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The Gamecocks had a chance to clinch their second-straight SEC series victory and get to .500 in conference play. They'll have to try again tomorrow.
South Carolina was first on the board, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning. DC Arendas walked with one out, moved to second on a Kyle Martin groundout, and came home on an RBI single from Elliott Caldwell.
The Gamecocks tacked on another run in the next inning when Jordan Gore went yard.
Tennessee tied things up in the bottom of the second, though. After the first two batters were hit by pitches, a one-out groundout brought one run home and an RBI base hit brought in the other to make it 2-2.
Martin homered in the fifth inning to give the lead back to South Carolina, but again, the Volunteers tied it up, knotting the score at 3-3 in the sixth inning.
The tie held until the bottom of the ninth, when Tennessee got the bases loaded with no outs thanks to a single, single, and intentional walk. One more RBI base hit was all they needed, and the Vols came away with the win, evening up this weekend's series.
The Gamecocks' ongoing lack of offensive production (though the two home runs were nice) certainly did them no favors in this game. They also weren't able to build on Friday's shutout victory, which is rather disappointing.
Starting pitcher Vince Fiori lasted just two innings. He was relieved by Clarke Schmidt, who did a nice job. Reed Scott and Taylor Widener also took the mound in Saturday's game.
South Carolina drops to 26-18 overall and 9-11 in SEC play. Tennessee improves to 17-21 overall and 6-14 in conference play. They'll meet again on Sunday for the rubber game, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.