BREAKING NEWS: South Carolina has announced unexpected announcement about…

After letting one slip away Sunday, South Carolina might have stolen one Tuesday night against College of Charleston at Segra Park in Columbia.

The Gamecocks scored the go-ahead run on a bases loaded balk then turned it over to relievers Ryder Garino and Parker Marlatt to rally for a 4-3 win over the Cougars, allowing them to remain undefeated in midweek games this season.

“The key to the game was when Garino came in after (Aydin) Palmer. He saved the game for us really,” South Carolina coach Paul Mainieri said. “He kept us in the game even though we were losing by two runs.”

“You like to win these close ones in the middle of the week because you know the weekend is going to be an unbelievable challenge. We played great against Oklahoma and deserved better, but we didn’t do what it took to win on Sunday.”

It was Garino and Marlatt that possibly saved the day.

Garino came in after College of Charleston plated two runs in the seventh and promptly struck out the side — with the bases loaded — to keep the Gamecocks within striking distance.

Marlatt closed it out by pitching the final 1.1 innings and recorded three strikeouts, including one to end the game. Garino and Marlatt pitched the final three innings and didn’t allow a run on two hits with seven strikeouts.

“My fastball was working, and I just went out there and threw what was working,” Garino said.

South Carolina (17-5) trailed 3-1 when their bullpen allowed two runs in the top half of the seventh inning, wasting another fine outing from Jarvis Evans. But the Gamecocks found a way to push across three runs on just two hits for the winning margin.

Nathan Hall and Evan Stone each singled to open the frame and Ethan Petry walked to load the bases for the Gamecocks with no outs. KJ Scobey grounded to third and Landon Penfield got the force out at the plate on a nice play.

Then Kennedy Jones and Dalton Mashore each walked to tie it up at three. Hayden Thomas, a sophomore left-handed pitcher from Brookland-Cayce, then went to a 3-0 count against Garvin Braland and attempted to pick off Mashore from first base, but was called for a balk.

Mainieri said that it’s just the second time in his career that he’s won a game on a balk.

“We didn’t play exceptionally well tonight,” Mainieri said. “We got a couple of hits but the kids’ command was a big factor.”

The Cougars (12-6) had taken the lead thanks to a two-run single from Gordy Schley in the top half of the inning.

It was another strong starting outing from Evans, the junior left-hander who has settled into the midweek role very nicely. It’s the junior’s third straight solid outing and he left after allowing one run on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks in six innings. In his last three appearances, Evans has gone 18 innings with three runs allowed with 18 strikeouts and six walks.

He also picked off two baserunners to keep the Cougars offense at bay in the early going.

“What can you say about Jarvis Evans,” Mainieri said. “He gave us a chance like he’s done every week.”

USC baseball schedule: Upcoming games

Friday at Arkansas, 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

Saturday at Arkansas, 3 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

Sunday at Arkansas, 3 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

March 25 vs. North Carolina at Charlotte, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

March 28 vs. Tennessee, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

March 29 vs. Tennessee, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

March 30 vs. Tennessee, 5 p.m. (SEC Network)