The South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team came from behind in dramatic fashion in Game One and shut out LSU in Game Two to sweep a doubleheader over the Tigers by scores of 4-2 and 9-0 at Alex Box Stadium. Both games were seven-inning contests as the Gamecocks won 2-of-3 in Baton Rouge for the first time since 2013.
“It’s an unbelievable effort by our guys,” said Gamecock head coach Mark Kingston. “It looked very bleak in Game One and they’re already on the verge of losing the series early into today, but we found a way. We had some big at-bats, got a big bunt down, along with tremendous pitching. We found a way to squeeze that one out and really carried that into Game Two and played a tremendous ballgame.”
South Carolina was trailing 2-0 heading into the top of the seventh in Game One. David Mendham and Colin Burgess led off the seventh with singles. Noah Myers’ sacrifice bunt moved the runners up, and Braylen Wimmer tied the game with a double to right. Brady Allen then gave the Gamecocks the lead with a clutch double to left field. Gamecock reliever Brett Kerry came on in the bottom of the seventh to record his third save of the year.
In the second of the two seven inning games, Gamecocks freshman Will Sanders pitched six shutout innings with four strikeouts to just one walk and the Carolina bats supplied the offense to take the 9-0 win. Sanders (6-1, 2.11 ERA) pitched out of trouble in the first inning, putting the first two hitters on with a single and a walk, but got out of it unscathed and allowed only four base runners the rest of his six-inning outing, all on singles.
The game was the Gamecocks’ first shutout in SEC competition this season and the first time they’ve blanked a league opponent on the road since beating Auburn 7-0 in 2017.
“We have power pitching that can really do some great things when they’re throwing strikes and not helping the opponent,” Kingston said. “We did that today.”
Mendham started Game Two with a two-run home run in the first inning, part of a 14-hit barrage in the nightcap. Andrew Eyster had three hits in the win, while Colin Burgess and George Callil had two hits each and Wimmer added a homer.
In the first game of the series, LSU pitcher Landon Marceaux struck out 12 and held South Carolina to three hits in a 5-1 win over the Gamecocks. Marceaux went seven innings, allowing no runs.
LSU’s Gavin Dugas started the scoring with a two-run home run in the first. The Gamecocks pitchers kept the Tigers at bay until the seventh when Dylan Crews brought in a run with a double and Cade Doughty’s sacrifice fly scored a run. LSU added a pair in the eighth with a Cade Beloso two-run home run. Carolina scored a run in the ninth on a double play ball with the bases loaded.
South Carolina has now won four straight SEC series and bring a 10-5 SEC record and 24-10 overall record home with No. 1 Arkansas next on the schedule for a three-game series starting Thursday at Founders Park.
