South-Carolina
South Carolina comes from behind to shock No. 1 LSU in walk-off win
Paul Mainieri didn’t just give Jase Woita the green light. In his own words, he gave him an “emphatic” green light to swing at a 3-0 pitch.
Tied with the No. 1 team in the country in the bottom of the ninth inning, Mainieri was going down swinging. He saw that South Carolina had struggled to bring home runs after putting itself in some good situations early on. So he called on Woita to pinch-hit for Gavin Braland, knowing he could potentially do some damage.
“Somebody has to eventually hit the ball to get, well, unless they throw a wild pitch to end the game right there,” Mainieri said, alluding to what later happened. “You hate to count on that. You need to hit your way to victory. I just thought Jase had the best chance.”
After Mainieri joked about Woita’s “blazing speed” earlier in the week, the junior slugger came through with potentially the biggest hit of the night, a triple that took a favorable bounce off the top of the left field wall. It set South Carolina up for a dramatic finish a few batters later, as Dalton Mashore, pinch-running for Woita, scored on a wild pitch to walk it off in a 6-5 win over top-ranked LSU.
“(Woita) was hauling,” said Henry Kaczmar, who hit two of the team’s three triples, becoming the first Gamecock since 2019 to do so. “I heard a couple guys in the dugout say, ‘Unhook the trailer!’ We’re all happy he got there. I thought it was going to leave the yard at the start. It stayed fair, but we were fortunate that he was able to hustle that triple out for us.”
It was the type of effort that encapsulated the night for the Gamecocks (28-26, 6-22 SEC). And after going through so much heartbreak and losses throughout the season, Mainieri felt it was about time something good happened for the players.
“You’ve got to get the best possible team put together. You’ve got to coach them right. You’ve got to motivate them. And then they got to go out there and they got to perform,” he said. “You’ve got to get some breaks along the way. It’s hard to win games, but anything’s possible. Today, we didn’t give up.”
After some weekends where the pitching was the biggest problem, South Carolina received quality outings from Ashton Crowther and Brandon Stone, who each pitched 4.1 innings.
Crowther gave up an early two-run homer to Daniel Dickinson in the first but settled in after that. Stone pitched well for most of his time on the mound before giving up two runs in the eighth that put the Tigers up by two runs with six outs to go.
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But the Gamecocks continued to battle. They immediately got a run back in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single from Kennedy Jones after Kaczmar led off with a triple. That was all they’d get, though, still trailing by a run with three outs left.
Then, with one out in the ninth, KJ Scobey tied the game with one swing as he crushed a solo homer off LSU right-hander Zac Cowan. The freshman third baseman admitted he sat on a first-pitch changeup, which he hit into the visitor’s bullpen.
“He’s really been swinging the bat great. He swung the bat well down at Auburn, you know, the game-tying home run today in the ninth inning,” Mainieri said. “Don’t forget his sacrifice fly off of Noot when he came into the game. That was a huge swing, too. Scobey is developing into a really outstanding player, just like I thought he would.”
Just when it looked like South Carolina was heading towards another brutal loss, it found new life. It looked like the game might be on its way to extra innings after LSU first baseman Jared Jones made a diving catch to rob Nathan Hall of a possible walk-off hit.
But after Woita’s all-important triple, a 1-1 pitch to Cayden Gaskin bounced in the dirt and went to the backstop. Mashore scored easily as a player-led celebration ensued at Founders Park. Mainieri watched on, soaking up all he could of a big night for his team.
“Anytime you beat the number one team in the country, it’s special,” Mainieri said. “… It was an exciting night for South Carolina, the Gamecocks, and our players and staff. I’m glad the fans got to enjoy a really good win as well.”
Up next: South Carolina will go for the series win over the Tigers on Friday. First pitch is at 7 p.m. on SEC Network Plus. Jake McCoy (4-4, 6.71 ERA) will get the start on the mound. It will also be senior night for the Gamecocks, which will begin at 6:25 p.m.
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Six Republican candidates vying to become South Carolina’s next governor met in downtown Charleston for a wide-ranging debate that put abortion, infrastructure and the future of data centers at the center of the race.
The forum was held at the Sottile Theatre, where Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, Lowcountry businessman Rom Reddy and Attorney General Alan Wilson took the stage.
Questions included whether they would support a state hate crime law, how they would address concerns about growth and infrastructure, how to navigate collaboration, abortion and the future of data centers in the state.
One issue that drew near-unanimous opposition was state Senate Bill 1095, a proposed total abortion ban that passed out of committee earlier in the day. All of the candidates opposed the bill, but they differed on what they would do if it reached the governor’s desk.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
Norman said he would sign it.
“You know, this is an emotional issue, but I will tell you if this bill came to my desk as governor. If it passed the House and the Senate, I would sign it,” Norman said.
All of the other candidates on stage said they would veto the bill if it came across their desk as governor, with Reddy arguing the question should be decided by voters.
“The Supreme Court did not say the loudest voice in the ruling class prevails. It said it’s up to the people in the state, so let’s put it to a referendum,” Reddy said.
On infrastructure, candidates discussed reforming the South Carolina Department of Transportation and allowing private-sector involvement to help pay for improvements.
Wilson outlined ideas that included leasing interstate easements and expanding private express lanes.
“We privatized that grass between the interstates. We turn it into private express lanes that can be told we leased the easements on the sides of interstates to telecommunication companies and energy companies, and charge them for natural gas line and fiber optic fiber optic cables,” Wilson said.
Evette also pointed to public-private partnerships and the possibility of fast-pass lanes.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
“We want to make sure that we’re innovative public private partnerships coming in and creating fast pass lanes to allow people that are in a hurry to be able to utilize that,” Evette said.
The final question focused on data centers, with candidates agreeing corporations should “pay their way.”
“They should pay for their water. They should pay for their infrastructure, any roads around it, and we should look at what Governor Ron DeSantis has done in Florida with the large data centers that are coming to Florida. That should be the model in South Carolina and everywhere,” Mace said.
Kimbrell said the state should set limits to protect natural resources and guard against higher power costs for residents.
“Put parameters around data centers to ensure that the water consumption does not impact places like the ACE Basin,” Kimbrell said. “Ensuring that the Public Service Commission makes absolutely sure nobody’s power rate goes up and we try to get behind the meter energy grids in place so they can be self-sufficient.”
Two more debates are planned ahead of the primaries on June 9.
A bill that could make it a felony for doctors to perform an abortion is moving to the full South Carolina Senate with just a few weeks left in the legislative session.
The South Carolina Senate medical affairs committee continued a debate of Senate Bill 1095 on April 21 in Columbia. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Richard Cash, R-Anderson, builds on a restrictive abortion bill that failed to progress in the fall.
The committee passed the measure in an 8-4 vote, moving it to the full Senate for consideration. Lawmakers have until May 14, the last day of the 2026 legislative session, to pass the bill for it to become law.
Senate Bill 1095, also called the “Unborn Child Protection Act,” bans performing an abortion or supplying abortion drugs. It makes it illegal for a woman to get an abortion, with the only exception being to save a pregnant woman’s life.
It also makes mifepristone and misoprostol Schedule IV controlled substances. Alprazolam (Xanax) and zolpidem (Ambien) are two other examples of Schedule IV substances.
Pro-Life Greenville, an anti-abortion organization based in Greenville, responded to the bill’s progress with “full endorsement” of the legislation.
“Unborn children, like all human beings, deserve to have their lives protected under law here in the Palmetto State,” Pro-Life Greenville stated. “Today’s vote by the SC Senate Medical Affairs Committee brings that urgent need one step closer to reality.”
Under the bill, a woman who has an abortion could face misdemeanor charges. The maximum sentence would be two years in jail with a $1,000 fine.
Those found guilty of performing an abortion or providing a pregnant woman with abortion-inducing drugs could face felony charges, a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail, and a possible $100,000 fine.
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (PPSAT), a firm opponent of the bill, decried the Senate committee passage. PPSAT Director of Public Affairs Vicki Ringer said in a statement that the bill will cost people their lives, and it will make it more difficult for women to get reproductive and pregnancy healthcare.
“Abortion bans have and will continue to cost people their lives,” Ringer stated. “As this ban inches closer to the governor’s desk, it is becoming increasingly clear just how many of our lives anti-abortion lawmakers are willing to endanger in service to their agenda.”
Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@gannett.com
BARNWELL, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) – An officer was injured, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has issued a Blue Alert for an “armed and dangerous” woman.
According to the Blue Alert, Cushman is wanted in connection with an officer being injured.
The location of the assault was Gardenia Road in Blackville, S.C.
On Monday night around 10:35 p.m., officials said they were looking for Lacey Cushman, 37, a white woman who is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs about 210 pounds.
According to SLED, she has brown eyes and an unknown hair color. Her hairstyle and clothing are unknown.
She was last seen driving a 2011 white Chevrolet Traverse with an S.C. tag, 706IRU, in Barnwell County.
Her last known direction of travel was toward Bamberg County.
If you see her or have information, call 911 immediately.
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