FINAL: Gamecocks Blow Lead, Suffer First Home Sweep Since 2019 In 14-6 Loss To Georgia

Andrew Lyon | May 11, 2024

A snapshot of South Carolina's Founders Park / BART BOATWRIGHT/Staff/File

In a series where Mark Kingston and the South Carolina Gamecocks needed to win at least two of the three games against No. 15 Georgia to have a great shot of being a regional host in the postseason, they came up small too often when the big moments arrived. That wasn't encapsulated any better than what occurred in the Gamecocks 14-6 loss on Senior Day this afternoon.

In the beginning, Carolina held the upper hand, knocking in four runs in the bottom of the third inning thanks to a Gavin Casas solo homer, two Bulldog errors, and a deep groundout to short. On the mound, the Gamecocks got their first productive outing from a starting pitcher in two weeks, as Garrett Gainey turned the lights down on the Georgia bats, pitching five and a third innings, giving up six baserunners, two earned runs, and striking out seven hitters in the process.

In the top of the seventh inning, South Carolina maintained a 4-3 lead, but the Dawgs would notch things up at four apiece after drawing a walk and knocking in two singles. The Gamecocks would immediately strike back in the ensuing half inning after Ethan Petry drove in two runs on a double to left-center, giving the Garnet and Black a 6-4 lead.

From that moment on, however, it would be all Georgia. In the top of the eighth inning, the Bulldogs would tie things back up at six thanks to deep groundout and RBI single. Then, with the bases loaded, pinch hitter Logan Jordan would come up to the plate and belt a grand slam into the Georgia bullpen, silencing the crowd in Founders Park. In the following inning, the Dawgs would tack on four more runs via a fielder's choice and a three-run home run. Carolina would have no response.

The series sweep in Founders Park is the first the Gamecocks have suffered since the 2019 season when the Vanderbilt Commodores swept them. They'll look to bounce back on the road next week when they take on the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers.

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