South Carolina's early-season struggles in SEC play continued Sunday as Mississippi State shut out the Gamecocks 6-0 to claim the rubber match of their three-game series in Starkville.

The Gamecocks (19-14, 2-10 SEC) managed just two hits against Bulldogs pitching while dropping their fourth consecutive SEC series to start conference play. South Carolina has now lost 10 of its last 12 conference games.

For the first three innings, Brandon Stone matched Mississippi State starter Karson Ligon zero for zero in a pitcher's duel, with both teams struggling to generate offense. Stone retired the side in order in the third inning, and through three frames, the game remained scoreless.

The game unraveled for South Carolina in the fourth inning. Noah Sullivan led off with a home run to left field, giving Mississippi State (20-13, 5-7 SEC) a 1-0 lead. Hunter Hines and Bryce Chance followed with back-to-back doubles, setting the stage for a five-run explosion that effectively decided the outcome.

Nolan Stevens drove in a run with a groundout before Gatlin Sanders singled to center field, making it 3-0. After Joe Powell and Dylan Cupp delivered consecutive singles to push the lead to 4-0, Stone's day was done. Matthew Becker entered in relief but couldn't stop the damage, as Reed Stallman's sacrifice fly extended the lead to 5-0 before the inning concluded.

Stone (1-4) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on five hits in 3⅓ innings, raising his ERA to 5.73 for the season. Becker worked the final 4⅔ innings for South Carolina, allowing just one run while striking out four.

Mississippi State added another run in the fifth inning when Chance doubled down the left field line to score Sullivan, who finished 3-for-4 with a home run to lead the Bulldogs' 11-hit attack. Sanders went 2-for-4 with an RBI double, while Cupp contributed two hits and an RBI.

Meanwhile, South Carolina's offense never found its footing against Ligon (3-4), who delivered one of his best performances of the season. The right-hander tossed six shutout innings, allowing just one hit – a first-inning single by Nathan Hall – while striking out eight and walking just one.

Stone Simmons delivered three hitless innings of relief, preserving the shutout for the Bulldogs.

The loss drops South Carolina to 2-10 in conference play, placing the Gamecocks near the bottom of the SEC standings with four series completed. After starting the season with high expectations and a strong non-conference showing, South Carolina now faces an uphill battle to work their way back into postseason contention.

The Gamecocks will look to regroup as they return home for a midweek contest before continuing SEC play next weekend with another critical three-game series.