South Carolina baseball powers past Alabama in SEC Tournament, faces Arkansas next

HOOVER, Ala. — It’s common for pitchers to walk, or at times strut with swagger, off the mound. For South Carolina baseball’s Chris Veach, that seems too tame.

Instead, the right-handed pitcher bounced off the mound after recording the final out of the eighth inning in Tuesday’s SEC Tournament first-round game against Alabama. And he kept jumping all the way to the Gamecocks’ dugout at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, putting on display the confidence his team carried in a 10-5 victory against the Crimson Tide.

Behind Veach’s 5⅔ innings pitched and a barrage of home runs from the offense, No. 10 seed South Carolina defeated No. 7 seed Alabama to advance to the second round.

USC will face No. 2 seed Arkansas on Wednesday (1 p.m., SEC Network). Here’s how South Carolina secured its 14th win against an SEC foe this season.

Alabama jumps ahead early, South Carolina responds with power

Alabama jumped on South Carolina starter Dylan Eskew early with right fielder William Hamiter – who made a diving catch to save a run in the top half of the inning – hitting a run-scoring single in the first. The Crimson Tide tacked on two more runs in the second, sending Eskew out of the game after only recording four outs.

However, the Gamecocks responded quickly against Alabama starter Greg Farone. With three hits in four batters to open the third – including solo home runs from Gavin Casas and Ethan Petry – South Carolina forced Alabama to go to its bullpen.

The next option, left-handed pitcher Aidan Moza, didn’t provide much relief. After a single and a walk against Moza, who inherited a base runner from Farone, South Carolina designated hitter Dalton Reeves came to the plate. He launched a grand slam into the Alabama bullpen to cap a six-run third – turning a 3-0 deficit into a 6-3 lead.

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Cole Messina stays hot for Gamecocks

Hamiter’s impressive catch robbed South Carolina’s Cole Messina of an extra-base hit in the first, but it didn’t keep him from having another big afternoon at the plate.

A day after being named the All-SEC second-team catcher, Messina delivered three hits – including a solo home run to center field in the fifth inning. He finished with three RBIs and was intentionally walked in the eighth.

Messina arrived in Hoover after collecting six hits across three games against Tennessee to close the regular season.