Courtesy: Beverly Schaefer Sam Mulroy went 2-for-4 and hit his first homer of the year at USC Sunday.

Despite holding the hitting advantage 6-5, the Princeton baseball team suffered a 3-1 loss to No. 2 South Carolina to drop the season series.

Princeton worked to manage the game over the first two innings, before South Carolina opened things up with an Eric Payne solo home run in the bottom of the third. The Gamecocks added to their lead in the fifth, when Kyle Martin was eventually brought home off a Grayson Greiner sacrifice fly to left field.

In the sixth, Princeton cut South Carolina's lead in half, 2-1. Co-captain Sam Mulroy hit a one out home run over the left field wall, marking his first homer of the year.  Mulroy's lift was not enough, as the Tigers were unable to advance a runner past second during their remaining at bats in the inning.

South Carolina added a final run in the seventh. With runners on first and second, Payne doubled to left field to make it a 3-1 game. Payne went 2-for-3, adding two RBI and a run.

Alec Keller and Mulroy led the Tiger offense, going 2-for-4.

Princeton (2-5) next heads to Richmond, Va. to face Richmond in a three-game series from Mar. 16-18.