South Carolina improves to perfect 7-0 in SEC with Game 1 win at Mississippi State

Dudy Noble Field fell silent as South Carolina’s Cole Messina rounded third, the sophomore screaming with pure exultation. His go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning Thursday all but sealed USC’s 6-4 win at Mississippi State.

From Messina’s screams to reliever Chris Veach’s strikeout strut off the mound to freshman Ethan Petry’s home run bat flip, the No. 9 Gamecocks oozed confidence on the road against the Bulldogs. And they have every right to be confident, with the Gamecocks (25-2, 7-0 SEC) off to their best start to a season since 1975 and their first 7-0 SEC start in program history.

To this point, nothing can seem to slow down Mark Kingston’s club. The key storyline entering the night for USC was the removal of ace right-hander Will Sanders from the weekend rotation. Sanders (2-1, 5.17 ERA) was coming off his worst start of the season in last weekend’s first game against Missouri, and the Gamecocks opted to move him to the bullpen — at least for the MSU series.

Sophomore right-hander Eli Jones started in Sanders’ place, making just his second start of the season and eighth start of his career. Considering that the majority of his career innings have come in midweek games, Jones looked composed in his first career SEC start, striking out the first batter he faced in a 1-2-3 first inning. Touching 94 miles per hour with a sinking fastball and mixing in a hard slider, Jones allowed just one run on three hits in four innings.

He didn’t factor into the decision, though, as the teams traded blows in the late innings. Electric MSU freshman starter Jurrangelo Cijntje touched 96 miles per hour and was effectively wild through the game’s first three innings. But USC finally cracked him in the fourth and fifth. Petry’s 13th home run of the season and an RBI double by second baseman Michael Braswell gave the Gamecocks a 3-1 edge in the fifth.

Two years removed from their 2021 College World Series title, the Bulldogs (15-12, 0-7) have struggled at the start of SEC play but showed life against reliever James Hicks. Veteran outfielder Colton Ledbetter hit a two-run shot in the bottom half of the fifth to tie the game — but Messina and the Gamecocks took the lead right back two innings later.

Veach threw a scoreless seventh and eighth inning to earn the win for South Carolina, while right-hander Cade Austin earned the save, giving up a run to the Bulldogs in the ninth.

Next four USC baseball games

Friday: at Mississippi State, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

Sunday: at Mississippi State, 3 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

Tuesday: vs. North Carolina at Truist Field in Charlotte, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

Thursday: vs. LSU, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)