South Carolina snaps out of losing skid, beats No. 4 Arkansas in SEC series finale

The past 45 or so hours for the South Carolina baseball team were called a “whirlwind” by many inside and outside the program.

If Sunday afternoon was any indication of things to come, a little bit of normalcy returned.

The Gamecocks avoided the worst start to SEC play in school history by knocking off No. 4 Arkansas 9-4 at Founders Park to give Monte Lee his first victory as the South Carolina interim head coach.

It salvages the final game of the weekend series and gives South Carolina (13-12, 1-5 SEC) its first conference win of the season. They avoided going 0-6, which would have been the worst start in conference play in school history. They also started 0-5 last season and finished the SEC slate with a 6-24 record.

“After the game, we went into the locker room and just celebrated, celebrated something good,” Lee said. “I think that’s the thing that is so much fun that I will never forget. They gave me a game ball and dugout chart. There hasn’t been a lot to celebrate this year.”

The Gamecocks started the weekend off losing 22-6 to Arkansas on Friday in the series opener. That led to Paul Mainieri and the athletic department to parting ways just 23 games into his second season on Saturday morning.

Lee was named the interim coach before the Gamecocks lost 3-2 in 10 innings Saturday. They were one out away from victory in the ninth, but an error extended the game.

“(Saturday) was a lot to take in from the beginning to the end,” Lee said. “I’m just proud of how resilient our guys were today with tremendous attitudes and positivity and energy.”

Jake Randolph hit two of the four Gamecock home runs Sunday. Talmadge LeCroy and Tyler Bak hit the other two as South Carolina pounded out 12 hits. Randolph and Bak led the offensive attack with three hits each. Seven of the eight starters had at least one hit and eight of the nine reached base.

The win, the team’s first since March 8, snapped a seven-game losing streak. Arkansas dropped to 18-7 overall (4-2 SEC).

Gamecocks find third weekend starter?

The last few weekends, South Carolina has had TBD listed as the Sunday starter, but Brandon Stone made a solid effort to get back into the weekend rotation.

Stone was in the rotation to begin the season when he started against Northern Kentucky and Air Force. But his next five appearances came in relief. He responded Sunday by allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks in 5.1 innings. He now has a 2.39 ERA on the season.

In fact, he went to Lee on Saturday night and told him he wanted the ball to start Sunday

.“Billy Anderson, our strength coach, said Brandon Stone wants to meet with you,” Lee said. “He said, ‘Give me the ball, I want to start.’ I love a player like Brandon taking the initiative and telling me that he wants the baseball.”

He pitched out of jams in the second and fourth innings with the Razorbacks having runners in scoring position. Stone allowed a solo home run in the fifth inning and then a run-scoring double in the sixth. Logan Prisco came in and got out of the two-on, one out jam with a strike out and pop up to second base.

Juggling back and forth between being a starter and coming out of the bullpen is nothing new for Stone, the junior right-hander. In 23 career appearances with the Gamecocks, Stone has made 11 starts.

Jake Randolph, home run hitter

Randolph has played in 111 games in his college career and hit six career home runs. Five of those home runs came during his first stop in his career at Presbyterian. In his first 12 at-bats in a Gamecocks uniform, he collected three home runs, including the two he hit Sunday.

Randolph walked in his first at bat against the Razorbacks, then saw two pitches on his next two at-bats.

He led off the fourth inning by hitting the first pitch he saw into the South Carolina bullpen. Logan Sutter walked to lead off the sixth and Randolph again deposited the first offering into the Gamecocks bullpen for a two-run shot. Randolph added a single in the seventh for a three-hit day.

“The approach today was don’t miss the fastball,” Randolph said. “I feel like it showed. But I think you have to give props to our entire lineup.”

Different demeanor and attitude

It’s only been two games since Mainieri departed South Carolina, but there already seems to be a different aura and vibe around the team. They seem more engaged in the dugout and are celebrating even the small wins.

The postgame chatter is different as well. Mainieri often said the players are doing the best they can, but that didn’t always seem to be the case. Failures and mistakes seemed to take the life out of the team, and body language concerns were noticeable.

That is not going to be tolerated the remainder of this season

.“It’s absolutely a non-negotiable for me that they have to come out here every day and love every minute of it and compete with joy. No fear of failure and no pressure whatsoever,” Lee said. “They cannot show frustration, no negativity. I will not allow it. They have to come out here and have fun competing together for nine innings.”

Stone said he noticed a difference Sunday as well.

“The energy in the dugout is really helping,” he said. “The energy is a big step up.”

South Carolina baseball schedule: Next games

• Tuesday: vs. North Carolina (Charlotte, NC), 6:30 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
• Friday: at Georgia, 6 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
• Saturday: at Georgia, 2 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
• Sunday: at Georgia, 1 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

This story was originally published March 22, 2026 at 4:33 PM.