The Tigers have made the most out of their eighth innings this season, scoring 39 runs in the inning heading into Sunday’s matchup against South Carolina.That didn’t change as No. 5 LSU (17-5, 4-2) put up five runs in the eighth to propel itself to a 11-3 victory against No. 27 South Carolina (14-6, 2-4) to take the series, 2-1.”We swung the bats well today, and that was great to see,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said in a news release. “I liked our aggressive approach at the plate, and this is something we can build upon as the season progresses.”The inning got off to a hot start when sophomore center fielder Leon Landry blasted his ninth home run of the season, a three-run shot, to put the Tigers up, 9-3.Senior right fielder Derek Helenihi, who homered for the first time this season earlier in the game, continued the scoring when he ripped a double down the right field line to score two runs and put the Tigers up, 11-3.The game marked the second straight time the Tigers scored 10 or more runs in a game, as LSU put up 10 on Saturday in their 10-3 victory against South Carolina.It was also the first time the Tigers had 10 or more hits in a game since March 11 against Louisiana-Lafayette when LSU had 13 hits.But strong hitting wasn’t the only story of the weekend.The Tigers had outstanding performances from their three starting pitchers during the weekend series.Sophomore Austin Ross (3-2) went 5 1/3 innings Sunday, giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits while striking out three to help the Tigers’ defensive effort.”Our pitching was outstanding [Sunday],” Mainieri said. “Austin Ross gave us a strong outing. With the exception of one inning on Friday night, I thought our pitching was excellent the entire series.”Sophomore Anthony Ranaudo (2-1) went seven innings on the hill while giving up two earned runs and three hits in the Tigers’ 7-3 loss Friday night.  He added nine strikeouts to up his total to 51 on the season.It was the second-straight Friday night Ranaudo’s strong performance went for naught as he got his first loss of the season.It was a different story for senior Louis Coleman (5-1) on Saturday, as he went seven innings, giving up seven hits and 3 earned runs while striking out eight in his third start this season in the Tigers’ 10-3 victory.LSU returns to Alex Box Stadium on Tuesday as they host Harvard in the first game of a two-game series.——Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]