COLUMBIA, S.C. — Cole Messina broke a 3-all tie with a two-run home run as the University of South Carolina baseball team moved to 7-0 in the SEC for the first time in program history with a 6-4 win over Mississippi State Thursday night at Dudy Noble Field.
Messina’s two-run home run in the seventh broke up the deadlock. Carolina tacked on an insurance run in the ninth on Dylan Brewer’s RBI single. Mississippi State scored a run in the ninth, but a big 4-3 double play and a strikeout from Cade Austin ended the contest.
Brewer’s RBI double in the fourth tied the game at one. Then in the fifth, Ethan Petry’s solo home run to left made it 2-1 Gamecocks. Michael Braswell drove in the second run of the inning with a double to right. The Bulldogs re-tied the game at three in the bottom of the fifth, but Messina gave Carolina the lead for good with his 10th home run of the year.
On the mound, James Hicks earned the win, striking out a pair in two innings. Eli Jones earned the start, allowing three hits and a run with two strikeouts in four innings. Chris Veach threw two scoreless innings and Austin picked up his first save of the season.
Brewer had three hits in the win, while Petry, Messina and Braswell had two hits apiece.