South Carolina finishes regular season with even overall record after 2nd-straight loss to No 1. LSU

South Carolina has encountered plenty of low points throughout the 2025 season. A sweep at the hands of in-state rivals Clemson, nightmarish road trips to College Station and Auburn (among other places) and injuries to key players have characterized an overall down year for the program.

The Gamecocks’ series against top-ranked LSU would not provide an opportunity to right past wrongs, but it could, at least, end the regular season on a high note. Saturday’s rubber match against the Tigers put South Carolina in position to do so in the form of a series win over the No. 1 team in the country.

But that’s not how things ultimately played out. The Gamecocks picked up an early lead but could not hold on as LSU went on to win 7-3.

South Carolina put itself on the verge of setting another program record in the process. Should the Gamecocks lose at any point in the postseason, their 29th defeat will mark the most such results they’ve suffered in a single season.

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“We had a good win against the No. 1 team in the country two days ago and would’ve liked to have won a series. [We] competed hard today, and, for the most part, it was a close game. It’s just hard to win games in the SEC if you score four runs in two games,” Paul Mainieri said.

“I knew we were facing two really tough starting pitchers [the last two days]. They were going to be a challenge, and they turned out to be. They just pitched well enough to hold us down, and we couldn’t quite pitch well enough to hold them down. That’s the story of the [last] two games.”

The Gamecocks (28-28, 6-24 SEC) kickstarted the game’s scoring in the second inning. With two runners on and two outs, KJ Scobey continued his blistering hot play at the plate with an RBI double deep into left field.

Scobey’s double was his sixth hit in four games this week. Against Winthrop and LSU (42-13, 19-11 SEC), he finished the weekend 6-for-14 with two home runs, two doubles and four RBI.

Meanwhile, Dylan Eskew delivered a strong performance on the mound on his first trip through the lineup. Eskew allowed a single to Derek Curiel to lead off the game, but from that point onward retired the Tigers’ batters in order – except for a Michael Braswell hit by pitch. Curiel’s hit proved to be the only one he allowed over the first three innings of the game.

But things started to slightly unravel in the top of the fourth. Jared Jones, who launched two home runs in the Gamecocks’ 8-1 loss on Friday, sent another ball over the left-field fence to tie the game at one. LSU eventually had another runner reach third base, but Eskew got two batters to strike out and Braswell to pop out to the infield and end the frame.

The Gamecocks’ provided an immediate response in the form of a solo home run by Beau Hollins one half-inning later. Hollins’ effort, his sixth of the season, gave South Carolina a 2-1 advantage.

That still didn’t keep things from unraveling even further in the fifth. The Tigers loaded the bases with no outs after Chris Stanfield earned a walk and both Cade Arrambide and Curiel hit singles. Jones drove in another run despite grounding into a double play, but the threat remained with Stanfield on third base.

And that threat quickly turned into more damage. Daniel Dickinson, LSU’s next hitter, proceeded to blast a two-run home run to left field, giving the visitors the lead.

The Tigers further built on their newly-established lead in the game’s later innings. LSU’s third home run of the afternoon, this time hit by Jake Brown, put it ahead by five in the seventh. In the eighth, Curiel drove Stanfield home on an RBI single to make the Tigers’ lead six runs.

South Carolina’s strongest comeback attempt came in the eighth inning. Henry Kaczmar provided the Gamecocks’ offense with a sign of life, blistering a 2-0 pitch deep into right-center field for a home run.

Kaczmar’s solo shot served as merely a consolation run, as LSU ended the game with a four-run advantage.

Up next

With Saturday marking the end of the regular season, South Carolina will return to action in the SEC Tournament. The Gamecocks locked in the No. 15 seed this past Thursday and will face the No. 10 seed Florida on Tuesday.

The game will start at 5:30 p.m. and be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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