South Carolina offense searching for answers after rough weekend: 'You are who you are'

Some things look different for South Carolina this season. For starters, there’s a new coach and many new faces on the team. Yet, some things remain unchanged, like the offensive struggles of years past.

The Gamecocks were a mediocre offense at best in 2024. They struck out a lot and grounded into the second-most double plays of any SEC team, but they hit over 100 home runs. That only led them to provide inconsistent run support for their pitching staff.

Now, in 2025, the same thing is happening. For as much change as there was after last season, the lingering effects of all that went wrong are still prevalent. That’s especially true after South Carolina was swept by Clemson in a three-game series where the offense only drove in six runs.

“You are who you are,” head coach Paul Mainieri said. “I mean, the guys are trying the best that they can. But guys are struggling.”

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South Carolina only had a pulse for brief moments throughout the weekend. In Friday’s 5-3 loss, the Gamecocks tacked on three runs in the third inning off Clemson starter Aidan Knaak but were shut down the rest of the way. They never looked the same after that and only scored three more runs in the next two games.

South Carolina struck out 36 times and walked nine times. It went 4-for-33 with runners on, 2-for-22 with runners in scoring position, and 4-for-28 with two outs.

While there weren’t any standout performances, Ethan Petry and Nathan Hall provided the only real spark throughout the series. They were a combined 7-for-22 (.318) in their at-bats. The rest of the team finished 8-for-72 (.111).

“I don’t mean to single players out, but guys that had really good falls and even good preseasons have struggled thus far during the spring,” Mainieri said. “Hitting a baseball is the most difficult thing to do in sports. We all know that. All we can do is just keep working hard with them and encouraging them.”

Through 12 games this season, the Gamecocks have hit .267 with 13 homers, 19 doubles, 94 strikeouts, and 55 walks. The power numbers haven’t been there, as Petry hit their only home run of the series on Saturday.

Most of the blame has fallen on hitting coach Monte Lee, the only assistant retained from the previous staff. In his first two years, South Carolina was an upper-half offense in getting on base and scoring runs. But it has been the second-worst in both categories in the SEC so far this year.

Even though it hasn’t been an ideal start, Mainieri still has full confidence in Lee.

“I can tell you this: I’ve never seen a coach work any harder with players than Monte Lee does with our hitters,” Mainieri said. “So it’s not for a lack of effort. Everybody’s working extremely hard.”

Going into a new week, the Gamecocks will have their chance to reset and get back on track with five games against mid-major opponents. Then things will start to pick up next week when SEC play begins.

If this weekend was any indication, Clemson’s pitching is very much on par with what it will be like facing SEC teams over a 30-game slate. Mainieri admitted he doesn’t have all the answers right now, but he fully believes his group will be able to figure it out.

“You’re not going to win a lot of games with that kind of production. So we’ve got to find it somehow, somewhere,” he said. “And that’s all I can tell you right now. I mean, right now, sitting here in front of you, I don’t have the answer of what the magic wand is to have our guys hit better, but we’re going to analyze everything and keep working.”

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