with five batters being hit to 10 strikeouts.
South Carolina’s now scored 21 runs in 18 innings this weekend and have a chance for a sweep Sunday at 1 p.m.
“These guys are going off right now. They’re doing great,” Kerry said. “They’re hitting well; the approach is fantastic. It’s awesome to get to pitch well and at the same time have my offense back me up.”
