South Carolina vs. Mississippi State game 2 recap: Gamecocks fall to Bulldogs 9-6, drop series

South Carolina’s SEC skid continued on Saturday, as the Gamecocks lost yet another game and the series against Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs took an early lead, going up 3-0 in the first inning thanks to an RBI triple from Tanner Allen and a two-run homer by Luke Hancock. MSU added one run each in the second, third, and fourth innings on an error and a pair of solo shots from Logan Tanner and Rowdey Jordan, making it a 6-0 game. USC ended the shutout in the bottom of the fourth, when Andrew Eyster led off by going yard to make it 6-1.

The final three runs of the game for the Bulldogs came in the fifth inning on singles by Tanner Leggett and Allen that put Mississippi State up 9-1. The Cocks rallied in the next couple of innings, and while it wasn’t enough to take a lead, at least it was something. In the sixth, Eyster started things off with a base hit, then Wes Clarke hit a home run with one out to make the score 9-3. In the seventh, Callil reached on a bad throw with one out, Brady Allen also reached on an error, and with two outs, Eyster blasted another homer to score the last three runs of the day.

Carolina starter Will Sanders pitched just 2.1 innings and allowed six hits and five runs, walked one batter and struck three out. He took the loss and is now 6-3. Andrew Peters, Parker Coyne, Wesley Sweatt, Jaret Bennett, and Daniel Lloyd also took the mound in this game. Bulldogs starter Will Bednar got the win, making him 5-1, and reliever Landon Sims earned the save, his sixth. Eyster led the Gamecocks at the plate with three hits and four RBI.

USC is now 27-17 overall and 11-12 in conference play, while MSU improves to 35-10 overall and 16-7 in the SEC. Carolina will try to avoid the sweep on Sunday, with first pitch set for 2 p.m. at Founders Park and Thomas Farr starting on the mound.