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Believe it or not, the Gamecocks were victorious in two straight games, and even had a strong offensive showing against Liberty on Wednesday night.
The Flames scored first, taking a 3-0 lead in the second inning and adding another run in the third. South Carolina ended the shutout in the bottom of the fourth inning. With one out, Alex Destino walked, Jacob Olson singled, and Jonah Bride walked as well to load the bases. South Carolina was only able to get one run, though, thanks to a Riley Hogan sac fly.
Liberty scored two more runs in the fifth inning, and then it was almost all Gamecocks. LT Tolbert singled with one out in the bottom of the inning, then Danny Blair went yard to make it 6-3. Destino walked, Olson knocked a single, and Bride brought in another run with a base hit. Riley Hogan followed with a three-run homer to put South Carolina up 7-6.
Two more runs came in the next inning for the Gamecocks, after Tolbert started things off with a single and Carlos Cortes homered. South Carolina’s final run of the game was scored in the seventh inning. Matt Williams walked to lead off and eventually came home on a groundout by Blair.
The Flames scored then final run of the game when they loaded the bases in the ninth inning and a walk forced a run in.
Starter Colby Lee worked into the fifth inning before being replaced by Graham Lawson. Colie Bowers took over in the sixth inning and pitched until Tyler Johnson entered the game in the ninth, and Reed Scott finished things off.
Destino also set a Gamecocks record with five walks in the game.
With the win, South Carolina improves to 29-19 overall, while Liberty is now 29-18 overall. The Gamecocks will play again on Friday, when they begin a series with Missouri in the other Columbia. First pitch is set for 7:30 p.m.