Tippett’s 3 RBIs lead South Carolina past Georgia in SEC opener

HOOVER, Ala. — Will Tippett went 3 for 4, including a three-run triple in the seventh inning, and South Carolina beat Georgia 9-0 on Tuesday in the opening game of the SEC Tournament.

The sixth-seeded Gamecocks (39-17) advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket against No. 3 seed LSU (42-13) on Wednesday. The Gamecocks and Tigers split the regular-season series before Game 3 was cancelled due to rain. Georgia (29-27) has been eliminated.

Starter James Hicks (7-1) went 6 2/3 innings, striking out six and allowing just four hits. Hicks left with the bases loaded in the seventh, but Cade Austin ended the threat with a strikeout. Austin picked up his second save of the season after striking out three to help South Carolina earn its first shutout in program history at the SEC Tournament.

Braylen Wimmer, Talmadge LeCroy and Evan Stone each had two hits for South Carolina. Tippett finished with three RBIs and Stone added two on a single in the second to begin the scoring.

Sebastian Murillo went 3 for 3 with a walk for Georgia and Charlie Condon, the SEC’s top freshman with a .393 batting average and 25 home runs, was 0 for 4. Starter Jaden Woods (3-3) allowed two earned runs in 1 2/3 innings.