Baseball Falls to LSU in SEC Tournament Play
HOOVER – LSU scored twice in the top of the ninth in an 11-10 win over the University of South Carolina baseball team Thursday afternoon (May 23) at the Hoover Met on the third day of the 2024 SEC Tournament.
Carolina scored five runs in the bottom of the second. Ethan Petry doubled down the right field line to score the inning’s first run. Cole Messina then hit a grand slam, his 20th home run of the season, for a 5-1 lead. LSU tied the game at five in the fourth, then took the lead in the fifth. Carolina re-tied the game in the bottom of the fifth on Parker Noland’s sacrifice fly.
LSU went up 7-6 but Carolina answered with two-run hits from Messina and Noland to take a 10-7 lead. LSU scored two in the eighth and two more in the ninth to take the lead. Gavin Casas drove the ball to straightaway center with two out in the ninth but it came up short as LSU moved to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament.
Messina drove in six runs in the game and now is the SEC Tournament’s record holder for RBI in a tournament with 14. He was 2-for-4 on the day. Blake Jackson, Kennedy Jones and Dalton Reeves had two hits apiece.
Chris Veach took the loss, allowing two runs on three hits with a strikeout in 1.1 innings. Tyler Pitzer started for Carolina, striking out three and allowing two earned runs and four hits in three-plus frames. Connor McCreery struck out two in 2.2 innings.
POSTGAME NOTES
- The Gamecocks now have two players with 20 or more home runs in a season after Messina’s 20th home run. Ethan Petry has 21 on the year.
- Messina is now 8-for-12 with six runs scored, four home runs and 14 RBI in the three games in Hoover.
- Carolina committed four errors in the game.
- Noland drove in a season high three runs in the LSU game.
UP NEXT
Carolina will now face Kentucky in an elimination game on Friday afternoon (May 24) at 4 p.m. EDT (3 p.m. CDT). The game will be televised on SEC Network.
