South Carolina Baseball: Mid-Week Starters Set Against Winthrop, Queens

After a thorough dismantling of the UMass-Lowell River Hawks this past weekend, the South Carolina baseball team will welcome to Columbia the Winthrop Eagles and Queens University Royals during the mid-week. The Gamecocks will play Winthrop on Tuesday and Queens on Wednesday before Ivy League contender Penn comes to town for a three-game series this weekend.

Previously, Head Coach Mark Kingston had mentioned that both Eli Jerzembeck and Eli Jones would see action during the mid-week, but today, the team officially announced that Jerzembeck and James Hicks will get the ball against Winthrop and Queens, respectively. One can assume, then, that Jones will have the opportunity to pitch during one of the contests, as well.

Jerzembeck might have the best “stuff” out of anyone on the pitching staff. Considering the Gamecocks have at least five pitchers likely to be selected in next year’s MLB Amateur Draft (Will Sanders, Noah Hall, Jack Mahoney, James Hicks, Cade Austin), that is high praise for Jerzembeck. Jerzembeck will make his debut at 4:00 on Tuesday on the SECNEtwork+ and ESPN App.

Hicks returned to school after being selected in last year’s draft, believing he could significantly improve his draft stock by demonstrating he is fully healthy and capable of starting at a high level. Hicks will take the mound on Wednesday at 4:00 on the SECNetwork+ and ESPN App.

Both Jerzembeck and Hicks (and potentially Jones, as well) will have a chance to fight for weekend rotation innings if they perform well during their mid-week opportunities. Supplanting one of the three rotation members will not be an easy task, as Sanders, Hall, and Mahoney were all good during opening weekend and are big-time talents. Jerzembeck, Hicks, and Jones could also see time out of the bullpen during weekend series if the situation calls for it, and Kingston has specifically mentioned using Jerzembeck as a “weapon” in big games.