USC wraps up Salute to Service Weekend with win over Air Force

On opening weekend, the Gamecocks began with a 2-0 series start before running out of gas and dropping the finale against Northern Kentucky.

The following weekend was the opposite.

After falling short against the then-winless Army Black Knights on Friday, USC finished the weekend undefeated, closing out with a win against Navy on Saturday and holding off Air Force for a 4-2 victory on Sunday evening.

“They had really good relievers, and we had really good relievers, and the conditions were really difficult to hit in, so there wasn’t much scoring after his first couple innings,” USC coach Paul Mainieri said. “I just thought our bullpen just did a tremendous job, and we did just enough to win. It was a gritty, hard fought win for us.”

Here are three key takeaways from the weekend finale:

Starting rotation finishes weekend strong

After a so-so performance on the mound from Riley Goodman on Friday, when he gave up four walks and two runs — the first scoring after a wild pitch — USC’s weekend rotation finished strong.

It started with USC Upstate transfer Amp Phillips on Saturday vs. Navy. He tossed six shutout innings and allowed just one hit against the Midshipmen. The Gamecocks (6-2) ended up holding Navy scoreless in the 8-0 victory.

On Sunday, it was Brandon Stone’s turn. The only USC weekend starter to have pitched for the Gamecocks before 2026, Stone went the fewest innings of the weekend starters but had a promising outing. He pitched three innings and struck out five batters against Air Force (2-5).

Stone got into a little trouble in the first inning after loading the bases and hitting a batter to score a run, but he didn’t flinch and ended the inning with his third strikeout of the day.

With USC’s first real test of the season coming up against Clemson next weekend, there’s an argument to be made for the Gamecocks shifting around their starting rotation .

“There’ll be more talented teams on our schedule, for sure, but nobody will ever play harder or compete harder than these kids do, so that that’s good for our team to kind of have to battle for it. ... I thought there were a lot of good things. I’m not concerned that we didn’t get a ton of runs and a ton of hits tonight, because I really do believe that their relief pitching was really good,” Mainieri said. “It made it a little more challenging for us, so I think we grew. We’ll see how much by you know, the end of next weekend.”

Will Craddock continues breakout start

After not making his USC debut until the midweek matchup against Gardner-Webb on Feb. 18, Will Craddock has made it near-impossible to take him out of the lineup. A product of T.L. Hanna in Anderson, Craddock was a two-time All-State selection and the No. 2-ranked shortstop in the state for the Class of 2025.

Craddock went 3-for-3 against the Bulldogs, earning him a start in all three games this weekend. He went 3-for-8 in the first two games with five RBI, including a leadoff home run against Navy.

“It’s nothing we didn’t see, maybe we didn’t see him coming this early,” USC fifth-year catcher Talmadge LeCroy said. “But he just really has a great mindset every day. Shows up to the ballpark. He’s always smiling, and he works very hard. He’s a very physical kid, and he’s gonna have a great career. He’s really off to a good start right now.”

On Sunday, he did it again. Craddock sent the first pitch he saw over the left field wall with help from the 16 mph winds blowing into the outfield. He finished the day 2-for-4 with one RBI.

“He crushed that. On a normal day, it would have been way out of the park to right field. He’s got power the other way, but the wind was so hard cutting across, it wasn’t really helping balls even to right field, it was hurting balls,” Mainieri said. “The kid looked like he was camped under it, I was like, ‘I can’t believe that’s not going out of here.’”

Zach Russell taking shape as reliable reliever

Of USC’s 24 transfers, 12 are pitchers, and 11 are currently earning their keep out of the bullpen.

With all the newcomers, Gamecock fans may be surprised to see a familiar face emerging as one of USC’s most reliable relievers so far this season.

Zach Russell, a sophomore right-hander out of Charleston, didn’t exactly break out as a freshman Gamecock. He pitched in 16.2 innings, striking out 17 batters and walking 12 on the way to a 5.40 season ERA. Fast-forward one year, and Russell is shutting things down out of the bullpen to start 2026, allowing zero runs in 3.1 innings pitched entering Sunday’s game.

“Last year, he pitched in about 20 games, not because he deserved to or because he was ready to do well, but we put him in the games a lot just to get him experience of pitching in games,” Mainieri said. “He throws a lot of strikes, and now he’s learning when not to throw strikes. A lot of times last year, he was just happy to throw the ball over the plate, but he would get hit. Now, he knows when to deviate away from the middle of the plate too. I think the kid’s got a bright future. He’s just getting better and better and better.”

He entered the game against Air Force in the fifth inning with two runners on base and one out. Russell loaded the bases with a single before getting the final two outs to escape the jam.

Russell finished his 1.2-inning appearance without letting in a run or a walk, allowing just one hit and striking out two batters. He was given the win for the game. His fastball sat in the low 90s and touched 94 mph .

He said getting ahead in counts and a new cutter has helped him succeed in the early season.

“Just attacking the zone, getting ahead. It’s a problem I kind of had last year, walks, not getting ahead,” Russell said. “And I’ve been throwing a new cutter that’s been working pretty good.”

Texas State transfer Alex Valentin came in for Russell in the seventh inning and finished the game scoreless for the save.

South Carolina baseball upcoming schedule

• Wednesday: vs. Queens, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
• Friday, Feb. 27: vs. Clemson, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
• Saturday, Feb. 28 vs. Clemson (Segra Park), 3 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
• Sunday, March 1: at Clemson, 3 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)

This story was originally published February 22, 2026 at 7:06 PM.