Alabama sweeps Gamecocks. Slumping South Carolina’s skid reaches 8 games in a row
SEC home finales at Founders Park are supposed to feature packed, raucous environments and games that are brimming with conference tournament implications. That’s not been the case for two seasons in a row.
No. 19 Alabama defeated South Carolina 7-6 on Sunday in front of a slim Mother’s Day crowd that had a few moments worth cheering about. It was the fifth time USC was on the wrong end of a series sweep this season, with four of them coming under interim coach Monte Lee.
South Carolina’s eight-game losing streak is the program’s first of that length since 1961 — or 65 years ago under coach Joe Grugan.
The current skid and down season make it tough, Lee said, to motivate college players when “their whole identity is based on this thing.”
“You just do the very best you can to keep them upbeat,” Lee said. “Try your best to point out the positives. Being super hard on them and negative and those kind of things at this point to season? Look, you’ll lose your team if you do that. ... The biggest thing is, as a coach, just don’t freaking quit on them.”
The Gamecocks (22-30, 7-20 SEC) still have a road series against Vanderbilt to wrap up the regular season. USC is trending toward the 15th seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament.
South Carolina scored four runs in the eighth Sunday and one more in the ninth but couldn’t complete the comeback. Shortstop KJ Scobey had two hits and drove in two runs with a home run, his ninth of the season. USC starting pitcher Alex Valentin (1-4) allowed four earned runs, six hits and struck out one in 4.2 innings of work.
South Carolina’s slump
The Gamecocks were 12-11 overall (0-4 SEC) when USC parted ways with coach Paul Mainieri on March 21. They’ve gone 10-19 (7-16) under Lee.
The season peaked a month ago with a series sweep over Missouri, but the Gamecocks haven’t won a game since an April 25, a series-clinching victory over Kentucky.
USC has been out-scored 57-24 runs across its current eight-game losing skid, and that’s with 15 runs scored against the Crimson Tide this weekend.
“Some of the things that were positive about the weekend is, I felt like we had better at-bats the last two days, which was good to see. The biggest concern is, we just haven’t pitched well,” Lee said. “... When you’re always playing from behind, and your offense isn’t a power-laden type of lineup to where you get down four or five runs and you can hit a three-run home run and get you back in the game quick, it makes it very, very tough.”
The Gamecocks’ last time losing eight or more in a row came with a 15-game losing streak that closed out the 1961 season, back when teams didn’t play quite as often as they do in the modern era. USC finished 3-15 that year and lost the first three games to begin 1962.
SEC Tournament look ahead
The Gamecocks are again slumping as the postseason nears. In 2025, the first and only full season under Mainieri, USC lost 11 of its final 13 SEC games.
Entering Sunday, South Carolina was two games ahead of Missouri and two games behind LSU in the conference standings.
Missouri wraps up on the road this coming week against a top five Texas team. LSU hosts Florida in the final weekend.
The SEC Tournament begins May 19 in Hoover, Alabama. If the standings hold, USC would be the 15th seed and play an afternoon game May 19 against 10-seed Tennessee.
Winning the SEC Tournament is the Gamecocks’ only hope for an NCAA Tournament appearance.
“Quite frankly, it just takes momentum,” Lee said. “It just takes momentum in game one. Play a good game in game one and all of a sudden you start believing in yourself again. You’re in a different setting, you’re in a different environment, and it’s a different season. At that point you’re into postseason and you’re playing for something.”
Upcoming South Carolina baseball schedule
- Tuesday: vs. Winthrop, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Thursday: at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Friday: at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Saturday: at Vanderbilt, 2 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- May 19: SEC Tournament game vs. Team TBD
This story was originally published May 10, 2026 at 4:40 PM.
