No. 3 South Carolina got off to another slow start on Friday night and lost to Kentucky 7-3 in the series opener.
The Wildcats took an early lead, going up 1-0 in the first on a wild pitch. They tacked on another run in the next inning, making it 2-0 when James McCoy hit an inside-the-park home run. The Gamecocks ended the shutout in the fourth, when Gavin Casas went yard to make the score 2-1.
UK doubled their run total in the fifth, taking a 4-1 lead thanks to a Hunter Gilliam homer. USC pulled within one in the top of the seventh, making it a 4-3 game.