COLUMBIA, S.C. — Jackson Slaid and Mason Katz had RBI singles in the 10th inning to lead LSU to a 3-2 victory against South Carolina on Saturday afternoon at Columbia Stadium as the Tigers captured their first outright overall Southeastern Conference championship since 2003.
LSU, which won two out of three against the two-time defending national champion Gamecocks, finished the regular season with a 42-14 overall record and a 19-11 SEC mark. Florida, which lost at Auburn on Saturday, and Kentucky, which lost at Mississippi State for the third consecutive game, each could have shared the title with the Tigers if they had won.
South Carolina (38-14 and 17-10) won the Eastern Division title and will have a first-round bye in the upcoming SEC tournament, as will LSU. Both teams will await the outcome of Tuesday’s game before beginning play Wednesday in Hoover, Ala.
The Tigers are in the same bracket as first-round opponents Kentucky and Ole Miss and Arkansas and Mississippi State. The lower seed of the two winners of those games will be LSU’s opponent Wednesday afternoon.
Chris Cotton (6-0) got the victory for the Tigers on Saturday after pitching three scoreless innings. Nick Goody gave up a run in the bottom of the 10th but completed the victory for his 10th save.
