Baseball Knocks Off SEC Foe South Carolina on Friday

Friday, February 20

Columbia, S.C.

2:00 p.m.

Army West Point

1-3

South Carolina

4-2

Army West Point

South Carolina

Photo by: SGT Nathan Sturgis

Baseball Knocks Off SEC Foe South Carolina on Friday

February 20, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Army West Point baseball knocked off SEC foe South Carolina on Friday in emphatic, 9-5 fashion as the Black Knights secured their first win of the season on the first day of the home team's Salute the Troops Weekend.

In its first game after being swept by Clemson on opening weekend last week, Army hit three home runs on its way to the win at Founders Park. Chris Barr recorded two of those homers, an Josiah Overbeek had the other in a breakout game for the plebe.

Army's win Friday represented the first over a Power Conference opponent since defeating Pitt on March 4, 2022.

Trey Ates got the nod on the bump for Army and tossed four scoreless innings, striking out two Gamecock batters and allowing no walks.

Mark Abell came out of the bullpen to the fifth to pitch in relief. Anthony Ramirez then recorded 2.2 frames out of the bullpen, collected four strikeouts, and earned the win, before giving way to Jakob Vanderhave and Overbeek, the latter of which finished the game on the mound in his pitching debut while also serving as the designated hitter and hitting a home run.

The Black Knights struck first in Columbia with a pair of runs in the third inning. After Thomas Schreck got aboard with a leadoff base knock, two wild pitches and a passed ball got the senior across the plate. Then with two outs in the inning, Addison Ainsworth ripped a base hit down the first base line to drive in David Dubrule and make it 2-0.

Army doubled its lead in with two outs in the fourth, with a Barr two-run home run that just cleared the right field foul pole.

The Gamecocks got on the board with an RBI double in the fifth, but William Parker limited the damage to just that with a two-out catch at the left field wall to rob extra bases and another run.

Army opened the floodgates in the seventh, plating four runs to extend its lead to 8-1. After Addison Ainsworth just missed a home run on an RBI double to score Parker, Overbeek hit his first career home run two at-bats later, a three-run homer to give the Black Knights a seven-run cushion.

Facing two runners on with nobody out in the seventh, the Black Knights got out of the frame unscathed with a double play. And on the first pitch of the eighth, Barr launched a solo home run, his second of the day to make it 9-1 Army.

South Carolina narrowed Army's lead to 9-4 in the eighth and 9-5 in the ninth before a Chris Barr line drive snag at second base closed the door on the Gamecocks.

By the Numbers

2-for-4: Overbeek and Ainsworth each went 2-for-4 at the plate.

3: Barr and Overbeek picked up a trio of RBIs each.

.308: Army hit .308 with two-outs.

6: Black Knight leadoff hitters reached base six combined times Friday.

Black Knight Notes

Head coach Chris Tracz kept his lineup virtually intact from last week's series finale at Clemson, with the only change being Ates getting his first start on the mount in 2026.

Ainsworth's stolen base in the second inning Friday was Army's first of the season.

Barr's two-homer game was the first multi-homer contest for a Black Knight since both Derek Berg and Parker hit two vs. Bucknell on April 21, 2024.

The game was Army's second without an error across four games to date in 2026.

Next Up

Army will face Air Force on Saturday for the Silver Star at South Carolina's Founders Park. First pitch is set for 5:00 p.m.

Follow the Black Knights

Follow Army Baseball on X @ArmyWP_Baseball and on Instagram @armywp_baseball. Fans can also like Army West Point Athletics on Facebook and learn more about baseball and other programs at goarmywestpoint.com.