South Carolina baseball loses again to Kentucky, drops another SEC series
Nothing is coming easily for No. 3 South Carolina right now.
Saturday’s Game 2 at Kentucky was one of those sluggish, walk-heavy games in which every inning felt like an act of labor. Facing a pesky Kentucky lineup, the Gamecocks (36-10, 14-8 SEC) faltered for the second day in a row, losing the game 14-7 and dropping their second straight SEC series.
The Gamecocks have now lost four of their last six games since a home sweep of No. 3 Florida sent USC flying up the national rankings. Injuries to three of USC’s starting infielders are partially to blame, but the team’s starting pitching has slipped of late, too.
After ace Will Sanders allowed four runs in five innings in Friday’s loss, Saturday starter Jack Mahoney ran into similar struggles against Kentucky (32-13, 13-10). The junior right-hander gave up five runs on seven hits and four walks, and the patient Wildcats forced him to throw 99 pitches in just four innings.
Reliever James Hicks continued to labor behind him, giving up seven runs in three innings. Six of those runs came with two outs. Hicks allowed a three-run triple to Kentucky third baseman Jase Felker in the fifth, and the back breaker came on right fielder James McCoy’s three-run homer with two outs in the next inning. McCoy has been a thorn in USC’s side all weekend, hitting a sun-aided inside-the-park home run on Friday night.
Though the team’s pitchers didn’t give them much of a chance, USC’s bats were more productive than they were in Game 1. The bulk of the production came on three swings. Red-hot sophomore Cole Messina smoked a three-run triple that briefly gave USC a 3-2 lead in the third, and veteran first baseman Gavin Casas drilled his second and third home runs of the weekend.
The Gamecocks will need a more competitive outing from left-hander Matthew Becker and the rest of their pitching staff to avoid their first sweep of the season in Sunday’s finale.
Next four USC baseball games
Sunday: at Kentucky, 2 p.m. (SEC Network)
Tuesday: vs. North Florida, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Friday: at Arkansas, 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Saturday: at Arkansas, 7:00 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published May 6, 2023 at 5:07 PM.
