Mississippi State Spanks South Carolina 12-0

The Mississippi State Bulldogs pounded South Carolina for eight runs in the top of the seventh to pick up a 12-0 victory over South Carolina to advance in the winners' bracket in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama.

Derrick Armstrong started the scoring for Mississippi State (37-20, 20-12) when he picked up an RBI single in the top of the second to put the Bulldogs ahead 1-0.

In the top of the third, the Bulldogs picked up RBIs from Wes Rea and Demarcus Henderson to see Mississippi State go up 3-0.

In the bottom of the third, South Carolina threatened by putting runners on first and second with no outs, and John Cohen pulled his out his strategy from 2013, bringing in Jacob Lindgren for Trevor Fitts. Lindgren shut down the Gamecocks to shutdown their strongest threat of the night.

The offense put another run on the board in the top of the fourth when C.T. Bradford, who went three for four,  drove in a run with a single to give the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead.

In the top of the seventh, the Bulldogs blew the lid off of the game, and it started when Brett Pirtle blasted a three-run homer to put Mississippi State ahead 7-0. The Bulldogs eventually sent 14 batters to the plate and took a 12-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh.

Seth Heck finished three for five with an RBI.

Lindgren (6-1) finished his night by allowing no hits and striking out six South Carolina batters in four innings of work. After the long break and seemingly insurmountable lead, Myles Gentry took the mound to close out the game for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs face the Kentucky Wildcats Thursday at 7pm.  The winner gets Friday off.