FOUNDERS PARK: The field at Founders Park in Columbia was named for South Carolina’s all-time winningest baseball coach, Ray Tanner, prior to the start of the season. Then the Gamecocks went out and lost the most home games in program history.
Saturday afternoon’s 7-3 loss to top-ranked LSU was the 12th home loss of the season and the 28th overall. That ties the program record for losses in a single season, and that tie will be broken come the SEC Tournament next week. They had previously broken the program record for most SEC losses in a season.
Saturday the Gamecocks led 2-1 going to the fifth inning. An RBI double by KJ Scobey and a home run by Beau Hollins offset a homer by Jared Jones. But the Tigers loaded the bases against USC starter Dylan Eskew (0-4) in the fifth. A ground ball double play scored the tying run. Then a two-run homer by Daniel Dickenson put the Tigers up for good at 4-2.
The Gamecocks threatened in the sixth with runners on first and third and one out, but LSU starter Anthony Eyanson (9-2) induced a ground ball double play to third by Jordan Carrion to end the inning.
The Tigers added a run in the seventh on a solo homer by Jake Brown, one of three hits on the day for him. They added a run in the eighth for a 6-2 lead. Henry Kaczmar hit his sixth homer of the season in the bottom of the eighth to make it 6-3, and the Tigers scored a run in the ninth for a 7-3 advantage.
Two-out hitting was big for LSU in this one. The Tigers scored five of their runs with two outs and batted .375 with two men away.
South Carolina was held to six hits by Eyanson and three relievers. Eyanson allowed five hits over seven innings and struck out five. Eskew lasted into the fifth and gave up four runs on six hits. He struck out four and walked two.
South Carolina is 28-28 overall and 6-24 in the SEC. They Gamecocks will face Florida on Tuesday afternoon in the first round of the SEC Tournament in Hoover.