Mississippi State—in the hunt for the SEC regular-season title—took its first two games from South Carolina in Columbia, 9-0 and 9-6.

On Friday, the Bulldogs got off to a fast start with two runs in the 1st. Kamren James scored Rowdey Jordan with a single, and despite Luke Hancock grounding into a double play, Tanner Allen came home. Christian McLeod got the start for State on the mound, and he retired the Gamecock side in order.

MSU didn’t get anything across in the 2nd, but MacLeod threw another 1-2-3 frame. In the 3rd, he faced runners on the corners with two outs, but a swinging strikeout kept SC off the board.

State went down in order in the 4th, but MacLeod responded with yet another scoreless inning. MSU broke the scoreless drought in the 5th with a Tanner Allen RBI single that scored Rowdey Jordan. MacLeod forced three-straight groundouts in the bottom half. He continued his absolute decimation of the Gamecock order in the 6th, retiring them in order again.

The Bulldogs broke the game open in the 7th. The bases loaded with no outs, when Kamren James laced a bases-clearing double. James advanced to 3rd on a groundout, and Scotty Dubrule got to 2nd thanks to a walk and a wild pitch. A passed ball scored James, and Brad Cumbest’s double brought home Dubrule. A five-spot 7th, and MSU had an 8-0 lead.

How do you think MacLeod responded to that? If you guessed a 3-up, 3-down inning, you are correct. He concluded his longest outing of the year with one hit, no runs, and six strikeouts.

MSU extended its lead in the 8th with a Tanner Allen RBI single that scored Rowdey Jordan. Preston Johnson received MacLeod and threw a scoreless frame. State didn’t score in the 9th, and SC loaded the bases with two outs, but Johnson got out of the inning with a groundout. State wins, 9-0.

The 1st inning on Saturday was a very similar story. Rowdey Jordan led off with a single, and Tanner Allen tripled to score him. Luke Hancock then went yard to give State an early 3-0 lead. Starting pitcher Will Bednar commenced his outing by striking out the side.

A throwing error in the 2nd scored Rowdey Jordan. In the bottom half, the Gamecocks had a man on 2nd with one out, but Bednar struck out the side. Six outs, all strikeouts.

In the 3rd, Logan Tanner hit a home run to right centerfield. Bednar retired the side with two strikeouts. Rowdey Jordan put his own stamp on the home run party with a solo shot. South Carolina tacked on a run with a leadoff home run, but that’s all they could do. 6-1 State.

The Bulldog offensive explosion continued in the 5th. Tanner Leggett scored Logan Tanner with an RBI single. Tanner Allen—to complete the Tanner trio—brought home Lane Forsythe and Scotty Dubrule with an RBI single of his own. Bednar, meanwhile, fanned the Gamecock side in order with two strikeouts. State led, 9-1.

MSU didn’t score anything in the 6th, and an SC two-run shot cut into State’s lead. Bednar limited the damage to just that, which ended his day. In six innings, he gave up three runs, no walks, and struck out 13.

The Dawgs went down in order in the 7th. Brandon Smith relieved Bednar, but back-to-back fielding errors gave SC men on 2nd and 3rd with one out. It cost State, as a three-run home run cut the MSU lead to three.

Smith responded, however. In the 8th, he threw a scoreless frame. He retired the side in order in the 9th. State wins, 9-6, to clinch the series.

Mississippi State improves to 35-10, 16-7 in the SEC and will look to complete the sweep this afternoon at 1:00 PM.