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South Carolina wrapped up their first SEC series win of the season with a close, extra innings victory over the Volunteers on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams were pretty quiet in the first two innings, though Tennessee did have a few scoring changes. The Vols finally capitalized in the third, taking a 2-0 lead on an RBI single from Andre Lipcius and a Gamecocks error.
That lead didn’t last long though, as South Carolina answered in the fourth inning. TJ Hopkins started things off with a home run to get the Gamecocks on the board, then Matt Williams and Alex Destino walked to put two runners on base. With two outs, Jonah Bride came through with a homer of his own to put South Carolina up 3-2. Tennessee tied the game in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Jeff Moberg.
The 3-3 score held until the eighth inning, when both teams scored again. In the top of the inning, Hunter Taylor took a leadoff walk and Hopkins reached first thanks to an error, then Williams followed with a sac fly to put the Gamecocks up by one run. The Volunteers tied things up again in the bottom of the inning courtesy of a solo homer from pinch hitter Matt Waldren.
Nine innings weren’t enough, so the teams headed to the 10th still tied at 4-4. Taylor walked to start things off, and then back to back one-out walks to Williams and Destino loaded the bases with one out. With two outs, Bride walked force in the go-ahead run, and the final run of the game came when Jacob Olson got hit by a pitch.
Gamecocks starter Wil Crowe had a strong outing. He worked 5 2⁄3 innings and allowed seven hits and three runs, but also prevented further scoring by pitching out of several jams. Colie Bowers and Josh Reagan combined to pitch the rest of the game. Reagan got the win, his second of the season.
With the win, South Carolina to 13-5 overall and 2-0 in conference play, while Tennessee falls to 12-4 overall and 0-2 in the SEC. The Gamecocks will go for the sweep on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch set for 2 p.m. in Knoxville.