South Carolina baseball drops 3rd straight SEC series, this one vs. Georgia

South Carolina baseball was on the verge of a feat it had yet to achieve this season.

Entering Saturday’s contest against No. 7 Georgia, USC had started 1-6 in conference play, including losses in each opening game of its three SEC series. The only conference victory the Gamecocks had under their belts was a Sunday win over Arkansas on March 22. But with a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning of Saturday’s contest, it looked like that was about to change.

USC had the Bulldogs teetering for what would have been its first win in the second game of an SEC series this season, which would have then set up a chance at the first SEC series victory of the season on Sunday.

Ultimately, the Gamecocks couldn’t pull ahead, USC’s pitchers couldn’t hold the Bulldogs down long enough and any progress or new achievements would have to wait until at least next weekend as Georgia defeated USC 3-1 on Saturday.

“We’ve got to get it going. I think that’s as simple as I can put it,” USC interim coach Monte Lee said. “Got off to a great start today, but just could not continue to build any sort of momentum or make the adjustments that we needed to make throughout the game, later in the game, to be able to support our pitching staff and score some runs for them.”

Bulldogs go to bullpen early

After USC (13-15, 1-7 SEC) was held to two runs through 6.2 innings against Georgia’s (22-6, 6-2 SEC) Friday starting pitcher, Joey Volchko, the weekend of solid pitching looked like it was just getting started for the Bulldogs.

Junior right-hander Dylan Vigue took the mound for UGA on Saturday. He entered the game with a team-best 2.30 ERA among qualified pitchers. He’s tossed 34 strikeouts this season while giving up nine walks.

The Gamecocks got after Vigue on Saturday without having to swing their bats. UGA’s righty gave up four walks, loaded the bases and walked in a run in the first inning. He was pulled from the game as USC led 1-0 with only one out in the first inning.

“Obviously, we felt like that was a win. Early in the ball game, we got off to such a great start. We were very disciplined with our at bats there in the beginning of the game and ran the starter out in the first,” Lee said. “But then, you’ve got to give them credit, they pitched really well after that.”

UGA seemed to make the right pick, though, by replacing Vigue with sophomore Paul Farley. The right-handed reliever tossed 4.2 shutout innings with four strikeouts against the Gamecocks and kept the game tied at 1-1 heading into the sixth inning.

Amp Phillips battles through hiccups

Through the entire 2026 season so far, junior right-hander Amp Phillips has been USC’s best pitcher.

The USC Upstate transfer’s 2.32 ERA is the best among the Gamecocks’ qualified pitchers. He’s had an impressive start to conference play, tossing 13 innings and allowing only one run in his first two SEC starts. His outing on Saturday was far from perfect, but Phillips stuck through and turned it into a six-inning, three-run performance.

Unfortunately for Phillips, those three runs came on two bad pitches. Phillips gave up a leadoff home run to Henry Allen in the second inning after he left a pitch right in Allen’s bat path. The solo homer tied the game up at 1-1.

“Just a couple sliders I left up in the zone, and they took advantage,” Phillips said.

Phillips tossed 3.2 scoreless innings after the initial run. In the bottom of the sixth, UGA reached on a ground ball that looked like a fielding error but was ruled a single. Phillips then left another pitch hanging, and UGA outfielder Rylan Lujo sent it over the left-field wall for a 3-1 Georgia lead.

“Amp gives you a chance to win. That’s all you can ask for out of your starting pitchers. Just give us a chance to win. Pound of strike zone. Give us a chance to win,” Lee said. “He’s arguably our best starter. ... I don’t fault Amp whatsoever. He’s trying to throw strikes over the plate. And sometimes good hitters, when he throws them a strike, they hit it. So I don’t hold that against him at all.”

Bats remain cold

USC still had a shot at the victory late despite its sixth-inning slip-up. It just needed something, anything out of its bats. It had been a rough stretch for the Gamecocks at the plate, with three runs scored in its last two games — two in Friday’s contest against UGA and one against North Carolina on March 24.

Saturday would not be USC’s day for an offensive breakthrough. Despite drawing seven walks, the Gamecocks recorded only two hits and stranded eight runners on base, including two separate innings with runners in scoring position. USC has left 21 runners on base so far this weekend.

“The kids are going to be frustrated, for sure. They want to have success. They want to score runs. I’m sure that they’re disappointed and and frustrated some, but ultimately, we’ve just got to keep building. We’ve got to keep trying to find ways to improve,” Lee said.

South Carolina baseball upcoming schedule

• Sunday: at Georgia 1 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
• Tuesday, March 31: vs. Wofford, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
• Thursday, April 2: vs. Texas, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
• Friday, April 3: vs. Texas, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
• Saturday: April 4: vs. Texas, 2 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)

This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 5:08 PM.