COLUMBIA, S.C. (Interstat) — The South Carolina Gamecocks erupted for four runs in the seventh inning to overcome an early deficit and defeat the Princeton Tigers 10-7 on Saturday at Carolina Stadium in the first game of a doubleheader.

The Gamecocks, who improved to 10-5, trailed 7-3 after the top of the fifth inning but chipped away before their decisive rally in the seventh. Princeton fell to 2-6 despite matching South Carolina with 13 hits.

Princeton struck first with two runs in the opening inning. After a single by Montembeau, Jake Koonin doubled him home. Will Robbins followed with another RBI double to give the Tigers a quick 2-0 lead.

South Carolina catcher Talmadge LeCroy answered in the bottom half with a solo home run to left-center field, cutting the lead to 2-1.

The Tigers extended their advantage in the fourth. A throwing error by the Gamecocks’ catcher on a pickoff attempt set the stage for Werdesheim, who delivered a two-run single to make it 4-1. Princeton added two more in the fifth on an RBI single by Robbins and a fielding error by the left fielder, pushing the margin to 7-3.

The Gamecocks began their comeback in the bottom of the fifth. After a single by Jamison, shortstop KJ Scobey launched a two-run homer to left field. Lizama then doubled and later scored on a single by center fielder Tyler Bak, trimming Princeton’s lead to 7-6.

The most important part of the game came in the bottom of the seventh inning. With the Gamecocks still trailing by a run, LeCroy was hit by a pitch and Scobey doubled, putting runners on second and third. After a groundout, second baseman Logan Sutter tied the game with an RBI single. Bak then gave South Carolina its first lead of the day with another run-scoring single. Third baseman Dawson Harman broke the game open with a two-run triple to center field, capping the four-run outburst and giving the Gamecocks a 10-7 lead.

Princeton threatened in the eighth, loading the bases with no outs against reliever Alex Valentin. Kernodle cleared them with a two-run double, but those were the final runs for the Tigers. Valentin struck out Montembeau and got Cernius to fly out to end the inning. In the ninth, Valentin retired the side in order to secure the win.

Scobey, the top star for South Carolina, finished 2 for 5 with the two-run homer, a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Sutter added a two-run homer in the fourth and the game-tying RBI single in the seventh. For Princeton, Robbins drove in two runs.

South Carolina reliever Josh Gregoire earned the win with 1 2/3 perfect innings of relief, striking out two. Princeton reliever Justin Kim took the loss, allowing six earned runs on no hits over 4 1/3 innings, walking five. Gamecocks reliever Alex Valentin picked up the save, navigating 2 1/3 innings with four strikeouts despite allowing two earned runs. Princeton’s Charlie Wolf provided 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.

The Gamecocks’ victory defied a pregame projection from Interstat, whose game simulator had forecast a 5-3 South Carolina win and gave the Gamecocks an 86.4% probability of victory based on its ELO system.

The teams were scheduled to conclude the doubleheader later Saturday.