USC finally got a win and evened up this series
No. 6 South Carolina had another night of great starting pitching and minimal offense, but they did enough on Saturday night to win 3-1 over No. 3 Arkansas, setting up a rubber game on Sunday.
The game was scoreless until the fourth, when the Gamecocks scored all of their runs. Ethan Petry got hit by a pitch to start things off, Cole Messina knocked a base hit, and Gavin Casas singled to bring Petry home and make it 1-0. Braylen Wimmer followed with a single that got Messina in, pushing the score to 2-0, and with two outs, Evan Stone singled too to score Casas and put the team up 3-0. The shutout lasted until the eighth inning, when the Razorbacks scored their only run of the game on a base hit by Jace Bohrofen.
USC starter Jack Mahoney bounced back after a few rough outings, working seven innings and allowing five hits and no runs. He walked two batters, struck out six, and earned the win, making him 5-2. Chris Veach pitched the rest of the game and got the save, his fifth. Arkansas starter Brady Tygart went three innings and gave up one hit and zero runs. He also did not issue any walks and struck four batters out. Reliever Will McEntire went the rest of the way for the Hogs and took the loss, making him 6-3.
Wimmer led the Cocks at the plate, with two hits, and he, Casas, and Stone recorded one RBI each. Brady Slavens and Peyton Holt paced Arkansas with two hits apiece, while Bohrofen tallied the only RBI.
Carolina is now 36-13 overall and 15-10 in the SEC, while the Razorbacks are 37-13 on the season and 18-9 in conference play. They’ll meet again on Sunday, with the rubber game set for 3 p.m.