#8 South Carolina vs. #13 Mississippi State Game 2 Recap: Gamecocks Fall to Bulldogs 5-4

Chad Holbrook changed up the lineup on Saturday in an effort to get the Gamecocks’ offense back on track. It didn’t work.

Both teams were scoreless until the third inning, when Mississippi State got on the board courtesy of a Luke Alexander solo home run that made it 1-0. The Gamecocks answered in the bottom of the inning, though. Jacob Olson led off with a single, then Carlos Cortes belted a homer of his own to put South Carolina up 2-1.

That score held until the seventh inning, when the Bulldogs tied the game with some help from a South Carolina error. MSU regained the lead in the ninth inning after loading the bases with no outs. An RBI groundout made it 3-2, a wild pitch brought in another run, and an RBI single scored the Bulldogs’ final run of the game.

The Gamecocks weren’t done though. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Olson walked, then Cortes blasted his second two-run shot of the day. Unfortunately, that was all the rallying they were able to do.

Starter Wil Crowe had a fairly solid performance today. He worked into the ninth inning and allowed seven hits and three runs, and also walked three batters and struck out four. He took the loss and falls to 3-3 on the year. Colie Bowers also pitched in this game.

With the loss, South Carolina drops to 21-13 overall and 7-7 in the SEC, while Mississippi State is now 25-12 overall and 10-4 in conference play. The Gamecocks will look to avoid being swept on Sunday, with first pitch set for 4 p.m. Adam Hill will start on the mound for the home team.