South Carolina probably couldn’t have asked for a much better pitching performance from their freshman southpaw Nolan Belcher, who went 6 innings, giving up two runs on five hits while striking out four Tigers, including three looking.Belcher entered the game with a 4-3 record and 4.99 ERA in 70 1/3 innings.There was only one problem – the No. 5 Gamecocks (38-21, 18-15) ran into a roadblock on the Tigers’ roster by the name of Louis Coleman, the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year, who led the No. 1 seeded Tigers (43-16, 22-11) to a 4-1 victory.The LSU senior right-hander went 8-plus innings, giving up an earned run on six hits while striking out six and walking none.”When we give the ball to Coleman, we know he is going to go out there and compete as hard as he can,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said in a postgame television interview.He had four three-up, three-down innings in the game. The Schlater, Miss., native allowed the leadoff batter to single three times in the game, but twice he got a 6-4-3 double play to end any scoring threat.Coleman got off to a hot start, throwing fewer than 35 pitches while retiring eight of the first nine Gamecocks he faced. The senior faced the minimum nine batters in the first three innings. He also struck out four in that span, gave up a hit and forced a double play.South Carolina got only one runner in scoring position in the early part of the game, as Coleman halted the Gamecocks’ bats to two hits in the first five innings.The Gamecocks had a chance to win the game in the ninth inning with the bases loaded and no outs, but SEC co-Freshman of the Year Matty Ott came on to get his LSU record-tying 14th save of the season by getting two Gamecocks to strike out and one to line out.The Tigers managed only one hit in the first three innings off Belcher – a single by freshman center fielder Mikie Mahtook.However, LSU started the scoring in the sixth inning by getting two runs off the freshman lefty.LSU sophomore catcher Micah Gibbs moved his hitting streak to 11 games with his 13th double of the season to score junior designated hitter Blake Dean, who had singled before Gibbs, to give the Tigers a 1-0 advantage.Freshman center fielder Mikie Mahtook then ripped a single up the middle for his seventh hit of the tournament and third hit of the night to score Gibbs, who had moved to third on a wild pitch earlier in the at bat.The Tigers got two more runs in the eighth inning. Freshman second baseman DJ LeMahieu reached second base on an error to start the inning. He moved to third base on a wild pitch before juniors Ryan Schimpf and Blake Dean were walked, loading the bases.LSU took a 3-0 lead when LeMahieu scored on a wild pitch.Gibbs then fanned and Mahtook grounded into a fielder’s choice that got Schimpf out at the plate.With two outs, junior first baseman Sean Ochinko got an RBI single to score Dean and put LSU up, 4-0.South Carolina got their first run of the game when pinch hitter Brady Thomas hit a solo home run – his first of the season – with one out in the eighth to cut the score to 4-1.LSU will face Georgia Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in an elimination game for the Tigers.LSU will have to win two games against Georgia to advance to the final game on Sunday.Mainieri said sophomore right-hander Daniel Bradshaw will get the start on the mound for the Tigers tomorrow.EXTRA BASES:LSU had won eight of their last 11 games, while South Carolina had won 11 of their last 13 entering Friday night’s matchup between the teams.Belcher pitched 4 2/3 innings against the Tigers the last time the teams met, giving up three runs on four hits while striking out four.LSU senior Derek Helinihi got the start over freshman Tyler Hanover at third base in the game after hitting a three-run pinch-hit home run against Alabama on Thursday.Hanover was 2-for-9 in the Tigers’ first two games in the tournament.Helinihi went 0-for-4 in the game.LSU threatened to score in the fourth inning with runners on second and third and one out, but junior right fielder Jared Mitchell struck out on a fastball low and away on a full count to end the inning and the scoring threat.Mitchell went 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch on the night to continue his struggles against southpaws, as he is now hitting under .265 against lefties.—–Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]