South Carolina pitcher Amp Phillips (13) pitches during the second game of South Carolina’s doubleheader against Northern Kentucky in Columbia on Friday, February 13, 2026.
Sam Wolfe
Special To The State
GAINESVILLE, FL.
Twenty-four hours after being walked off by No. 23 Florida in a 1-0 loss to open SEC play, South Carolina baseball returned to Condron Ballpark on Saturday in a tricky situation.
The night before, the Gamecocks had thrown their best starter (Josh Gunther) and their best relievers (Alex Valentin and Brandon Stone) to hold UF without a hit until the last out of the ninth inning. It wasn’t enough as the Gamecocks were shut out and fell in extras Friday when the Gators scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly.
Now, on Saturday, USC would have to tie the series with a depleted pitching staff and a sluggish offense.
For the Gamecocks to even up the series on Saturday and force a Sunday tiebreaker, three things had to happen: 1. Starting pitcher Amp Phillips needed to go at least six innings to preserve what was left of USC’s arms. 2. Florida needed to have another slow day at the plate itself. 3. The Gamecocks had to wake up on offense.
Check, check … and no dice. USC was held to just three hits Saturday and fell to the Gators 3-0, setting up a possible sweep in the series finale Sunday.
“I don’t think it’s often you see two games in a row where neither team has an RBI hit,” USC coach Paul Mainieri said. “Obviously we haven’t had one, got shut out two days in a row. They have a high caliber pitching staff. Winds blowing in. It’s not conducive to getting a lot of hits. … “We just got to keep battling and hopefully get some hits and runs tomorrow.”
More stingy pitching
The night after USC (12-8, 0-2 SEC) was shut out for 10 innings and Florida (17-3, 2-0 SEC) was no-hit until the final out of the ninth, Florida pitcher Aidan King and Phillips came out and gave some solid follow-up performances.
Both pitchers didn’t allow an earned run in their six-inning starts. King, who hasn’t recorded an earned run all season, tossed a career-high nine strikeouts against the Gamecocks. But the key word here is earned runs. Florida was able to bring a runner home in the fourth inning when Patrick Evans dropped a fly ball that would’ve been the third out.
“That’s the plan every game, try to go as deep as you can,” Phllips said. “Just confidence in myself and believing in this team. I believe in this team. I think we’re gonna figure it out.”
Evans made a similar error in USC’s 8-3 loss to The Citadel on March 10.
USC’s lack of offense this weekend has overshadowed admirable efforts from the Gamecock pitching staff. The Gamecocks have four hits so far this weekend and still haven’t scored a run. They recorded double-digit strikeouts in both games this series.
Bullpen troubles
Phillips was pulled ahead of the seventh inning after throwing 98 pitches. Left-handed pitcher Hudson Lee got the first nod for relief, and immediately gave up a walk. He was pulled for righty Zach Russell, who didn’t fare much better.
Russell walked another batter, hit UF catcher Karson Bowen in the head and gave up a pair of runs on two sacrifice fly outs, giving the Gators a 3-0 lead without any hits in the inning.
No rally
The game was well within reach in the final two innings, but the Gamecocks’ bats never got going.
Beau Hollins was the only USC player to record a hit Saturday, finishing 2 for 3 with a single and a double. USC struggled to get timed up with Florida’s high-velocity bullpen, which features multiple pitchers who sit in the high 90s and touch 100 miles per hour with their fastballs.
“It’s definitely not a lack of effort. We’re preparing the right way, we work as hard as anybody. I think we just got to go out there and keep competing,” Hollins said. “We can’t look in the past. We got to keep working hard and getting on time for our pitch.”
Hollins’ double in the eighth inning, USC’s lone extra-base hit in the series, was for naught as Gators reliever Jackson Barberi forced the last two outs to strand Hollins at second. USC couldn’t get any runs across in the ninth, making it 19 shutout innings to start the series.
“We’re just not hitting against really good pitching. So hopefully tomorrow will be better. We tried everything. Believe me, we’re trying to get them going,” Mainieri said. “Sometimes it’s your hitters, sometimes it’s their pitchers. Sometimes they make great plays. And you just got to keep believing in your kids, and let them keep going up there and competing hard, and hopefully they’ll start to fall for us.”
South Carolina baseball scheduleSunday: at Florida, 1 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)Tuesday, March 17: vs. Charlotte, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)Friday, March 20: vs. Arkansas, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)Saturday, March 21: vs. Arkansas, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)Sunday, March 22: vs. Arkansas, 1:30 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published March 14, 2026 at 9:51 PM.