Arkansas vs. No. 1 South Carolina, game 1 recap: Gamecocks beat Razorbacks 2-1

Both teams seemed to think offense was optional for the majority of this game, as each side went three up, three down multiple times. There were a handful of hits early on, but neither squad posed too much of a threat to the other.

That meant we got to enjoy five and a half thrilling innings of shutout baseball, before the Razorbacks got on the board in the bottom of the sixth, courtesy of an RBI double from Blake Baxendale.

I'll be honest: given that the Gamecocks seemed to have left their offense in Columbia and because I thought the law of averages might give us a disappointing loss after the past few walk-offs, things looked sort of bleak as the game wore on. But this is Carolina baseball, so there was a late-game rally on deck.

DC Arendas smacked a one-out double in the eighth, then Tanner English followed that up with an RBI double to tie the game. Marcus Mooney gave the Gamecocks the lead moments later, when he came through with an RBI single to give USC its first lead of the day. The Hogs had no answer, so that score held for the remained of the game.

Starter Jordan Montgomery had a really nice outing. He worked seven innings and allowed four hits, one run, walked three batters, and struck out nine. He earned the win and is now 4-2. Cody Mincey and Joel Seddon went the rest of the way on the mound for USC, neither one allowing a baserunner. Seddon got his eighth save of the season.

Arkansas starter Trey Killian lasted 7.2 innings and gave up six hits, two runs, issued two walks, and tallied five K's. He took the loss and falls to 1-5.

Mooney and English each recorded two hits, while four different Razorbacks players notched one. Joey Pankake's hitting streak came to an end at 16 games (no one tell Mike Patrick), and Grayson Greiner was also hitless (I didn't know that was allowed).

South Carolina improves to 26-3 (7-3 in the SEC) while Arkansas drops to 18-12 (4-6 in conference play). Game 2 of the doubleheader will begin around 7:35 p.m.