Flawless Diamonds: Heading into huge weekend, South Carolina baseball and South Carolina softball remain undefeated and setting records
2025 has been good to South Carolina on the diamond(s). Heading into a huge weekend series against the rival Clemson Tigers (baseball) and 2024-season-ending Duke Blue Devils (softball), Gamecock baseball and Gamecock softball are undefeated. Only the Oklahoma Sooners can make the same claim, though, Carolina has more total wins in each sport.
Making the strong starts even more impressive is the fact that both Paul Mainieri and Ashley Chastain Woodard are in their first year leading USC’s programs. Mainieri’s 9-0 start ties a South Carolina baseball record for the longest undefeated start by a first-year head coach. Chastain Woodard has broken an all-time South Carolina softball record for the best start to a season at 16-0. The Gamecocks lead the nation with 11 run-rule victories.
Keep up with all things Gamecocks for just $1 for 7 days—lock in this special offer today!
Simply put: this is a huge weekend for the Gamecocks on both diamonds.
For Mainieri’s baseball team, this weekend’s rivalry series will be the biggest games on the schedule (both for the fanbase and the team’s NCAA Tournament resume) until SEC play begins in mid-March. The Gamecocks haven’t played the toughest competition so far this season. The 13th-ranked Tigers will be the first real litmus test of the Mainieri era. A series win legitimizes USC and–likely–pushes them into the top-25 polls. A series loss would leave most questioning Carolina until they have further tests during the conference schedule. Last year, Erik Bakich’s team dispatched Mark Kingston’s Gamecocks 2-0 in a rain-shortened series.
On the other diamond, Chastain Woodard is leading her alma mater into a revenge series. The 2024 team had its season ended at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils in Durham in the NCAA Tournament. A return trip to the North Carolina research triangle will see the upstart Gamecocks play their first road games of the year. Duke, on the other hand, hadn’t played at home this season until Thursday. Marissa Young’s team is on a 10-game winning streak. If USC can pull off the series win, the Gamecocks will fly up the rankings and firmly place themselves in the early-season conversations for hosting an NCAA Tournament Regional.
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Pop Isaacs
Creighton guard commits to Houston
- 2
Final AP Poll
Basketball Top 25 released
- 3Hot
Way-Too-Early Top 25
Looking ahead to 2025-26 hoops
- 4
Nick Saban
Nominated for Emmy
- 5Trending
Hailey Van Lith
Stuns as SI Swimsuit cover model
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
Get USC Gamecocks app notifications
Unfortunately for South Carolina fans interested in watching both teams, Friday and Saturday’s games will overlap. USC baseball will be in Clemson for a 5:00 p.m. first pitch, while softball plays at 6:00 p.m. Both Friday evening games will be available via streaming on ACC Network Extra on the ESPN app. On Saturday, baseball begins at 1:30 p.m. in Greenville, while softball is set for a 1:00 p.m. start. Softball will, once again, be streamed on ACC Network Extra. Baseball will stream on SEC Network+. Adding to the craziness, the men’s basketball team will take on Arkansas at 1:00 p.m. in Colonial Life Arena and on SEC Network.
Sunday, though, could be a great viewing afternoon for the Gamecock faithful. Softball’s first pitch at Duke is at Noon and will stream on ACC Network Extra. Then, at 2:00 p.m. women’s basketball will play at Colonial Life Arena and on ESPN. At 5:00 p.m. at Founders Park (and on SEC Network+), the baseball team will look to take the series finale from Clemson.
