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Gamecocks Fall in 10 innings to Bulldogs
Softball  . 

Gamecocks Fall in 10 innings to Bulldogs

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The South Carolina softball team dropped a heartbreaker in extra innings Friday night (Mar. 17), as the Gamecocks fell in 10 innings at Mississippi State 6-5. Carolina now stands at 23-5 on the season and 1-3 in SEC play.

Brooke Blankenship led all players on the night going 3-for-5 with an RBI. Riley Blampied finished with two hits and two RBIs. The Gamecocks out-hit the Bulldogs 13-to-6 on the night, as 10 different players collected a hit. The Carolina pitching staff combined for 16 strikeouts.

The Gamecocks jumped out to the early lead in the first. Jordan Fabian walked and Jen Cummings singled. Riley Blampied hit a long fly ball to the wall that hit off the right fielder’s glove for a double, allowing both runs to score. Zoe Laneaux delivered three pitches later with a double of her own, scoring Blampied.

Mississippi State tied it in the third, scoring runs on a triple and a groundout.

South Carolina answered in the sixth as Desiderio led off with a single and stole second. She scored on a single to right by Blankenship. MSU tied it in the bottom of the seventh with a sacrifice fly to center.

Both teams had opportunities in extra innings, but it was the Gamecocks finally breaking through in the 10th. Aaliyah White reached on an infield single with one out. She would go to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a groundout. After a walk to Fabian, she took off for second, sacrificing herself to allow White to score. The Bulldogs loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the inning, before a single up the middle ended the game as two runs came home to score.

Jori Heard started in the circle for the Gamecocks, throwing the first two innings, before returning in the ninth, finishing with 3 2-3 innings pitched. She fell to 6-1 on the season as she struck out six, while allowing two earned runs on three hits. Donnie Gobourne threw six innings of relief, allowing four runs on three hits while tying a season-high with 10 strikeouts.

Game two of the series tomorrow (Mar. 18) was moved up to a 12:30 p.m. CT start, with the game being broadcast on the SEC Network.

For the latest on South Carolina Softball, visit GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team’s social media accounts on Twitter @GamecockSoftbll, Facebook /GamecockSoftball, and Instagram @GamecockSoftball.