The South Carolina baseball team began the season with a 3-0 sweep of the Sacred Heart Pioneers at Ray Tanner Field at Founders Park to begin the 2025 campaign under new head coach Paul Mainieri.
The Gamecocks opened the season on Friday night with a 5-3 win over Sacred Heart. The Gamecocks would pitch back-to-back shutouts in the final two games of the series, winning 14-0 on Saturday afternoon and 8-0 on Sunday afternoon to take all three games of the opening series.
Here's a recap of the weekend series.
Mainieri's tenure sees a strong start
South Carolina defeated Sacred Heart 5-3 on Friday night, winning the first game of the Mainieri era and season opener from newly-minted Ray Tanner Field.
The Gamecocks started fast with senior right-hander Dylan Eskew striking out the side before a wild pitch in the bottom of the first allowed junior centerfielder Nathan Hall to score. A second wild pitch allowed freshmen third baseman KJ Scobey to score in the second.
The Pioneers scored its first run of 2025 in the top of the third inning on a hit by pitch that drove in sophomore catcher Steak Newman.
Gamecock first basemen junior Ethan Petry struck right back in the bottom of the third with his first home run of 2025 moving the preseason First Team All-SEC member to No. 4 all-time in Gamecock home runs with 45.
Eskew continued to shine allowing three hits, nine strikeouts and only allowing one run in five innings of work.
“The kid pitched his heart out, he was magnificent,” Mainieri said. “He showed great leadership tonight, he did exactly what I expected him to do.”
The Pioneers tied the game up 3-3 in the sixth, but RBI singles by junior infielder Henry Kaczmar in the seventh and sophomore infielder Nolan Nawrocki in the eighth were enough to seal a Gamecock victory.
Following the game, Mainieri emphasized the benefits of being poised big moments.
“I put a lot of pressure on the players in practice because I want them to be poised when they get in those situations,” Mainieri said.
Junior pitcher Brendan Sweeney finished the game earning his first ever save. While relief pitcher Parker Marlatt received the victory after pitching 2 2/3 innings striking out five, giving the Gamecocks pitching staff 16 strikeouts for the game.
“I have all the confidence in the world in those guys in the bullpen. We're going to pitch a lot of guys this weekend,” Mainieri said.
Offense and pitching shine in shutout win
On Saturday, the Gamecocks added its second win of the season, beating Sacred Heart 14-0 in seven innings to clinch the first series win of Mainieri’s coaching tenure.
Pitching shined yet again, this time with senior pitcher Matthew Becker making his first start of the season. Becker had nine strikeouts and no walks through five innings, limiting the Pioneers to only one hit and zero runs on the day.
“He just took control of the game,” Mainieri said. “I had a feeling he was going to come out smoking today.”
The Gamecock offense gained momentum early in the first inning with singles by junior infielder Nathan Hall and senior designated hitter Kennedy Jones. Senior catcher Talmadge LeCroy earned a bases loaded walk to push Hall across home to tack on the first run of the game. Jones scored on a wild pitch to give the Gamecocks a 3-0 lead after the first.
The bottom of the third inning saw more action from the Gamecocks after Nawrocki hit a one out double, advancing LeCroy to third, who walked the previous at bat. LeCroy and Nawrocki scored both runs of the inning, one off a sac fly by senior outfielder Dalton Mashore and the other reaching from a hit by freshman infielder KJ Scobey.
Another eleven runs would be scored from the Gamecocks over the next four innings, while the Gamecocks pitching effort remained strong with Becker and freshman pitcher Ryder Garino, who added four more strikeouts on the day after replacing Becker in the sixth inning, to shut out the Pioneers and earn the win.
“He’s a strike throwing machine and he’s going to keep getting better and better and better,” Mainieri said after the game.
Excellent pitching propels the Gamecocks to a sweep over Sacred Heart
The Gamecocks finished the sweep against Sacred Heart on Sunday afternoon in Founders Park with a score of 8-0.
Pitching excelled for the Gamecocks, with sophomore left-handed pitcher Jake McCoy going five innings without giving up a hit or a run to the Pioneers andstriking out a career high nine batters, earning himself the win.
“What Jake did today was unbelievable,” Mainieri said. “He’s growing each time I watch him pitch.”
The Gamecock offense got the scoring started with a sacrifice fly from junior outfielder Nathan Hall, driving in junior infielder Will Tippett to make the score 1-0 after three innings.
The Gamecocks loaded the bases in the fifth inning, when senior outfielder Kennedy Jones got hit by a pitch, driving in a run, extending its lead to 2-0.
In the sixth inning, senior outfielder Blake Jackson hit a double to bring in a run, and junior Nathan Hall blew the game open with a three-run home run to make the score 6-0.
“I credit my teammates and coaches for helping giving me the confidence to get it done in a big spot in the game,” Hall said.
Freshman pitcher Zach Russell came in relief in the sixth inning, pitching 1 1/3 innings, striking out four and giving up no hits or runs in his Gamecock debut. In the eighth inning, the Gamecocks extended its lead to 8-0 after an RBI triple by junior outfielder Ethan Petry, and an RBI single by outfielder Kennedy Jones.
Sophomore pitchers Ashton Crowther and Tyler Pitzer finished the game, throwing a combined 2 2/3 innings, striking out three and giving up two hits and no runs.
What's Next?
The Gamecocks are back in action on Tuesday in Rock Hill, SC at Winthrop. First pitch is at 4 p.m. and the game will stream live on ESPN+.