South Carolina's struggles in SEC play continued Sunday as No. 1 Tennessee pulled away for a 7-2 victory to complete a series sweep at Founders Park.

The Gamecocks (17-12, 1-8 SEC) showed early promise but couldn't maintain momentum against the nation's top-ranked team. With the loss, South Carolina has now dropped seven consecutive conference games since winning the middle game in the Oklahoma series loss.

Matthew Becker (2-2) gave South Carolina a glimmer of hope early, retiring the first nine Volunteers he faced in order. The left-hander's strong start, combined with an early Gamecock run, had South Carolina leading 1-0 through three innings.

The Gamecocks struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Nathan Hall drew a leadoff walk and stole second base before Ethan Petry singled to left field, placing runners at the corners with nobody out. Jase Woita then delivered an RBI single through the left side to score Hall for a 1-0 advantage.

But the lead evaporated in the fourth inning when Tennessee (25-2, 7-1 SEC) finally broke through against Becker. After a hit batter and a double put two runners in scoring position, Hunter Ensley singled to center field, driving in two runs and giving the Volunteers a 2-1 lead they would never relinquish.

Ensley, who finished 4-for-5 with three RBIs, was a thorn in South Carolina's side throughout the afternoon. Manny Marin added an RBI single later in the fourth inning to extend Tennessee's lead to 3-1.

The Volunteers added two more runs in the fifth, with Dalton Bargo and Reese Chapman delivering run-scoring hits to push the advantage to 5-1. Ensley and Andrew Fischer put the game out of reach in the seventh inning with back-to-back solo home runs.

South Carolina showed brief signs of life in the sixth inning when Beau Hollins doubled and later scored on Gavin Braland's two-out single to right-center field, cutting the deficit to 5-2. But the Gamecocks couldn't generate enough offense against Tennessee's pitching staff, finishing with just 10 hits while leaving 11 runners on base.

Tegan Kuhns started for Tennessee and allowed one run on three hits over four innings before giving way to Brayden Krenzel (2-0), who earned the win with five solid innings of relief. Krenzel limited the Gamecocks to one run on seven hits while striking out four.

Kennedy Jones led South Carolina's offense with two hits, while eight other Gamecocks contributed one hit apiece. Despite collecting 10 hits, South Carolina struggled to deliver in key situations, going just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

Following Becker's 3⅔ innings, South Carolina used a parade of relievers including Parker Marlatt, Ashton Crowther, Ryder Garino, and Caleb Jones to finish the game. The bullpen limited further damage but couldn't prevent Tennessee from completing the sweep.

The Gamecocks will look to regroup with a midweek game against Presbyterian College on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before returning to SEC play next weekend. At 1-8 in conference play, South Carolina faces an uphill battle to climb back into postseason contention.