RALEIGH - Reese Havens' two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday lifted South Carolina past James Madison 7-5 in an elimination game at the Raleigh Regional.

After Scott Wingo led off the ninth with a single through the right side, Havens followed with a drive to right field off Kyle Hoffman that sent the Gamecocks (40-22) to their ninth straight regional final.

Justin Smoak homered twice for South Carolina, which earned a championship-round rematch with N.C. State later Sunday. The Gamecocks needed to beat N.C. State twice to return to the super regionals for the third straight year.

JMU (39-19) tied it 5-5 in the ninth when Chris Johnson's two-run double scored Matt Browning and McKinnon Langston.

Smoak has a career-high 23 homers this season, tying him with Joe Datin (1985) for the second-most in a season with the Gamecocks. He moved into fifth place in Southeastern Conference history with 62 career homers, moving past Alabama's Andy Phillips and Mississippi State's Will Clark.

Whit Merrifield's one-out single gave the Gamecocks a 5-3 lead in the seventh.

James Madison scored three runs in the fourth off South Carolina pitcher Blake Cooper, on RBI singles by Browning, Langstoni and a run-scoring double by Lee Bujakowski.

Mike Cisco (6-3) worked one-third of an inning for the victory. Hoffman (6-5) took the loss.

Freshman Alex Valadja pitched a career-best 6 1/3 innings for the Dukes, giving up just five hits.