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Georgia got on the board first in this game, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a wild pitch.
The Gamecocks tied things up in the third inning. Gene Cone led off the inning with a walk, Max Schrock walked with one out, and Kyle Martin singled to bring Cone home.
South Carolina took the lead in the next inning. With two outs, Logan Koch coaxed a walk, Jordan Gore singled, and Gene Cone also walked, filling the bases with Gamecocks. Schrock came through with a two-run single, putting the home team up 3-1.
The Bulldogs responded in the sixth inning, knotting the score at 3-3. Skyler Weber and Zack Bowers knocked back-to-back singles to start things off, Brandon Stephens contributed a one-out RBI single, and Keegan McGovern belted a double to get Bowers across home plate.
In the bottom of the inning, South Carolina took the lead back, after Georgia gave up a walk to Arendas, Cone, and Schrock, loading the bases with two outs. Martin was also walked, which forced in the go-ahead run.
The teams traded runs again, as the Bulldogs regained the lead in the seventh inning. With one out, Nick King walked and Stephen Wrenn singled, then Bowers doubled with two outs to bring both runners home and put Georgia up 5-4.
The Gamecocks tied things up thanks to a Bulldogs mistake in the eighth inning. Gore and Cone each singled to start the inning, then Schrock knocked a base hit of his own, though Gore was thrown out at third. A wild pitch advanced the runners, and then Georgia opted to walk Martin intentionally. In a play that was really unfortunate for them but very lucky for the Gamecocks, that intentional walk was interrupted by a wild pitch, which brought in the tying run.
The game was then postponed at the top of the ninth inning for heavy rain. The 5-5 score held through the ninth inning, forcing another game with extras. After the game was delayed again due to an umpire injury, the Bulldogs' Mike Bell knocked a one-out single to give his team the lead.
South Carolina starter Wil Crowe did pretty well in this game. He worked six innings and allowed six hits, three runs, walked two batters, and struck out seven. Vince Fiori and Brandon Murray also pitched in this game. Jack Wynkoop started the ninth inning when the game resumed. He took the loss and falls to 4-2.
And now, broken record alert: the offense needs to be better. They benefited somewhat from Georgia's mistakes in this game - the Bulldogs gave up 15 walks - but that's obviously not something that's going to happen in most games. The Gamecocks also stranded 16 baserunners and left the bases loaded more than once, though, and they really didn't take enough advantage of all the walks.
South Carolina drops to 18-8 overall and 4-3 in the SEC. Georgia improves to 17-10 overall and 4-3 in conference play. They'll meet again at 5:50 p.m. on Saturday for the second game of this series.