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South Carolina upsets No. 1 LSU on walk-off wild pitch

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax05/16/25BarkleyTruax
KJ Scobey
© Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

South Carolina upset No. 1 LSU on a walk-off wild pitch to win the series opener on Thursday night. Gamecocks third baseman KJ Scobey hit the game-tying home run with one out to begin the ninth inning, eventually loading the bases before LSU pitcher Zac Cowan‘s wild pitch.

Matthew Becker (3-3) was awarded the win as South Carolina improves to 28-26 on the season and 6-22 in SEC play. It’s the first victory over a No. 1 overall team for the Gamecocks since April 2023, where they beat LSU 13-5. Check out the walk-off play below:

The walk-off almost happened one at-bat earlier, however. South Carolina center fielder Nathan Hall hit a line drive shot toward right field but first baseman Jared Jones made a spectacular catch to keep the runners in place and secure the second out of the inning. His effort on the play did not matter at the end of the day, unfortunately for the Tigers. The Gamecocks would score the winning run soon after.

Scobey finished the game 2 of 3 at the plate including two RBIs and the aforementioned game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. He discussed his home run after the game with SEC Network’s Alyssa Lang.

“I’m gonna be honest, I was looking for the pitch,” Scobey told Lang. “I got a changeup right down the middle, and was able to put a good swing on it. … Hopefully it puts some good momentum going and gets us rolling and [let’s] see what we can do from there.”

Elsewhere in the lineup, shortstop Henry Kaczmar was the only other Gamecocks batter to log at least two hits on the night. Interestingly, South Carolina left fielder and leadoff hitter Blake Jackson was hit by pitches three times and went 0-2 at the plate.

The Gamecocks will look to take this momentum into game two on Friday. First pitch between the two programs is set for 7 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN+ and SECN+. Game three — the regular season finale — will begin at 3 p.m. ET on the same broadcast networks.

One more victory would give the Gamecocks a signature series victory for South Carolina, who has struggled mightily since SEC play began. It would be their first series win in the SEC since mid-April when they defeated then-No. 11 Ole Miss at home.