Gamecocks bounce back for much-needed win over Mississippi State

South Carolina found itself in another close game late Sunday afternoon against Mississippi State, and for the first time in a long time, USC made the clutch plays it needed to at critical times to get the job done.

The Gamecocks (22-13, 8-7) scored five runs in the eighth inning, four with two outs, on their way to a 6-1 win over the Bulldogs (25-13, 10-5) at Founders Park.

The victory was a much-needed one for USC after dropping the first two games in the series, both in heartbreaking fashion.

“It was a big relief for us to win this one today after how we lost the first two,” Gamecocks coach Chad Holbrook said. “We did some really good situational hitting there in the eighth after getting a bunt down, which is a nice change. We’ll take it, and hopefully this will create some momentum for us and springboard us into an important week.”

No. 17 USC avoided being swept by the 13^th-ranked Bulldogs and sits at 8-7 in the SEC at the halfway point.

Carolina is tied with Florida for second in the SEC East, two games back of first-place Kentucky. The Gamecocks play the Gators in a three-game series in Gainesville beginning Thursday before hosting Kentucky the following weekend.

“I feel a lot better being 8-7 than I do 7-8. It could be a lot better,” Holbrook said. “We’re not ready to go celebrate anything by any stretch. We’re still within striking distance.”

Jacob Olson opened the eighth inning with a single to left before Carlos Cortes followed with a walk. Chris Cullen then laid down a perfect sac bunt, and after Alex Destino was walked, the Gamecocks had the bases loaded with one out.

Jonah Bride gave USC its first lead of the afternoon on a sac fly to right before the Gamecocks followed with three straight hits for critical insurance runs.

LT Tolbert drove in two with a single, Matt Williams followed with an RBI double and Madison Stokes added an RBI single to push USC’s lead to 6-1.

“We got a sac fly there by Jonah and then got some hits behind him and kind of relaxed after we got that lead,” Holbrook said.

Stokes finished 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Carlos Cortes hit a solo homer in the sixth inning, his third in two days.

Stokes’ big game came a day after he was benched due to offensive struggles.

“Today was a new day. I feel better. I’m going to build off of that,” he said. “I don’t remember what I did in the past. I don’t even know what my batting average is. I don’t care. I didn’t even know I was in a slump. I’m going to move on forward from today and get ready for Tuesday.”

Adam Hill got the start for the Gamecocks and held MSU to one run in six innings of work. He struck out seven and walked four while working out of a big jam in the sixth inning to keep Carolina within striking distance.

The Bulldogs had already scored a run in the inning and had two in scoring position with no outs when Hill got a strikeout and double play to get out of trouble.

Josh Reagan earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief, while Tyler Johnson pitched a perfect ninth inning to close out the game.

“It was great to see Adam and Josh and Tyler throw the ball the way that they did. It was terrific, and we needed it,” Holbrook said.

It was Johnson’s first appearance in a home game since February, and the junior struck out two of the three batters he faced.

“I felt good. Once again, I was just trying to pound the strike zone,” Johnson said. “The ball slipped a couple of times. I had to make an adjustment and bring it down. Other than that, I was able to move it in and out and obviously up and down. I was pretty happy with it.”

USC hosts Davidson on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

This story was originally published April 16, 2017 at 7:11 PM with the headline "Gamecocks bounce back for much-needed win over Mississippi State."