Big 5th Inning Surge Powers Gamecocks Past NC State, Onto Regional Finals

South Carolina's Baseball team mustered enough offense in the middle portion of the game to defeat NC State and draw closer to a Super Regional birth.

While it wasn't quite the blowout victory the Gamecocks attained against Central Connecticut State on Friday night, South Carolina managed to put together enough offense in spurts to build enough of a cushion and get past the NC State Wolfpack by a final score of 6-3. The Gamecocks once again got a solid outing from their starting pitcher, Jack Mahoney, and found their stride against the opposing pitcher in the second go-around of the ball game, which led to a lead that the Wolfpack couldn't overcome.

To start with how the Gamecock offense produced their runs, two significant stretches highlighted the night. In the top of the 3rd inning, Will McGillis drew a two-out full-count walk from NC State starter Matt Willadsen. Then 5th-year senior Braylen Wimmer, who had only recorded one hit in his last two starts, proved why the dreaded two-out walk can come back to bite you as he walloped a fastball into the Wolfpack dugout for a two-run bomb.

Two innings later, walks would once again become the bane of Willadsen's existence, as Wimmer and Ethan Petry would draw walks, then Cole Messina and Talmadge LeCroy would draw walks from Carson Kelly to bring in a run. With the bases loaded, first baseman Gavin Casas, who had hit two deep fly balls in his previous two at-bats, rifled a two-rbi single to right field. A Michael Braswell-hit RBI single followed, extending the Gamecocks' lead to six runs.

Jack Mahoney was dynamite on the mound in the first five innings tonight, giving up just three hits while striking out three in that stretch. However, he would run into trouble in the sixth, as three Wolfpack singles plus a double would cut the lead in half and make it a 6-3 ballgame. From this moment on, the Gamecocks bullpen would take over.

Eli Jones and Chris Veach would come on for the final three innings of action, and despite giving up five hits, wouldn't allow any baserunner to get within 90 feet of home plate and made sure the Gamecock lead was never relinquished. With the win, the Gamecocks have two chances to win and move on to the Super Regional portion of the NCAA Tournament since they've yet to lose a game. They'll play the matchup winner between NC State and Campbell at 6 pm EDT on Sunday.

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