USC rally in ninth falls short

East Carolina 8, South Carolina 6

GREENVILLE, N.C. — Poorly as things had gone for South Carolina all night Sunday, the Gamecocks still wound up one swing away from advancing through this baseball regional without a loss.

But improbable Gamecocks pinch hitter Jeffery Jones couldn't come through and East Carolina lived to play one final day.

USC struck for four in the ninth and had the tying runs on second and third, but the Pirates held on for an 8-6 victory in front of 3,911 fans at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

The winner takes all tonight at 6.

"We had a mulligan, and we used it," said USC coach Ray Tanner, whose team had scored 23 combined runs in its first two games. "We're even again. This is what it's all about."

The Pirates (45-18) have won three games (and played four) in two days, thanks to rain and a loss to USC.

Tanner's still got an ace to play.

Senior Jay Brown is 3-0 with a team-low 3.30 ERA in 11 appearances (seven starts).

It almost didn't matter. The Gamecocks nearly ended the regional Sunday night with dramatic flair.

With one down in the ninth, ECU starter Kevin Brandt was on the verge of a complete-game victory when Justin Dalles, who is 9-for-14 with nine RBIs on the weekend, mashed a two-run homer to cut the lead to 8-4.

Closer Seth Simmons came on, needing two outs to finish off USC. He got them, but not without duress.

Drew Crisp singled up the middle, speedy Adam Matthews bunted his way aboard, and Bobby Haney hit a deep infield single. With the bases loaded, pinch hitter Brady Thomas doubled to make it 8-6.

Simmons got Whit Merrifield to pop up for the second out, and then, against the odds, Jones stood at the plate as the winning run. Jones, with 78 at-bats this year, was in because Tanner lifted left fielder DeAngelo Mack in the top of the ninth.

Mack has been battling shin splints and Tanner calculated, incorrectly, that if his spot came up in the bottom of the ninth that USC would be at least tied.

"I wish I had that one back," Tanner said of Mack, who led the SEC in hits in the regular season.

Jones popped out to center field, ending the rally.

Brandt (9-1) went 8 1/3 innings, at one point retiring 11 consecutive Gamecocks.

Not bad considering the freshman left-hander was up as a potential reliever in ECU's victory earlier Sunday against Binghamton.

"I was really rooting hard for him to pitch in that first game," Tanner said.

One reason? Big-game experience. Brandt had shut out the ACC's North Carolina State and North Carolina for 15 innings in two wins during the regular season.

Merrifield said Brandt pitched "backward," keeping hitters confused by throwing breaking balls in fastball counts and vice versa.

The Gamecocks (40-22) didn't score until a two-run double from third baseman Drew Crisp in the seventh.

Pirates designated hitter Kyle Roller hit a three-run home run in the first off USC freshman southpaw Nolan Belcher to get the Pirates going.

"We were tired. We were dead," Pirates first baseman Brandon Henderson said. "That pumped us up."

Roller homered twice — in the same inning, no less — in the afternoon against Binghamton.

A Henderson grand slam in the seventh made things temporarily less interesting and chased Belcher (4-5) after an up-and-down outing that characterized his rookie season.

He gave up eight runs, all earned, on nine hits in six innings. Belcher did strike out six.

The question is, Will Belcher get a super regional start to redeem himself? North Carolina awaits tonight's winner.

"We're upbeat," Crisp said. "We have another game."