ATHENS, Ga. (Interstat) — In a wild, back-and-forth Southeastern Conference series finale Sunday evening at Athens Olympic Indoor Hall, the Georgia Bulldogs rallied from an early five-run deficit to complete a three-game sweep of the South Carolina Gamecocks with a 9-7 victory.

The Gamecocks, who have now lost five straight, ambushed Georgia starter Ishikawa in the first inning, sending eight men to the plate and scoring three runs on a Jake Randolph RBI single and a KJ Scobey sacrifice fly. They extended their lead to 5-0 in the second on a solo home run by Patrick Evans and an RBI double from Ethan Hollins.

Georgia began chipping away immediately in the bottom of the first. After loading the bases with no outs, the Bulldogs scored twice, with one run coming on a double play and another on an RBI single from Fernando Lujo. They added another run in the fourth on an RBI single by Slate Branch.

The momentum shifted decisively in the middle innings. South Carolina starter Brandon Stone, who had held Georgia hitless through 4 1/3 innings, unraveled in the fifth. He allowed a single and a double before being pulled, and two runs scored on a passed ball and a walk with the bases loaded to make it 5-4.

Georgia completed its comeback in the sixth, tying the game at 7-7. Trevor C. Jack delivered a pivotal two-run single, and pinch-hitter Bryce Calloway followed with an RBI single to knot the score.

The most important part of the game came in the late innings. South Carolina reclaimed the lead in the top of the eighth when Randolph launched a solo home run off reliever Caden Aoki to make it 8-7. The advantage was short-lived.

In the bottom of the eighth, Georgia’s offense answered immediately against South Carolina reliever Alex Philpott. Corey Phelps led off with a single and scored the tying run on a double by Jack. After an out, Calloway delivered again, driving a single to third base to score Jack with the go-ahead run, giving Georgia a 9-8 lead.

Bulldogs closer Justin Byrd entered and shut the door in the ninth, retiring the side in order to seal the win and the sweep. Georgia improved to 23-6 overall and 3-0 in SEC play, while South Carolina fell to 13-16 and 0-3.

Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson was the top star, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, continuing a strong series. For South Carolina, Randolph homered and drove in two, while Scobey went 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

The result defied the pregame projection from Interstat, which gave Georgia a 69% probability to win but forecasted a final score of 7-1.

Georgia used six pitchers, with Aoki providing critical middle relief, allowing one run on seven hits over four innings while striking out seven. Byrd earned the win with 1 1/3 perfect innings of relief. Philpott took the loss for South Carolina, allowing two runs in two innings of work.

The Gamecocks out-hit Georgia 13-14 but stranded nine baserunners and could not hold multiple leads. The Bulldogs grounded into two double plays but were relentless offensively, scoring in five different innings.

South Carolina returns home to face Wofford on Tuesday before hosting Texas in a Thursday-Saturday SEC series next weekend. Georgia will host Georgia State on Tuesday before traveling to face Mississippi State in another SEC series starting Thursday.