COLUMBIA, Mo. — Cayla Drotar pitched six scoreless innings, and Alyssa Kumiyama hit a home run in the fourth inning Thursday to lead the No. 3 seed South Carolina softball team to a 3-1 victory against No. 11 seed Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament at the Mizzou Softball Stadium.
The win is South Carolina’s first in the SEC tournament since 2016. It sends South Carolina (44-13) to the semifinal round for the first time since 2002. South Carolina will take on Arkansas, which defeated No. 2 seed Georgia 8-3, at 2 p.m. Friday (ESPNU).
Drotar (20-5) allowed only four hits and one unearned run in the complete-game effort. She walked one and struck out one.
MSU (36-21) brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh, but it fell short after eliminating Texas A&M in the opening round. Senior Carmen Carter went 2-for-3 and drove in MSU’s run.
Holly Ward (15-8) allowed three runs on four hits and one walk. The right-hander struck out two. Senior Cassady Knudsen threw an inning of relief.
South Carolina scored its first run with the help of an error. A sacrifice fly gave the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead after three innings. Kumiyama’s home run in the fourth accounted for the Gamecocks’ final run.
In the top of the seventh, MSU senior Reggie Harrison doubled to left field and took third base on a mishandled throw. Carter brought her home with a two-out single, but a pop up ended the comeback attempt.
n In related news, MSU junior Emily Heimberger earned first-team Google Play Academic All-District honors.
Heimberger, already senior academically, holds a 3.86 grade-point average in biological sciences and has been a fixture in the outfield.
Heimberger advances to the Google Cloud Academic All-America ballot. The first- and second-team honorees will be announced in June.
n In other news, MSU freshman catcher Mia Davidson was named Thursday as one of 10 finalists for the Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I National Freshman of the Year.
Davidson is one of two freshmen from the SEC to advance as one of the 10 finalists for the award, joining Arkansas’ Mary Haff.
MSU will learn its postseason at 9 p.m. Sunday when the NCAA Selection Show airs on ESPN2.
n Florida 5, Alabama 2: The top-seeded Gators (48-8) used two clutch home runs to beat the No. 8 seed Crimson Tide in the second round of the SEC tournament.
SEC Player of the Year Amanda Lorenz hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to break a 2-2 tie.
The win helped Florida earn its third trip to the semifinals of the SEC tournament in the last four years.
The Gators used the long ball to come back from a 2-0 deficit. SEC Pitcher of the Year Kelly Barnhill started in the circle for Florida, but Alabama (33-17) took a 2-0 lead in the first. Sophomore Elissa Brown led off with a single back up the middle and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Senior Demi Turner walked and both runners moved up on a passed ball. Brown scored on a groundout. After a walk to sophomore Bailey Hemphill put runners at the corners, Turner scored on a sacrifice fly.
Florida had the chance to get on the board in the bottom of the third when Jordan Matthews hit a two-out single to bring Lorenz home, but the junior was tagged out at the plate.
Gators senior Aleshia Ocasio evened the score in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run home run to right field.
Ocasio earned her 19th win of the season after relieving Barnhill for the final two innings. She allowed only one hit.
n Tennessee 1, LSU 0: Caylan Arnold threw a complete-game shutout as the fourth-seeded Lady Volunteers defeated the fifth-seeded Tigers.
The Lady Vols advanced to the SEC semifinals for the 15th time, tied with Alabama for most in conference history.
Tennessee (45-11) scored a run in the bottom of the first inning, when All-SEC shortstop Meghan Gregg hit her 17th double of the season to right center, scoring fellow All-SEC honoree Aubrey Leach. It was Gregg’s SEC-leading 67th RBI of the season, and Leach scored for the 73rd time this season.
Leach leads the nation with 1.32 runs per game. That lone run was all Arnold (24-4) needed, as she threw her ninth complete game of the season and her third shutout. In recording her 24th win of the season, Arnold struck out four batters, while allowing only one walk and scattering just three hits.
Chelsea Seggern and Ashley Morgan also recorded hits for the Lady Vols.
n Arkansas 8, Georgia 3: For the first time since 2001, the Razorbacks advanced to the semifinals of the SEC tournament with a victory against the second-seeded Bulldogs.
The No. 7 seed Razorbacks’ eight runs are the most scored by the program in an SEC tournament game.
Senior A.J. Belans was 2-for-3 with a three-run home run, while freshman Mary Haff tied the program’s single-season record with her 26th win in 3 1/3 innings of relief. The Razorbacks improve to 39-14 for the most wins by the program since the 2002 season.
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