South Carolina Falls to Florida in Extras After Pitching Duel

Gamecocks' bats go cold in 10-inning loss to open SEC play

Mar. 14, 2026 at 2:25am

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Despite a tremendous pitching performance from starter Josh Gunther, who took a no-hitter into the 7th inning, the South Carolina Gamecocks fell to the Florida Gators 1-0 in 10 innings on Friday night. The Gamecocks' offense was held in check by Florida's pitching staff, managing just one hit in 33 at-bats and going 0-for-14 with runners on base.

Why it matters

This was the SEC opener for both teams, and the loss drops South Carolina to 12-7 overall and 0-1 in conference play. The Gamecocks will look to bounce back and even the series on Saturday night, but this was a tough defeat after a dominant pitching performance.

The details

South Carolina right-hander Josh Gunther was brilliant, allowing no hits or runs over 6.1 innings while striking out 5. The Gamecocks' bullpen also pitched well, but the offense couldn't provide any run support. Florida's starter Liam Peterson matched Gunther, tossing 6 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts. The game remained scoreless until the 10th inning, when Florida's Cash Strayer hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to give the Gators the win.

  • The game took place on Friday, March 14, 2026.
  • First pitch was at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.

The players

Josh Gunther

South Carolina right-hander who pitched 6.1 no-hit innings, striking out 5.

Liam Peterson

Florida's Friday night starter, who tossed 6 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts.

Cash Strayer

Florida player who hit the walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to give the Gators the win.

Paul Mainieri

South Carolina head coach who was disappointed the team couldn't capitalize on their scoring chances.

Dawson Harman

South Carolina third baseman who hit a hard-hit ball that was turned into a fielder's choice in the 9th inning.

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What they’re saying

“I thought we had a two-run single there.”

— Paul Mainieri, South Carolina Head Coach (on3.com)

“At first, I felt a little off with my delivery, you know, first two innings, a little herky jerky. Just trying to throw way too hard. The velo was not going any higher. So after that, I settled in and actually saw my velo started to build a little bit higher and stay on the high threshold tonight.”

— Josh Gunther, South Carolina Pitcher (on3.com)

“In the first four innings against Peterson, I thought we hit half a dozen balls over 100 miles an hour and just didn't have anything to show for it. Had some bad luck.”

— Paul Mainieri, South Carolina Head Coach (on3.com)

“I mean, that's the highest velocity our team's seen. So we thought maybe there'd be some difficulties there. But besides that, the guys were competing. I mean, it was really great team effort. The defense behind me was phenomenal. Dawson made two plays that saved, I think, two runs. So for us, it's a loss, but I think we can build off of this, because it was a really well-played game, all throughout: bats, defense, pitching. So I think we'll be able to flush this and come back tomorrow.”

— Josh Gunther, South Carolina Pitcher (on3.com)

What’s next

South Carolina will look to even up the series in the middle game on Saturday night. First pitch will be at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+. Amp Phillips (2-1, 3.50 ERA) will get the start on the mound.

The takeaway

Despite the tough loss, this was an extremely well-played game on both sides, with dominant pitching performances from the starters. South Carolina will look to bounce back and even the series on Saturday, but this was a heartbreaking defeat after such a tremendous outing from Gunther.