Offensive outburst leads South Carolina baseball to narrow win over Kentucky
Less than a week after South Carolina’s offense was misfiring to a level where it was fair to question everything coach Monte Lee was doing, the Gamecocks’ bats won them an SEC game.
The Gamecocks (21-22, 6-13 SEC) opened their weekend series against Kentucky with a 10-7 victory — South Carolina’s first conference win since being swept by Mississippi State last week. With the victory, USC matches its SEC win total from last season (six) with 11 regular-season conference games still on the schedule.
“Man, what a baseball game,” said Lee, USC’s interim head coach. “From the first inning all the way through the ninth, that’s about as competitive a baseball game as you can watch.”
South Carolina’s 10 runs on Friday were the most scored against a conference foe all season … and the most in an SEC victory since USC plated 11 against Oklahoma on March 15, 2025.
This was as much of an offensive barrage as the Gamecocks have shown all season, especially in conference play. South Carolina managed nine hits and, well, finally scored runs. It finally limited strikeouts (six), came up with clutch hits and took advantage of its opponent’s mistakes (Kentucky had three errors).
The first inning was a perfect example.
South Carolina’s first three batters all singled, which in and of itself was a change from last week. But then red-hot Ethan Lizama, who homered twice last week, made Kentucky pay, belting a 369-foot grand slam over the right-field fence.
“From there, everybody feels like they can hit,” Lee said. “That’s really what happens in this game. One guy gives the next guy confidence, (who) gives the next guy confidence and then, all of a sudden, you’re stringing together a bunch of really good at-bats.”
Even when the command of Gamecocks’ starter Amp Phillips waned and Kentucky (26-14, 8-11 SEC) tied the game, South Carolina again answered the call. KJ Scobey broke the tie in the fifth, blasting a no-doubt two-run home run.
As for the insurance — well, Progressive and Geico might want to call Dawson Harmon. He added a bonus run in the fifth, a solo shot that hit the railing just over the right-field fence. Two innings later, he belted another solo dinger, an opposite-field shot to left.
It was just the third time this season that South Carolina homered four times against an SEC opponent. And, boy, did the Gamecocks need all of them.
South Carolina’s receivers gave up three runs in the final two innings and, on two separate occasions in the ninth inning, Kentucky had the bases loaded with a chance to win the game. But credit to reliever Parker Marlatt, who got the job done and preserved the victory.
“I’ve got all the confidence in the world there,” Marlatt said. “(Lee) wants me on the mound and wants to win us this game and that’s what I’m gonna do. And that’s what I did.”
On a night when the Gamecocks got little from their pitching and committed a pair of errors, the SEC’s worst offense — South Carolina had a .247 batting average entering Friday and a .202 average against SEC pitching — came through.
“Our pitching staff has carried us for a majority of this season,” Lee said, “and we haven’t been able to support our pitching staff with runs. And we did that tonight.”
All of a sudden, this weekend becomes vital for South Carolina.
The Gamecocks can get back to .500 with a victory Saturday and still have a chance to sweep two of their last three SEC opponents. A spot in the NCAA Tournament would still be an uphill battle, but at this point, Friday was a needed reprieve.
South Carolina baseball’s upcoming schedule
- Saturday, April 25 at 1 p.m. vs. Kentucky (SEC Network+)
- Sunday, April 26 at 3 p.m. vs. Kentucky (SEC Network)
- Tuesday, April 28 at 6:30 p.m. vs. The Citadel (SEC Network+)
This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 10:26 PM.
