GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Justin Dalles and Adam Matthews gave South Carolina plenty of pop at the plate. East Carolina's hitters couldn't do the same.
Dalles hit a grand slam and drove in seven runs, while Matthews also had two home runs to help the Gamecocks cruise past the Pirates 12-2 on Saturday in the NCAA regionals.
The duo each had four hits for South Carolina (40-21), who scored the first 12 runs on the way to an easy victory against the host Pirates (43-18). It finished with 17 hits, while Blake Cooper worked his way out of trouble several times to pitch a complete game.
East Carolina loaded the bases in the third, fourth and fifth innings only to come away empty each time.
"We are very fortunate to be able to win tonight," South Carolina coach Ray Tanner said. "I don't think I've ever been part of a situation so many times that early in the game where we were able to get off the hook. You've got to give Blake a tremendous amount of credit for pitching out of some pickles."
Cooper allowed just two runs and struck out six despite giving up 14 hits.
Dalles hit a two-run homer in the sixth, then hit his slam in the eighth. Matthews hit solo shots in the second and eighth innings after being inserted in the lineup at designated hitter.
Corey Thompson hit a two-run homer for East Carolina, while Seth Maness (9-2) took the loss after allowing six runs and 11 hits in 6 2-3 innings.
"It has certainly been a long day and that's not the way I wanted it to end," East Carolina coach Billy Godwin said. "I think I've used this line before, but somebody told me that you have to lose two games to be out and we haven't done that yet."
On Sunday, the Gamecocks face the winner of the East Carolina-Binghamton elimination game with a chance to advance to next week's super regionals.
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