South Carolina baseball drops weekend opener to Army. Three things we learned
South Carolina baseball hosted Army to kick off its Salute to Service weekend, and the Gamecocks stopped short of nothing to show their appreciation.
A military-style band played the national anthem. USC paused the game to shake its opponents’ hands after the second inning. And perhaps the biggest show of appreciation: The Gamecocks handed the Black Knights their first win of the 2026 season, a 9-5 score at Founders Park.
“They played with a lot of heart and a lot of desire, a lot of aggressiveness, and just really outplayed us all day today,” USC coach Paul Mainieri said. “So when you think of them someday becoming officers and leading our country, it gives you a warm feeling to know that those are the kind of people that’re going to be out there helping us. I give a lot of credit to the way they played today.”
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Riley Goodman’s slow start carries over
For the second weekend in a row, USC starting pitcher Riley Goodman didn’t make it out of the fourth inning.
Goodman made his college debut for the Gamecocks (4-2) on Opening Day and pitched 3.2 scoreless innings, striking out five and allowing four hits and two walks.
The redshirt freshman made it just as deep into the game in his second career start, but the performance itself wasn’t as promising. Goodman walked four batters in the game and hit another for a free base. He allowed a runner to score on a wild pitch in the third inning and let up another run on an RBI single.
“That’s just unlike Riley. He doesn’t have Greg Maddux control, nobody does, but his control was really off today,” Mainieri said. “We’ll just have to sit down with him, and (pitching coach Terry Rooney) will get together with him and see if maybe there’s something in the preparation for the game that maybe needs to be tweaked a little bit.”
Goodman was pulled for Wake Forest transfer Josh Gunther in the fourth inning after walking his fourth batter and allowing him to reach second on a fielder’s choice. Gunther let up a 2-RBI home run before getting out of the inning. One of the runs was charged to Goodman.
USC’s pitching staff gave up seven walks in the game.
“I think I got a little too amped up, to be honest. I was excited to pitch today. I’m always excited to throw, and I honestly felt the best I have since I’ve gotten here,” Gunther said. “I was just missing pitches ... not the best day of control with my stuff, but it’s little tweaks, and I hope I can get it fixed and dialed in for our next series, or next outing, whatever it is.”
Logan Sutter warming up
Logan Sutter, one of the more hyped of USC’s 24 transfer signees this offseason, hasn’t quite lived up to expectations since arriving in Columbia. He hit .367 with 15 home runs and 62 RBIs last season at Purdue but hasn’t shown that power hitting ability since joining the Gamecocks. Mainieri said he didn’t see Sutter hit for extra bases all fall and preseason.
Sutter had a mini breakthrough Wednesday night against Gardner-Webb. He hit a two-run home run to end the game on a 12-2, run-rule victory.
“I’m happy for him. I’m sure that took a load off him to hit a ball like that,” Mainieri said after Wednesday’s win. “I knew he was capable of it.”
Sutter kept the momentum going against Army, hitting an RBI double in the fifth inning to give USC its first run of the game and reduce the Black Knights’ lead to 4-1.
Late defensive collapse prevents rally
After giving up a run in the fourth inning, Gunther was able to hold Army scoreless through the next two frames and gave USC a chance to pull within three runs with Sutter’s RBI double.
The Black Knights (1-3) wouldn’t go as quietly through the seventh inning. Gunther gave up an RBI double and allowed another runner to reach base on a single. Then, the first pitch after a brief mound visit, Gunther gave up a 3-RBI home run which all but sealed the game for Army.
Louisiana-Monroe transfer Josh Gregoire took over for Gunther on the mound in the eighth inning and let up a leadoff solo homer to make it 9-1.
USC’s offense mustered three runs — with two coming from bases-loaded walks — in the bottom eighth as a response, and added another run on a Talmadge LeCroy solo homer in the ninth, but the late rally wasn’t enough to complete the comeback.
“We just didn’t pitch up to our capabilities, and we weren’t the aggressor at the plate, and didn’t get the bat on the ball the way we needed to, and consequently they, they just outperformed us today,” Mainieri said. “We’ve got to come out tomorrow with a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of determination, be more aggressive, and hopefully we’ll play more up to our capabilities tomorrow.”
South Carolina baseball weekend series schedule
- Friday, Feb. 20: Army 9, USC 5
- Saturday, Feb. 21: vs. Navy, 1 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Sunday, Feb. 22: vs. Air Force, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 5:17 PM.
