COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 14 South Carolina rallied from a three-run deficit with eight unanswered runs over the final three innings of its series finale with University of Missouri baseball, edging the Tigers by a 9-4 score Sunday afternoon at Taylor Stadium.
The Gamecocks (32-15, 13-11 SEC) secured just their second series win in six all-time trips to Taylor Stadium, scoring three times in the seventh to tie the game, before engineering the deciding rally with three more runs in the eighth. Three USC relievers combined to hold the Tigers scoreless over the final seven frames, paced by Garrett Gainey’s five strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings.
Trailing 4-1 entering the seventh inning, the Gamecocks used home runs by Dalton Reeves and Ethan Petry to even the score. Reeves drove Bryce Mayer’s (1-6) second pitch over the wall in right field to trim the Tigers’ lead to two runs, before Luke Casas doubled to set up Petry’s two-out, two-run round-tripper to center that knotted the score at 4-4.
The Gamecocks stayed on the offensive to start the eighth, putting their first three hitters aboard. Blake Jackson singled and stole second to start the rally, before a walk to Kennedy Jones and a Reeves bunt single—plus a Mizzou throwing error—chased home the go-ahead run for USC. Casas came through once again with a line drive that glanced off Mayer for a run-scoring single. Austin Bringling capped the rally with a sacrifice fly to left that brought in Reeves for a 7-4 South Carolina lead.
A Cole Messina homer and an RBI single by Talmadge LeCroy in the ninth extended the USC advantage to five runs, before Chris Veach closed out the contest with a scoreless 1 1/3 innings.
Mizzou’s offense slumbered in the late stages of the afternoon after striking for four runs in the second inning to overcome an early 1-0 Gamecocks lead. Three USC relievers combined to handcuff the Tigers over the final seven innings, allowing just two MU hits while striking out 11 hitters. Gainey countered the Tigers’ early momentum with a string of five consecutive strikeouts, as well as a key defensive lift in center by Bringling, who robbed Jackson Lovich of a potential grand slam that would have handed MU a 7-1 lead in the second inning.
The Tigers (21-28, 7-17 SEC) jumped on Gamecocks starting pitcher Dylan Eskew for four runs in the second, chasing the right-hander from the contest after just 1 1/3 innings. After Jedier Hernandez drew a leadoff walk to start the second, Danny Corona blasted a two-run homer to straight-away center field on a full-count offering to hand MU a 2-1 lead.
Three additional walks to the Tigers kept the rally alive, as Brock Daniels drew a free pass with the bases loaded to force home a third run. Lovich’s long fly to left-center field was snared by Bringling, saving three runs for USC despite allowing Drew Culbertson to trot home on the sac fly to make it a 4-1 game.
Corona led the Tigers with a 2-for-4 afternoon, while Ryan Magdic limited the Gamecocks to one run on three hits over the first four innings.
TIGER NOTEBOOK
UP NEXT
The Tigers will host Auburn for their final Southeastern Conference home series of the season, beginning with a 6 p.m. contest Friday (May 10) at Taylor Stadium.
The Gamecocks (32-15, 13-11 SEC) secured just their second series win in six all-time trips to Taylor Stadium, scoring three times in the seventh to tie the game, before engineering the deciding rally with three more runs in the eighth. Three USC relievers combined to hold the Tigers scoreless over the final seven frames, paced by Garrett Gainey’s five strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings.
Trailing 4-1 entering the seventh inning, the Gamecocks used home runs by Dalton Reeves and Ethan Petry to even the score. Reeves drove Bryce Mayer’s (1-6) second pitch over the wall in right field to trim the Tigers’ lead to two runs, before Luke Casas doubled to set up Petry’s two-out, two-run round-tripper to center that knotted the score at 4-4.
The Gamecocks stayed on the offensive to start the eighth, putting their first three hitters aboard. Blake Jackson singled and stole second to start the rally, before a walk to Kennedy Jones and a Reeves bunt single—plus a Mizzou throwing error—chased home the go-ahead run for USC. Casas came through once again with a line drive that glanced off Mayer for a run-scoring single. Austin Bringling capped the rally with a sacrifice fly to left that brought in Reeves for a 7-4 South Carolina lead.
A Cole Messina homer and an RBI single by Talmadge LeCroy in the ninth extended the USC advantage to five runs, before Chris Veach closed out the contest with a scoreless 1 1/3 innings.
Mizzou’s offense slumbered in the late stages of the afternoon after striking for four runs in the second inning to overcome an early 1-0 Gamecocks lead. Three USC relievers combined to handcuff the Tigers over the final seven innings, allowing just two MU hits while striking out 11 hitters. Gainey countered the Tigers’ early momentum with a string of five consecutive strikeouts, as well as a key defensive lift in center by Bringling, who robbed Jackson Lovich of a potential grand slam that would have handed MU a 7-1 lead in the second inning.
The Tigers (21-28, 7-17 SEC) jumped on Gamecocks starting pitcher Dylan Eskew for four runs in the second, chasing the right-hander from the contest after just 1 1/3 innings. After Jedier Hernandez drew a leadoff walk to start the second, Danny Corona blasted a two-run homer to straight-away center field on a full-count offering to hand MU a 2-1 lead.
Three additional walks to the Tigers kept the rally alive, as Brock Daniels drew a free pass with the bases loaded to force home a third run. Lovich’s long fly to left-center field was snared by Bringling, saving three runs for USC despite allowing Drew Culbertson to trot home on the sac fly to make it a 4-1 game.
Corona led the Tigers with a 2-for-4 afternoon, while Ryan Magdic limited the Gamecocks to one run on three hits over the first four innings.
TIGER NOTEBOOK
- With the Tigers drop to 14-22 all-time vs. South Carolina.
- With a 5-4 record against top-25 opponents at Taylor Stadium in 2024, Mizzou finished with a winning record over ranked squads for a second consecutive campaign.
- Mateo Serna has reached safely in 10-straight games, with at least one hit in all but two of those contests (since April 9).
- Magdic completed 4.0 innings for the Tigers, marking the longest outing in his tenure at Mizzou.
- By limiting the Gamecocks to just a single run, Magdic posted his 10th appearance of the season allowing one run or fewer.
- Corona’s two-run homer marked his third of the season.
- With a pair of RBIs, Corona recorded his fourth multi-RBI outing of 2024.
- Lovich continued his recent RBI run, driving in a run with a second-inning sacrifice fly to mark his fifth-consecutive outing with at least one run batted-in.
- With a second-inning walk, Hernandez reached base safely in his seventh-straight contest.
UP NEXT
The Tigers will host Auburn for their final Southeastern Conference home series of the season, beginning with a 6 p.m. contest Friday (May 10) at Taylor Stadium.
