COLUMBIA (Interstat) — Colby McNeely’s dominant three-inning relief stint anchored a combined five-pitcher shutout of the bullpen Tuesday night, as Winthrop defeated South Carolina 5-2 at Carolina Stadium.

McNeely, who had allowed four earned runs over his previous 1⅔ innings this month, tossed three perfect frames with three strikeouts to earn the win. He entered with one out in the bottom of the sixth and retired all nine batters he faced, lowering his ERA from 9.35 to 6.58.

Ethan Wilson provided the decisive blow, a two-run home run in the fourth inning that stretched the Eagles’ lead to 4-1. Wilson finished 1 for 4 with the homer and two RBIs.

Winthrop improved to 31-21 overall, while South Carolina dropped to 22-31.

The Eagles struck first in the third inning. Singles by Hayden Natividad and Jared Hernandez set the table, and a sacrifice fly by Wouters scored Natividad. Benhardt followed with an RBI single, and the Eagles led 2-0.

South Carolina answered in the bottom half. A single by Craddock and a walk to Yuhasz, combined with a wild pitch, put runners at second and third. Scobey’s sacrifice fly brought home Craddock, trimming the deficit to 2-1.

Winthrop regained momentum in the fourth. After McGuire singled, Wilson launched a homer down the left-field line to make it 4-1.

Luke Yuhasz answered for the Gamecocks in the fifth with a solo home run to left-center, cutting the lead to 4-2. The Gamecocks then loaded the bases on an error, a hit batter and a walk, but reliever Randy Guzman escaped the jam by striking out Reynolds.

Winthrop added an insurance run in the eighth. Crowley walked, stole second and scored on a wild pitch and a groundout by pinch-hitter Skowronski.

The Eagles’ bullpen dominated after the fifth. Guzman threw two innings, allowing one unearned run on no hits with three strikeouts. Dylan Hansen struck out one in a perfect sixth. McNeely followed with three hitless frames, and Shane Keup started the game with three scoreless innings, allowing no hits and one unearned run while striking out four.

South Carolina pitching was busy. Starter Cooper Parks allowed one hit and no runs in two innings with two strikeouts. Alex Philpott surrendered one hit in 1⅓ scoreless frames. Zach Russell gave up one run in 1⅔ innings. Logan Prisco faced one batter and got an out.

The Gamecocks managed only five hits, with Yuhasz’s homer accounting for their only extra-base hit. Winthrop collected nine hits, led by Benhardt’s three singles and McGuire’s two hits.

Winthrop had lost three of its previous four games, including a 3-11 defeat at High Point on Sunday. South Carolina had dropped four straight and seven of its last eight.

Winthrop hosts Longwood for a three-game series beginning Thursday. South Carolina travels to Vanderbilt for a three-game set starting the same day.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Winthrop 3, South Carolina 2, though the Interstat ELO system gave South Carolina a 73.80 percent probability to win.