South Carolina baseball dropped two out of three games to Mississippi State over the weekend, remaining without a series win in Southeastern Conference play.
The Gamecocks (19-14, 2-10 SEC) won the game one of the weekend series 7-3 on Friday night before losing the following two games, 11-4 on Saturday and 6-0 on Sunday to close the series. South Carolina gave up six home runs over three games to the Bulldogs (19-13, 3-9 SEC) and was held to two hits in Sunday's rubber match.
Here's a recap of the games:
South Carolina takes game one behind Hollins' four-hit night
South Carolina opened up the weekend series with a 7-3 win on Friday night, with freshman infielder Beau Hollins notching four hits.
The Gamecocks took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Junior outfielders Nathan Hall and Ethan Petry both reached base with two outs, and then senior infielder Jordan Carrion followed with an RBI single.
The Bulldogs scored all of its runs in the bottom of the first. Sophomore infielder Ace Reese hit a leadoff single and then advanced to third after back-to-back wild pitches by sophomore pitcher Jake McCoy. Senior designated hitter Noah Sullivan walked, and then senior infielder Hunter Hines hit a two-RBI double. Senior outfielder Bryce Chance later singled, scoring Hines and extending the Bulldogs' lead to 3-1.
McCoy earned his third win of the season on Friday, giving up three runs on five hits in 5.1 innings pitched. McCoy also posted two strikeouts but walked six batters and hit one.
South Carolina tied the game in the fourth when Carrion hit a leadoff double. Hollins then hit a two-run home run. Hollins went 4-5 in game one with four RBIs while Carrion finished 2-5.
"It was just huge for us to get some runs off him," head coach Paul Mainieri said. "We got the clutch hit by Carrion early, and then Beau came through with the big two-run homer."
The Gamecocks took a 5-3 lead in the sixth after the Bulldogs' mistakes. Hollins and freshman catcher Gavin Braland advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch. Senior outfielder Kennedy Jones later hit into a fielder's choice with two outs, but sophomore infielder Dylan Cupp's fielding error scored Hollins and kept the inning alive. Senior infielder Evan Stone then reached after Cupp's second-straight error, scoring Braland.
Mississippi State threatened in the bottom of the sixth when it loaded the bases with one out. Senior pitcher Caleb Jones then relieved McCoy and recorded two straight outs to end the inning.
"Probably the most important pitcher of the night was Caleb Jones coming in and giving us two outs with the bases loaded and one out," Mainieri said.
Junior pitcher Brendan Sweeney retired all nine batters he faced, including four strikeouts. Hollins hit a two-RBI single in the ninth to extend South Carolina's lead to 7-3. The Bulldogs then went down quietly to clinch the series-opening victory for the Gamecocks.
Bulldogs hit five home runs en route to game two win against the Gamecocks
South Carolina dropped game two of the series against Mississippi State 11-4 on Saturday. The Gamecocks had only five hits on the day and struck out nine times in the loss.
Mississippi State struck first on Saturday with a two-run home run from Sullivan to give the Bulldogs an early 2-0 lead in the first inning.
The Gamecocks responded in the top of the third inning with a solo home run from junior infielder Henry Kaczmar. The Bulldogs' offense had its most productive inning of the weekend in the bottom of the third, scoring four runs to take a 6-1 lead.
Reese started the inning with his seventh home run of the season. With two outs, the Bulldogs singled and drew two walks to load the bases. Graduate catcher Joe Powell had a two-RBI double to left field, with junior outfielder Gatlin Sanders scoring on a wild pitch to push the Bulldogs lead to five.
The Gamecocks answered back in the top of the fifth with a two-run home run from Kaczmar, his second of the day. Redshirt senior outfielder Blake Jackson quickly followed with his first home run of the season to cut the Gamecocks deficit to two.
Hines started the bottom of the fifth inning with a leadoff double. Hines advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an RBI single from sophomore outfielder Nolan Stevens. The Gamecocks were able to limit Mississippi State to one run in the inning after Stevens was caught stealing second, and a groundout from Sanders ended the inning.
A solo home run for Cupp gave the Bulldogs another run in the sixth inning. Senior infielder Reed Stallman had a one-out double and hesitated on the way to third base, where he was thrown out in a big play by the Gamecocks. Reese had his second home run of the game in the sixth inning to put the Bulldogs up 9-4.
The Bulldogs extended its lead to six in the bottom of the seventh inning after two walks and a sacrifice fly by Sanders put the Bulldogs out in front 10-4.
Stallman added yet another run to the Bulldogs’ dominant victory with a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 11-4 for the Bulldogs. In total, the Bulldog offense hit five home runs against the Gamecocks.
Junior pitcher Jarvis Evans Jr. started for the Gamecocks and gave up six runs on six hits. Evans Jr. had two strikeouts and two walks in 2.2 innings pitched.
Freshman pitchers Cooper Parks and Zach Russell, along with sophomore pitcher Parker Marlatt, finished out the day for the Gamecocks and were unable to settle the Bulldogs offense. The three pitchers combined for just two strikeouts, giving up five more runs to the Bulldogs in the loss.
Bulldogs shut out Gamecocks to take series
Sunday's rubber match saw the Gamecocks officially drop its fourth straight SEC series in a shutout loss to the Bulldogs.
Hall opened the first inning with a single, South Carolina's only hit until the ninth inning.
The Gamecocks were limited by senior pitcher Karson Ligon, who gave up zero runs and one hit over six innings. Ligon struck out eight batters, walked one and retired the Gamecocks in order over four-straight innings.
Sophomore pitcher Brandon Stone started for the Gamecocks, giving up five runs on eight hits over 3.1 innings. Brandon Stone held the Bulldogs scoreless over the first three innings but ran into trouble in the fourth.
Sullivan opened the inning with a solo home run, and then Hines and Chance hit back-to-back doubles. Stevens hit an RBI-groundout, and then Sanders singled, scoring Chance. An RBI-single and a sacrifice fly later in the inning gave the Bulldogs a 5-0 lead.
Junior pitcher Matthew Becker was substituted in for Brandon Stone and gave up an RBI from Stallman to score Powell, giving the Bulldogs a 6-0 lead at the end of the inning.
Becker also gave up a leadoff single to Sullivan in the fifth, who went 3-4 with one RBI on Sunday. Chance later hit an RBI-double, extending the Bulldogs' lead to six.
Graduate pitcher Stone Simmons relieved Ligon in the seventh and earned the save. Simmons totaled five strikeouts without a walk. Jackson doubled with two outs in the ninth for the Gamecocks' second hit but was called out at second base to end the game.
South Carolina struck out 13 times in game three. Three Gamecocks struck out multiple times, including senior outfielder Kennedy Jones and junior catcher Max Kaufer, who both struck out three times.
What's next?
South Carolina returns home on Tuesday to face USC Upstate. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+.