JOURNAL SPORTS

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina pinch runner Dalton Mashore scored from third base on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday night, lifting Southeastern Conference cellar-dweller South Carolina to a 6-5 win over top-ranked LSU.

South Carolina, with former LSU head coach Paul Mainieri in his first season in Columbia, improved to 28-26 overall, 6-22 in the SEC, while LSU dropped to 40-13 overall and 17-11 in conference play.

The teams resume the series at 6 p.m. CDT today in a game that will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and streamed on SEC Network +.

“We didn’t play great tonight, but you can’t dwell on it,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “With the postseason approaching, you have to move on to the next game. We addressed a few of the mistakes we made in the game, and now we get ready for tomorrow.”

Trailing 5-4 entering the bottom of the ninth inning, South Carolina struck for two runs as third baseman KJ Scobey launched a solo homer to tie the game and Mashore later scored on the bases-loaded, two-out wild pitch.

LSU reliever Zac Cowan (3-3) was charged with the loss, after he allowed three runs on four hits in 1.2 innings with one walk and one strikeout.

Second baseman Daniel Dickinson’s two-run homer in the top of the first inning – his ninth dinger of the season – gave LSU an early 2-0 lead.

South Carolina narrowed the gap to 2-1 in the second when third baseman KJ Scobey lifted a sacrifice fly.

LSU extended the lead to 3-1 in the fifth on first baseman Jared Jones’ RBI single, but the Gamecocks tied the game in the sixth on an RBI triple by shortstop Henry Kaczmar and a sacrifice fly by designated hitter Kennedy Jones.

The Tigers plated two runs in the eighth when shortstop Steven Milam delivered a sacrifice fly and third baseman Michael Braswell III lined a run-scoring single.

South Carolina reduced the deficit to 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth on Kennedy Jones’ RBI single, setting the stage for the ninth-inning rally.