South Carolina baseball fumbles midweek matchup against Queens. What we learned

With an important weekend series against undefeated Clemson on the horizon, the last thing South Carolina needed was a loss in an overlooked midweek matchup.

But even if USC looked past its Wednesday matchup with Queens (N.C.) just a little bit, how bad could it be? The Royals showed up to Founders Park ranked 265th out of 307 Division I programs, according to the Warren Nolan RPI. USC was No. 75.

The answer to that question, as it turned out, was pretty bad. The Gamecocks fell 9-8 to Queens, dropping to 6-3 on the year before the most important weekend series of non-conference play. Tyler Bak hit a two-run homer in the final inning to bring the game within one run, but USC couldn’t complete the rally.

Queens is in its fourth season as a Division I baseball program. The Royals’ win over USC marked their first win (ever) against a Power 4 program — they were 0-17 prior, including a 7-2 loss to the Gamecocks last season. USC has already dropped mid-major games against Northern Kentucky, Army and Queens in 2026 after not losing to any such programs at all last season.

“Credit to Queens. They came out smoking,” USC coach Paul Mainieri said. “I’ve seen this happen many, many times over four decades, where a team comes in and starts getting confident …things happen. We made a little run at the end but couldn’t come all the way back.”

Here are three key takeaways from the loss:

Early mishaps

USC got off to a sloppy start defensively and it proved costly. The Gamecocks allowed three runs on four hits in the second inning, giving Queens (4-4) an early 3-0 lead. USC also committed two critical errors in the inning.

“I certainly didn’t (overlook Queens). I can’t speak for our players,” Mainieri said. “As soon as you don’t respect an opponent, they’ll beat you in this game.”

The first error came from Bak. He made an offline throw to the plate after an RBI single, which allowed an additional Queens runner to score and Queens batter Logan Norris to advance to second. Norris eventually accounted for the third run of the inning.

Third baseman Dawson Harman later allowed extra bases after an offline throw to first base, but USC starting pitcher Connor Chicoli got the strikeout to end the inning without any more runs. USC finished with three errors.

Pitching struggles

It wasn’t the best night in general for USC’s midweek pitching staff. Chicoli was pulled after Queens’ 3-run second inning in favor of right-handed reliever Parker Marlatt. The junior ended up allowing a second consecutive multi-run inning on a three-run homer in the bottom of the third.

Marlatt was pulled mid at-bat for freshman lefty Patrick Dudley, who tossed a pair of strikeouts to escape the frame. Dudley loaded the bases without a hit in the fourth and allowed Queens to score on a sacrifice out — the run was scored as unearned for Dudley. Queens led 7-3 through four innings after a pair of USC runs in the bottom frame.

Dudley sat Queens 1-2-3 in the top of the fifth for the first scoreless frame from a USC pitcher since the opening inning.

Josh Gregoire took over for Dudley in the seventh and gave up a solo home run to make it an 8-3 lead for the Royals.

“They were just very, very aggressive,” Mainieri said. “I don’t know if it was our pitching or just great hitting by them, but they were on fire today.”

Queens, on the other hand, got a quality start from right-handed senior Adrian Quezada. He entered the game with five innings and six earned runs allowed so far this season. Quezada tossed a six-inning outing, allowing three runs while striking out four USC batters.

Dudley and Clemson transfer Hudson Lee were the only two USC pitchers to not allow an earned run.

Ready for the Tigers?

It’s a small sample size this early in the season, but all signs point to Clemson being a much bigger threat of the two in-state programs entering this weekend’s rivalry series.

The undefeated Tigers have the lowest ERA in the country at 1.35 and are top-15 with a .345 batting average. Two of their eight wins ended in a run-rule finish, meaning Clemson led by 10 or more runs after seven innings and forced the game to end early. The Tigers also swept Army on opening weekend while USC dropped a one-off against the Black Knights, 9-5, on Feb. 20.

USC lags Clemson with a 5.18 team ERA and .312 batting average.

The Gamecocks will need to play to a level they have yet to show this season if USC looks to stand a chance against its rival.

“You play 56 of them, so you try to teach them from the start that each day’s a new day, no matter what happened the day before,” Mainieri said. “We’re gonna have to play better, that’s for sure.”

South Carolina baseball upcoming schedule

• 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 25, 2026 at 10:31 PM.