USC’s perfect record in conference play is no more
No. 9 South Carolina dropped a game against an SEC opponent for the first time this season on Friday night, as Mississipi State won in a 13-3 run rule rout.
The Gamecocks got on the board first, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Braylen Wimmer went yard to start the game. The Bulldogs answered in the bottom of the inning, tying the game at 1-1 on a single by Dakota Jordan. MSU took the lead in the third, making it a 5-1 game courtesy of a Hunter Hines two-run homer, a solo shot from Jordan, and base hit by Slate Alford.
The Bulldogs tacked on another run in the sixth, going up 6-1 on a single by Hines. USC’s only other runs of the game came in the next inning. Dylan Brewer singled with two outs, advanced on a passed ball and scored on a base hit from Evan Stone, making it 6-2. Wimmer followed with a double that brought Stone in and made the score 6-3.
It was all Mississippi State after that, as they more than doubled their run total. Alford hit a home run to start the bottom of the seventh and make it a 7-3 game, then the Bulldogs added three more runs on a single by Hines, a bases loaded walk by Jordan, and a Luke Hancock fly out, putting them up 10-3. MSU’s final three runs came in the sixth, thanks to another homer by Alford that made it 11-3, an Amani Larry double that bumped the score to 12-3, and an error.
Cocks starter Noah Hall pitched 2.2 innings and allowed nine hits and five runs. He also walked one batter, struck two out, and took the loss, making him 5-1. Nick Proctor, Austin Williamson, Jackson Phipps, and Trey Wheeler combined to go the rest of the way for Carolina. Bulldogs starter Landon Gartman worked five innings and gave up five hits and three runs. He didn’t walk any batters, struck out four, and got the win, making him 2-2.
Wimmer led the Gamecocks at the plate with two hits and two RBI. Hines and Alford had four hits each to pace Mississippi State, and Hines also recorded four RBI.
South Carolina is now 25-3 on the season and 7-1 in the SEC, while the Bulldogs are 16-12 overall and 1-7 in conference play. The rubber game is set for Saturday at 3 p.m.