Gamecocks sweep series vs. Alabama, clinch SEC East title

It was a game that mirrored the season.

South Carolina overcame adversity with plenty on the line, and in the end the Gamecocks earned the title SEC East champions.

The No. 10 Gamecocks swept Alabama with a 9-7 victory Saturday in the final game of the regular season. It was the Gamecocks’ fifth sweep of a SEC opponent this year.

With the win, the Gamecocks locked down a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Gamecocks will play the winner of the Georgia-Ole Miss game on Wednesday.

USC (42-13, 20-9) kept the bats hot with every starter recording a hit, and registering double-digit hits as a team for the fifth consecutive game. The Gamecocks have scored 45 runs on 63 hits during that time frame and coach Chad Holbrook credits the surge with the togetherness and camaraderie of the team over the last few weeks of the season.

“It’s an amazing group of kids,” he said. “They care about each other, love one another and we’re pretty good.”

The Gamecocks’ offense wasted no time. In the first inning, Dom Thompson-Williams hit an RBI single to bring home Gene Cone, and Madison Stokes drove in Thompson-Williams and Jonah Bride with a two-run single to give USC the three-run lead.

The Crimson Tide took a 4-3 lead in the third inning with a two-run RBI single by Georgie Salem and a two-run home run by Chandler Taylor, forcing the Gamecocks to make a pitching change.

Taylor Widener was called upon by to lock down Alabama’s hitters. Widener kept Alabama quiet over the next three innings – the lone exception being another Salem RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning – while the Gamecocks regained the lead thanks to resurgence of John Jones.

Jones, who went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, hit an RBI single in the top of the fourth inning and a bases-loaded, two-run single in the fifth as the Gamecocks found themselves back on top 6-5 going into the sixth inning.

“I’ve been feeling comfortable, regardless of what other people think,” said Jones. “I’ve felt great at the plate, but things just haven’t bounced my way.”

The Gamecocks added a run in the seventh off another RBI single by Jones, and one in the eighth on an Alex Destino RBI single, but the Tide answered with runs of their own heading into the final frame.

With the his team leading 8-7, Holbrook brought in Tyler Johnson for the third consecutive game to close out the series. Johnson pulled the Gamecocks out of an eighth-inning jam, and retired the order in the ninth to get his ninth save – and third in as many days.

“It’s a pretty good feeling, but a better feeling with a coach that likes putting me there in those situations,” Johnson said. “I told him I feel good and if they need me, I’ll go throw some strikes for them.”

The Crimson Tide (31-24, 15-15) challenged USC from the beginning, but the Gamecocks hung on to keep up the momentum entering postseason play.

“It’s an awesome day for our team and our program and our kids,” said Holbrook. “I don’t think we necessarily played all that great today, but we stayed the course … we handled adversity and didn’t blink.”

Widener (4-2) earned the win with six strikeouts, no walks, and two runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings.

This story was originally published May 21, 2016 at 6:38 PM.