BATON ROUGE, La. (Interstat) — Zac Cowan threw six innings of two-hit shutout ball and Omar Serna Jr. drove in three runs as LSU completed a three-game sweep of South Carolina with a 7-0 victory Sunday afternoon at Alex Box Stadium.

The Tigers, who won the first two games of the series in a doubleheader Saturday, improved to 28-21 overall. South Carolina fell to 22-27.

Cowan struck out seven and allowed only two singles in his third consecutive strong start. He walked one and faced one batter over the minimum through six innings, lowering his earned-run average significantly after a rough outing at Mississippi State two weeks earlier.

LSU broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning. Josh Patrick drew a one-out walk, then advanced to second on a wild pitch and to third on a throwing error by Gamecocks catcher Cole Evans. Serna Jr. followed by crushing a 2-0 pitch over the left-field wall for a two-run homer, giving the Tigers a lead they would not relinquish.

South Carolina starter Alex Valentin took the loss, allowing three runs on no hits in four innings. He walked five and struck out six, but the damage came largely on the homer and a pair of walks.

The Tigers added a run in the fifth. Patrick Braun walked, then Serna Jr. reached on a fielding error by shortstop Will Randolph that sent Braun to third. After a walk to Steven Curiel loaded the bases, Cade Arrambide lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Braun for a 3-0 lead.

LSU challenged a call on the sacrifice fly that the runner at second base left early, but the ruling was confirmed. Later in the inning, pinch hitter Tyler Reaves singled through the left side to bring home Serna Jr., who had advanced to third on the play. Curiel was thrown out at home attempting to score, but the damage gave LSU a 4-0 advantage.

The Tigers broke the game open in the sixth. Jack Ruckert singled through the right side and advanced to third on a fielding error by right fielder Kennedy Jones, allowing Patrick to score from third for a 5-0 lead. Braun walked, then Serna Jr. reached on a fielder’s choice that scored Ruckert, making it 6-0. Arrambide matched his career high with three hits, singling in the sixth and finishing three-for-four with an RBI.

LSU capped the scoring in the seventh. Reaves walked, moved to second on a groundout and to third on a groundout, then scored on Ruckert’s single up the middle for a 7-0 advantage.

The Gamecocks managed only five hits off three LSU pitchers. Cowan worked six innings, then Santiago Garcia pitched a scoreless seventh despite allowing two hits, and Gavin Guidry closed with two scoreless innings, striking out three.

South Carolina’s best chance came in the eighth. Ethan Scobey and Carson Sutter singled to open the inning against Garcia, but Guidry entered and struck out Evans and Bakery Bak twice to end the threat. The Gamecocks went down in order in the ninth.

LSU outhit South Carolina 10-5. The Tigers also took advantage of three South Carolina errors.

The series sweep dropped the Gamecocks to 22-27 with a crucial home series against Alabama beginning Friday. LSU improved to 28-21 and travels to Tulane on Tuesday before a three-game set at Georgia.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of South Carolina 5, LSU 3. Interstat’s ELO system had projected LSU with a 71.60 percent probability to win.