South Carolina baseball sweeps doubleheader vs. Northern Kentucky. What we saw

South Carolina picked up a 5-2 victory to open up its 2026 season against Northern Kentucky on Friday, but there was no time to celebrate.

Not until later.

The Gamecocks were set to begin their second game of the season 45 minutes later as part of a doubleheader vs. the Norse.

USC nearly ran out of gas. But some late clutch hitting from Wofford transfer Tyler Bak helped set up a tie game in the bottom of the ninth, and. KJ Scobey delivered, hitting a walk-off home run for the 6-5 victory. The Gamecocks celebrated all they wanted as Scobey trotted the bases.

“Let me go out on the limb and say they were the two biggest hits of the year,” USC coach Paul Mainieri joked postgame. “That’s what it takes to win games.”

Solid pitching all around

After a combined eight shutout innings and 12 strikeouts between starter Riley Goodman and reliever Josh Gunther in the first game, the bar was set for USC Upstate transfer pitcher Amp Phillips in the second game.

Phillips was up to the task. He matched Goodman’s 3.2 innings and struck out seven batters while walking three. The only ding on his stat sheet was the two runs he gave up in the second inning. He struck out the side in the third inning, but the third strikeout was dropped, and the runner reached first.

“I’ve got to let them pitch out of those jams,” Mainieri said. “I think Riley pitched out of a jam early, and also Amp pitched out of a jam, too. ... You’ve got to let a guy learn how to break through the barrier and pitch in those clutch situations. But not too much right now while their arms aren’t capable of going too deep in the games.”

Phillips was pulled for sophomore left-hander Logan Prisco, who closed out the third inning with a groundout.

If Phillips hadn’t thrown 24 pitches in the second frame, he likely would’ve had enough in his pitch count left to throw another inning.

The relief trio of Prisco, Connor Chicoli and Zach Russell combined for 3.2 shutout innings as Mainieri and his staff cycled through bullpen arms. USC didn’t give up another run until the eighth inning.

Talmadge LeCroy’s hot start

One of just 10 returners from last year’s team, fifth-year senior Talmadge LeCroy may have been the most important player USC retained this offseason, based on experience alone. Despite missing the final two months of last season due to a hip procedure and struggling with a .188 average during that time, LeCroy remains USC’s primary catcher for 2026.

LeCroy didn’t miss a beat in his return to Founders Park,. He went 3 for 4 in the first game with two RBIs. He drew two walks in the second game and had one of USC’s six runs scored.

“I told him, ‘I think you’re going to have the best year that you could imagine.’ I’ve seen it happen before. I’ve had fifth-year seniors because they lost a year because of injury, and there’s just something about that extra year when their maturity level is through the roof and their self-confidence is great. They’ve seen it just about everything,” Mainieri said. And I don’t think Talmadge’s day today was a fluke at all. I think he’s gonna have a great year.”

Clutch hitting (and not hitting)

In the bottom of the seventh, the Gamecocks found themselves down 2-1 with three hits over the last four innings. Luke Yuhasz opened up the frame with a single. Jake Randolph was hit by a pitch the following at-bat, and a groundout from Logan Sutter after an eight-pitch plate appearance put the runners in scoring position and brought up the top of USC’s order.

Bak stepped up the plate for USC and immediately cleared the bases, knocking a two-RBI single into right field for a 3-2 lead.

“Coming into the first game, I was a little nervous, but after my first (at-bat) I felt really confident in myself, especially with my teammates out there,” Bak said.

The next man up on the mound for USC was Parker Marlatt. He didn’t have as much success as his predecessors as he gave up a leadoff homer and two additional runs that gave the Norse a 5-3 lead.

But the Gamecocks loaded the bases without a hit in the bottom of the eighth, setting up Bak for another clutch two-RBI knock for a 5-5 tie.

Elijah Foster pitched a scoreless ninth inning for USC, which gave the Gamecocks a chance to get it done in their half of the ninth.

Scobey delivered with the walk-off homer and the victory.

“I was trying to end it,” Scobey said. “That’s just what I told myself. I was like, ‘If we get three outs right here, I’m gonna end it.’ “It was sick.”

South Carolina baseball vs. Northern Kentucky schedule, results

• Friday, Feb. 13 (game 1): USC 5, NKU 2
• Friday, Feb. 13 (game 2): USC 6, NKU 5
• Saturday, Feb. 14: vs. NKU, 2 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

This story was originally published February 13, 2026 at 8:28 PM.