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After rallying for a victory on Saturday, South Carolina did so again on Sunday, locking down their third SEC series sweep of the year.
Tennessee got out to an early lead, going up 1-0 in the top of the second inning. They made it 2-0 in the top of the fifth inning, but then the Gamecocks offense woke up and tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Madison Stokes led off with a single, TJ Hopkins walked, and then Marcus Mooney came through with a two-run, one-out double to knot the score at 2-2.
The Volunteers regained the lead in the top of the sixth, but South Carolina tied it up again in the bottom of the inning. John Jones got back to being good at baseball and doubled to start things off, Jonah Bride singled, and a groundout by Stokes brought Jones home, tying the score at 3-3.
The Gamecocks took their first lead of the day in the eighth inning. Bride walked with one out, DC Arendas walked with two outs, and then an RBI single from pinch-hitter Alex Destino put South Carolina up 4-3. Tennessee made things interesting in the ninth inning, getting the bases loaded with no outs, but Josh Reagan worked magic on the mound and got a fielder's choice, strikeout, and a pop out to end the game. The Vols had the bases loaded two other times in the game as well, but the Gamecocks managed to keep them from capitalizing.
Starting pitcher Adam Hill didn't have his best outing today, but he worked into the sixth inning and allowed two runs on five hits. Matt Vogel, Reed Scott, Tyler Johnson, and Reagan also took the mound in this game. Johnson got the win and is now 1-1, while Reagan earned the save, his tenth.
With the win, South Carolina improves to 28-5 overall and 10-2 in conference play, while Tennessee drops to 18-14 overall and 3-9 in the SEC. The Gamecocks remain atop the SEC East and the conference overall and will be back in action on Tuesday night, when they travel to Charlotte to play North Carolina. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.