South Carolina rallies from six runs down to beat LSU, sweeps No. 19 Tigers
After two blowout victories over No. 19 LSU to start the weekend, South Carolina baseball switched things up Sunday, overcoming a six-run deficit for its biggest come-from-behind win of the season, 8-6.
For the first half of the afternoon at Founders Park, the Gamecocks (23-17, 9-9 SEC) looked like a completely different team than the one that dominated LSU (24-17, 9-9) with excellent starting pitching and an unrelenting offensive attack on Friday and Saturday. USC was scoreless through five innings, while sophomore starter Cody Morris labored through 4 1/3 innings.
The Tigers, meanwhile, raced to a 6-0 lead thanks to a three-run home run by freshman Daniel Cabrera in the third inning and two doubles, two singles and a wild pitch in the fifth, including an RBI double for Cabrera.
That second three-run frame knocked Morris out of the game, and in his place, junior Eddy Demurias was "outstanding" over four scoreless innings, coach Mark Kingston said.
"My mindset when I came is was, we were down 6-0, but I just had to give us a chance to win, because the past two days our offense was getting hot, and I knew we were going to get hot as the game went along," Demurias said.
Sure enough, once LSU starter Nick Bush left the game, South Carolina's offense came alive. Before the Gamecocks came up to hit in the bottom of the sixth inning, Kingston gathered his team and reminded them of another big rally this season — March 6 against Clemson, when USC erased a six-run deficit, only to lose, 8-7.
"As we were getting ready to hit that inning, he called us all together and said, we remember when we played Clemson, we were down 6-0 and came back and tied that game up, so just don't stress and keep believing in our approach," junior shortstop LT Tolbert said.
Even though USC lost that game, Kingston said, that experience of coming back was crucial.
"When you do that, when you have that experience, when you get in that situation, you can draw upon that," he said.
That very inning, South Carolina loaded the bases on singles from senior Madison Stokes and Tolbert and a walk from senior Justin Row. Senior pinch hitter Matt Williams then walked to drive in a run, and freshman Noah Campbell and junior TJ Hopkins followed with back-to-back singles to score three more, making it 6-4.
"Once we got into the bullpen, we were just able to scratch out some baserunners, some runs, got some big hits, and it turned into a rally," Kingston said.
In the bottom of the seventh, senior Jonah Bride walked, and Row then lofted what looked like a routine fly ball off the bat that just kept going and going, clearing the left field fence with ease and tying the game at six.
"When I hit it, I didn't think it was out, I thought I got under it because it was higher than I thought, but just got lucky, it got up in the wind and got out," Row said.
USC finished off the rally in the eighth inning as Hopkins singled, sophomore Carlos Cortes walked and Stokes reached on a fielder's choice that turned into a throwing error, loading the bases with no outs. Tolbert then barreled up a 1-2 pitch, cracking a line drive to right field to score two runs and complete the comeback.
In the ninth, Demurias allowed a walk and single that advanced the runner to third before making way for sophomore Sawyer Bridges, who slammed the door shut for his third save on the year.
With the win, South Carolina swept LSU for the first time since 2007 and reached .500 in conference play, reigniting hopes of an NCAA tournament berth.
"To fall behind 6-0 against a storied program like LSU and come back and win, that's going to be very beneficial for our mentality," Kingston said. "As (athletic director Ray) Tanner said to me in the tunnel afterwards, that's why you're here, to experience stuff like that."
THREE POINTS
Star of the game: TJ Hopkins, who went 3-5 with an RBI and run. He didn't have the biggest hits of the game, but he was the most consistent Gamecock in the lineup and a "huge table-setter," as Tolbert described him.
Play of the game: In the bottom of the eighth with two on and no outs, Madison Stokes laced a sharp grounder to second that could have easily become a double play. Instead, LSU second baseman Brandt Broussard had trouble corralling the hit, then overthrew the shortstop at second base, loading the bases and setting up the game-winning hit.
Stat of the game: The six-run deficit South Carolina erased tripled its previous biggest comeback on the season, a 3-1 rally against Tennessee that started in the fourth inning.
NEXT
Who: South Carolina (23-17, 9-9 SEC) vs. Furman (19-21, 4-8 Southern)
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 24
Where: Flour Field, Greenville, South Carolina
Watch: Streaming online on SoCon Digital Network
Listen: 107.5 FM
Probable pitchers: South Carolina — Fr. RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (1-4, 3.47 ERA); Furman — So. RHP Trent Alley (2-2, 9.21 ERA)
This story was originally published April 22, 2018 at 5:06 PM with the headline "South Carolina rallies from six runs down to beat LSU, sweeps No. 19 Tigers."