Sluggish offense leads Gamecocks to loss against North Carolina

The No. 11 South Carolina Gamecocks (19-8, 6-3 SEC) struggled against the North Carolina Tarheels (15-12, 9-9 ACC) as they suffered a 3-2 defeat in 10 innings in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday night.

The bullpen for the Tarheels willed them to victory as they were able to keep South Carolina’s potent offense in check. The Gamecocks were limited to just three hits on the night.

Despite the subpar offensive outing, South Carolina was able to fight for extra innings due to their solid pitching and defensive play.

Freshman Jack Mahoney started the game on the mound for South Carolina and delivered a strong performance with four strikeouts and allowing just one run in four innings pitched. Junior reliever Andrew Peters had another great showing on the mound, tallying three strikeouts while not allowing any hits in a pair of innings late in the game.

Offensively, junior outfielder Josiah Sightler secured his fourth home run of the season after a solo shot in the sixth, but the Gamecocks would only add just one additional hit the rest of the game.

After coming into Tuesday’s game winners of eight of their last nine, North Carolina’s upset over South Carolina temporarily halts the momentum that the Gamecocks have been riding.

South Carolina now falls to 1-4 in their annual midweek battle with their neighbors to the north.

The Gamecocks look to bounce back when they welcome the Missouri Tigers to town for a weekend series at Founders Park. Missouri (10-17, 3-6 SEC) lies at the bottom of the SEC East divisional standings and currently holds the worst record in the conference.