Gamecocks hold off MSU 10-8 to claim berth in SEC Tournament; Tigers fall

STARKVILLE, Miss. - The South Carolina baseball team held off Mississippi State 10-8 to earn a berth in the Southeastern Conference tournament on Saturday at Dudy Noble Field.

Carolina earned the 12th and final spot in the tournament with its win and Alabama's 9-1 loss to Georgia. The Gamecocks will face fifth-seeded Louisiana State on Tuesday night in the single-elimination opening round of the tournament.

USC received 6 1/3 quality innings on the mound from Brett Kerry and got a pair of home runs from Andrew Eyster.

The Gamecocks erupted for four runs in the fourth, three off the bat of Berryhill, who hit his 12th home run of the year. Mississippi State scored a pair in the bottom of the seventh, but Carolina answered with two in the eighth on Eyster's second home run of the game.

The Bulldogs brought in four runs in the ninth, but Parker Coyne came in and got a foul out to end the threat. Coyne picked up his first save of the year as he got a strikeout to end the ballgame.

Kerry moved to 4-1 on the year, striking out four and allowing two runs on five hits with three walks. Coyne had three strikeouts in 1 innings of relief. Eyster was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI while Berryhill drove in four.

USC improved to 28-27 on the season and 8-22 in the SEC.

Wake Forest 14

Clemson 5

CLEMSON - Wake Forest scored four runs in the third inning, five in the sixth and four in the eighth inning to defeat Clemson 14-5 at Doug Kingsmore on Saturday.

The Demon Deacons improved to 30-25 overall and 14-16 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tigers, who won the series 2-1, dropped to 33-23 overall and 15-15 in ACC play.

Clemson will be playing in the ACC tournament this week in Durham, North Carolina.

From staff reports