South Carolina Loses Three Straight in Gainesville

Florida sweeps South Carolina in the opening SEC series of the year. Gamecocks baseball has yet to win a game in the last two years in game three's of SEC play.

Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan meets with South Carolina head coach Paul Mainieri before an NCAA baseball game at Condron Ballpark in Gainesville, FL on Friday, March 13, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun] | Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Gamecocks baseball returns home to Founders Park this week after getting swept at the hands of the Florida Gators. Sunday's loss brings up a harrowing stat for Carolina in the Mainieri era.

Games one and two of the series were close. Amp Phillips and Josh Gunther were great on the mound on Friday and Saturday. The two combined for 12.1 innings pitched only gave up five runs, eight strikeouts, six walks, and one run given up. Unfortunately the offense was not up to the task.

In game one of the series, only two Gamecock batters recorded a hit, Patrick Evans and Beau Hollins. The team combined for three hits on 31 at bats and struck out 11 times. In game two, the offense faltered even more. The team combined for just one hit on 33 at bats and struck out 15 times. Talmadge LeCroy was the lone Gamecock with a hit on Saturday. In two games, the team combined for four hits, no runs, and struck out 26 times.

In the series finale on Sunday, the offense picked up some, but the Gators were able to get a big lead and end the game early. On the mound, the team gave up 13 runs on 11 runs in six innings pitched. It was the most runs the team has given up all season. From the plate, things weren't much better. Carolina did manage seven hits on the day and scored three runs, but added eight more strikeouts.

0-13 in Game Three's

In the Paul Mainieri era, Carolina baseball is 0-13 in game three's both in SEC and Clemson matchups. As you can see in the tweet below, the team has struggled mightly in those games and it remains a struggle this season.

Gamecock Baseball is 0-12 under Paul Mainieri in Game 3s of series against the SEC/Clemson. They will try to snap that streak at Noon today in Gainesville, but the track record says there is little chance.

In those games, Carolina has been outscored.

Cumulatively: 109-40…

— JC Shurburtt (@jcshurburtt) March 15, 2026

The team is now 6-28 versus the SEC in that time span.

South Carolina Baseball under Paul Mainieri is now 7-34 against power conference competition, 6-28 vs the SEC.

The worst this program has been in my lifetime… I was born in late 1976.

This despite…

-A top 10 baseball operating budget nationally.
-A top half in the SEC (at…

— JC Shurburtt (@jcshurburtt) March 15, 2026

Carolina returns to Founders Park Tuesday afternoon for a chilly 4:00 pm (ET) start against Charlotte.