LSU fell to South Carolina, 7-3, in the first game of a three-game weekend series in Columbia, S.C. The No. 5 Tigers (15-5, 2-2) surrendered four home runs in the game to account for all of No. 27 South Carolina’s (14-4, 2-2) runs. The loss ended a three-game winning streak for LSU while marking the fourth-straight victory for the Gamecocks. South Carolina sophomore right hander Sam Dyson threw 7 innings and gave up one earned run while striking out five Tigers. Dyson frequently hit the high 90s early in the game on his fastball and didn’t surrender a hit until the third inning when LSU sophomore shortstop DJ LeMahieu got a one-out single. LeMahieu scored later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by junior first baseman Sean Ochinko to put the Tigers up early, 1-0. The RBI for Ochinko was his 28th of the season. South Carolina quickly answered with a home run by freshman right fielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. in the bottom of the inning to tie the score at one. The Gamecocks added another solo homer in the fifth by junior shortstop Bobby Haney – his first of the season – to take the 2-1 lead. The two home runs were the third and fourth allowed by LSU sophomore Anthony Ranaudo this season. Ranaudo finished the day with 7 innings pitched, 2 earned runs, and three hits. He added nine strikeouts to up his total to 51 on the season. South Carolina put two more home runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 7-1 lead. LSU freshman third baseman Tyler Hanover ripped a single to left field in the ninth to score sophomore catcher Micah Gibbs and cut USC’s lead to 7-2. Hanover finished the game 2-for-4 with an RBI, accounting for half of the Tigers’ hits. LeMahieu then singled to score senior right fielder Derek Helinihi to cut the lead to 7-3. Junior left fielder Blake Dean came up with the bases loaded and two outs with a chance to tie the game with a swing of the bat but flew out to center field to end the game. —- Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]