It seemed like the series was over.
Following a Thursday night outing that would best be described as less than stellar and a slow start for the Tigers in game two, it initially seemed like LSU wasn’t even going to make its series at Founders Park interesting.
South Carolina had previously dominated on both sides of the field on Thursday, where it put up 10 runs following an early departure from Paul Skenes and held the Tigers to one point until the seventh.
And while LSU’s offense did begin to build up some momentum in the last two innings of that game, that fire didn’t carry into the first few innings of game two. The team attributed a single hit through its first three innings, as South Carolina pitcher Jack Mahoney surrendered rare success through the early goings of the game.
On the other side, LSU starting pitcher Ty Floyd wasn’t doing much to alleviate the woes on offense.
He had early struggles with hitting batters and issuing walks, which reached critical levels in the second inning. In that inning alone, he issued three straight walks before hitting South Carolina’s next two batters to allow two runs without surrendering a hit. That hit would come, though, as a Gamecock double added two more runs to the scoreboard and left them up 4-0 entering the third.
A three-run response off a waning Mahoney and strong defensive showings in the third and fourth inning would temporarily provide Tiger fans with hope, as they were able to narrow the gap to a single point.
But South Carolina responded with the same output in the fifth inning, and following its relief of Jack Mahoney, it would shut down LSU’s offense once again.
Fortunately for LSU, its defense would do the same. The Gamecocks would harbor a 7-3 through the next few innings but notably wouldn’t build on it, as Griffin Herring pitched a strong three innings and its outfield held firm.
That opened the door for what happened in the eighth.
Following an inerrant pitch, a walk and a single from Brayden Jobert, Gavin Dugas went up to bat with the bases loaded and two outs. What occurred during the remaining at-bats this inning would likely determine the game, as this was likely LSU’s last chance considering how well the Gamecock defense had been playing.
Dugas delivered the best-case scenario, drilling a home run to left field to give the Tigers a much-needed grand slam. With a tied score entering the bottom of the eighth, all the Tigers had to do from that point on was hold firm and put up one more run.
It would do just that, as a Cade Beloso single allowed Dylan Crews to score in the top of the ninth and closing pitch Gavin Guidry would get the job done, pitching three strikeouts and allowing just one hit and walk.
With its improbable comeback, the Tigers have evened the series and ended South Carolina’s 19-game winning streak at home.
