Jac Caglianone Homers as Gators Drop Series Opener to Gamecocks 10-3

The No. 24 Florida Gators dropped the opener South Carolina Gamecocks 10-3 on Friday night in Gainesville.

Jac Caglianone Florida Gators Baseball / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY

Nearly 8,000 people were in attendance on Friday night as the South Carolina Gamecocks took the series opener 10-3 over the No. 24 Florida Gators.

Gamecocks 10, Gators 3 BOX SCORE

Parker Noland opened the scoring in the first for the Gamecocks with a home run off starting pitcher Brandon Neely. The Gators tied it in the bottom of the third after an RBI double by Michael Robertson.

South Carolina struck again in the fifth inning after Talmadge LeCroy and Will Tippett connected for solo homers to give the Gamecocks a 3-1 lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Neely went 6.1 innings giving up five earned runs on seven hits, striking out seven Gamecocks and walking two.

Gators' first baseman Jac Caglianone hit his 18th home run of the season, tying him for 3rd in the country in Florida's loss. Caglianone's home run in the bottom of the seventh inning cut the Gamecocks' lead to 5-3, but a five-run top of the ninth ended any hopes of a Gators' comeback.

Catcher Garrison Tanner also added three hits including a double to raise his batting average nearly 40 points to .259.

Florida and South Carolina play game two of the series on Saturday at 4 p.m. EST at Condron Family Ballpark. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ and heard locally on ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF (GNV) + WJXL 1010AM (JAX).

The Gators have hit their roughest stretch of the season having dropped five games in a row. They've won five-consecutive series in Gainesville vs. the Gamecocks but need a win on Saturday to keep that streak alive.