The Gamecocks get power surge to beat Bulldogs
For nearly an hour Saturday, the only sound at Dudy Noble Field was the hum of the crowd and the popping of baseballs hitting gloves.
There was a campus-wide power outage as Mississippi State prepared to host its series finale against South Carolina. There was an inability to play music. The videoboard was useless. All the usual bells and whistles associated with pregame were nowhere to be found.
Eventually, the electricity returned to the ballpark. It was the power of the Gamecocks though that quickly became the story of the day.
South Carolina hit a trio of no-doubt home runs on the way to defeating No. 5 MSU 108. The Bulldogs (45-11, 20-10) put up a late fight as they battled back from a 10-3 hole to make a game of it by scoring five times over the course of the eighth and ninth innings, but the Gamecocks (28-27, 8-22) held on for the victory to avoid the weekend sweep at the hands of State.
“We played a good game, but those guys can hit,” MSU first baseman Tanner Allen said of South Carolina. “They hit (several) home runs and that was the turning point of the game.”
All season long, South Carolina has relied heavily on its team power. The Gamecocks entered play on Saturday with the third-most home runs in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina put that on full display against MSU pitching.
Andrew Eyster provided the biggest blows for the Gamecocks. He got South Carolina's offense off and running with a deep drive over the left field wall for a solo shot in the first inning. He also connected for a long two-run homer in the eighth inning that sailed over the centerfield wall.