LSU proved themselves the No. 1 team in the nation as they defeated South Carolina 9-2 on Friday to even the series.
Although the Gamecocks managed to out beat the top-ranked team on Thursday 10-7,the Tiger bullpen played much better Friday and kept the Gamecocks from a second straight comeback win.
South Carolina is now 32-23 overall and 13-16 in the conference standings.
The Gamecocks kept it close early, but bullpen coach Jerry Meyers was ejected in the middle of the fifth as the momentum began to slip away from the Gamecocks.
Schrock and Schmidt play well early
Junior Max Schrock did it again in the second series game against the Tigers. Going 2-4 with a home run, Schrock proved again that he has recovered from his wrist injury. His solo shot in the bottom of the first inning opened the scoring.
Schrock had some nice plays defensively early in the game, but a fourth inning throwing error allowed the Tigers to take a 2-1 lead.
Freshman Clarke Schmidt had his 10th start for the Gamecocks and pitched for 5.1 innings. The right-hander looked to run out of gas in the fifth inning, giving up two doubles and three runs, eventually taking the loss after leaving with his team down 5-1.
Junior Andrew Stevenson for LSU gave the pitchers trouble with four hits, two runs and two RBIs.
Injury Costing Caldwell
Senior Elliot Caldwell was honored before the game Friday with his jersey framed for senior night. Caldwell experienced pain in his right knee however after sliding in to home in Thursday night’s game.
Caldwell continued to play although he was favoring his knee and head coach Holbrook tried to motion him out of the game several times. Holbrook admired Caldwell for staying in the game and can see how dedicated he is to the team. However, it was clear Caldwell was less than 100 percent.
Up Next
South Carolina will continue to host LSU for the rubber match Saturday at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on SEC Network.