For the first time since an ill-fated spring break trip under former head coach David Pierce, the No. 2 Texas Longhorns are in Columbia for a series against the South Carolina Gamecocks starting on Thursday.
At 14-16 overall and 1-8 in the SEC, the reeling Gamecocks are led by interim head coach Monte Lee, who took over for Paul Manieri. The longtime head coach came out of retirement to take over the South Carolina program in 2024, but posted a losing record last season and was terminated after the Gamecocks lost
to the Razorbacks 22-6 at home, the fourth straight defeat to open conference play.
Lee was elevated from his role as associate head coach and hitting coach in his fourth season back in Columbia after serving as an assistant from 2003 to 2008 before stints as the head coach at College of Charleston and Clemson.
In Lee’s second game, South Carolina was able to notch a 9-4 win over Arkansas, but lost a neutral-site midweek game against then-No. 13 North Carolina in Charlotte and got swept by then-No. 7 Georgia last weekend in Athens, tough the Gamecocks were competitive in that series.
The probable Thursday starter for Lee is left-hander Alex Valentin (1-2, 3.91 ER), who spent last year at Texas State and earned a one-inning save against Texas in Austin before transferring to South Carolina, where he’s struck out 31 batters in 23.0 innings this season.
Right-hander Josh Gunther (2-2, 6.97 ERA) is expected to receive the Saturday start. The Wake Forest transfer moved into the starting rotation for the first time in his career in late February, striking out 10 and holding then-No. 15 Clemson scoreless over seven innings, but was hit hard in the loss to Arkansas that ended Manieri’s tenure, giving up four home runs among his six hits allowed in conceding nine runs in 2.1 innings before another home run and four walks contributed to Gunther giving up five runs in four innings last weekend against Georgia.
On Saturday, right-hander Amp Phillips (2-3, 2.68 ERA) will take the mound. The Big South Newcomer of the Year at USC Upstate in 2025, Phillips pitched six scoreless innings against then-No. 23 Florida in mid-March, allowed one run in seven innings against then-No. 4 Arkansas in Lee’s first game as the head coach, and struck out a season-high 10 batters in six innings last weekend.
With 164 runs this season, South Carolina is tied for 182nd nationally because the Gamecocks struggle at the plate, hitting just .260 this season with a .449 slugging percentage that ranks outside the top 100.
For the first time since the opening SEC series against Ole Miss, Texas enters the weekend matchup with momentum after breaking its two-game midweek losing streak and four-game home losing streak to Texas with a 10-8 win on Tuesday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, keyed by a 3-for-4 performance by junior second baseman Ethan Mendoaza with two double and his sixth home run of the season. Mendoza also drew a walk, had three RBI, and scored three runs. The Arizona State transfer bounced back from an 0-for-16 stretch over four games with eight hits over five games since taking assistant coach Troy Tulowtizki’s advice to move up in the batter’s box to better handle breaking balls.
The March home run surge for junior third baseman Casey Borba continued in the win over the Bobcats as Borba hit his ninth homer of the month while raising his batting average from .282 to .333. It’s still a pull-heavy approach for the 6’1, 210-pounder, but the growth had come from his improved ability to keep balls fair.
Borba is part of a new-look infield for Texas with sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez out after undergoing a hand procedure this week to remove a staple to which he was allergic. With Rodriguez sidelined, redshirt senior Temo Becerra is at shortstop with Borba moving from first to third and graduate Josh Livingston taking over at first base. Late in the game against Texas State, senior Jayden Duplantier moved from the outfield to second base, Mendoza went to shortstop, Becerra slid back over the third, and Borba replaced Livingston at first base.
Complicating the movement is the natural grass surface at Founders Park.
“It’s just gonna be kind of a mix and match on who we’re facing, what that looks like,” Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle said on Tuesday. “I think the big challenge for us, we’ve got two weekends in the next two weeks of playing on the dirt field. Playing defense on our field is one thing — very defensive, friendly turf — and playing on the grass and dirt in South Carolina and College Station is going to be a lot different.”
Despite the short week, the Texas infielders took their typical trip up to Dell Diamond in Round Rock on Wednesday to practice on the dirt infield there.
The Longhorns expect to receive some help from the pitching staff as the starters have worked deep in games and freshmen right-handers Sam Cozart and Brett Crossland have pitched well on the back end after struggles by junior right-hander Thomas Burns and graduate left-hander Cal Higgins.
Senior right-hander Ruger Riojas has been a revelation as the No. 1 starter for Texas with a 5-0 record and a 1.59 ERA with 64 strikeouts in 39.2 innings, holding opponents to a .193 batting average. Riojas has been so good that Over-Slot Baseball is making an argument for the 6’0, 195-pounder as a first-round draft pick thanks to his rapid ascension as a starter.
Texas holds a 7-2 advantage in the all-time series, which includes matchups for the national championship in 1975 and 2002, but South Carolina has won the last two games. On Thursday and Friday, first pitch is at 7 p.m. Central before a 2 p.m. Central series finale on Saturday. The series opener airs on SEC Network before the final two games move to SEC Network+.
