STARKVILLE — The Mississippi State baseball team couldn”t build on early momentum Sunday as the No. 2 University of South Carolina rallied for a 13-4 victory in the final game of a Southeastern Conference series at Dudy Noble Field.
The Bulldogs (24-16, 7-11 SEC), who won 5-3 forced Saturday afternoon, led 3-2 lead in the series finale, but lost their fifth league series in six weekends. MSU is two games behind division leaders Arkansas, Auburn, and the University of Mississippi.
South Carolina improves to 31-8 and 14-4, and is tied with Florida and Vanderbilt for the lead in the conference standings.
The Gamecocks had 18 hits — tying for the most allowed by MSU pitching this season. South Carolina rallied from the 3-2 deficit with four runs in the fourth inning and five more in the fifth. MSU used six pitchers Sunday.
“The fourth and fifth innings were killers,” MSU coach John Cohen said. “We are searching for the right guy on Sundays to go deeper in the game.”
The Gamecocks struck for pair of first-inning runs off starting pitcher Daryl Norris. In relief, Chad Girodo threw a pair of scoreless innings, setting MSU in a position to rally.
Cody Freeman and Jarrod Parks started the third inning with one-out singles. Trey Johnson followed with an RBI single. Wes Thigpen drove in a run with a sacrifice bunt attempt. An RBI double by Ryan Collins gave MSU a 3-2 lead.
The Bulldogs then turned to Devin Jones to start the fourth, but Jones (2-5) didn”t escape the fourth, allowing three hits and four runs (all earned). The Gamecocks chased Jones with back-to-back RBI singles by Christian Walker and Brady Thomas.
Victor Diaz allowed back-to-back RBI-singles by Jake Williams and Adrian Morales before working the Bulldogs out of the inning. South Carolina chased Diaz in the five-run fifth. A three-run triple by Thomas was the big blow. Williams also had an RBI double.
Taylor Stark followed Diaz to the mound in the fifth. Kendall Graveman relieved Stark and pitched the final 4 2/3 innings. He allowed four hits and two runs (both earned).
The Bulldogs scratched for a lone run in the seventh. A two-run home run by Walker in the ninth capped South Carolina”s offense.
Walker had 10 hits on the weekend. The USC first baseman reached base in 14 of 15 plate appearances. Williams also had four hits. Thomas and DeSean Anderson each added three hits.
Collins led MSU with three hits, while C.T. Bradford, Freeman, and Parks each added multiple hits. Parks has hit safely in 13 straight games.
John Taylor (3-1) picked up the win, with four innings of middle relief work. He allowed four hits and one run (earned), with three strikeouts and a walk.
MSU will return to SEC play at 2 p.m. Saturday when it plays a doubleheader against Western Division rival University of Alabama.
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