South Carolina Baseball: Week 7 preview; how to watch vs. The Citadel, Mississippi State
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina baseball is inside the top-10 for the first time since the 2017 season. With the best record in the nation, it’s hard to argue they don’t belong.
At 23-2, the #9 Gamecocks have maintained their stranglehold on the national lead in home runs. They are six runs off the pace of the Florida Gators but have had one less game on the schedule to this point. At their current average, South Carolina would own the lead in runs scored if they had played as many games as Florida. The pitching has also been a strength, as the Gamecocks’ ERA, WHIP, and K/BB ratio all rank in the top-7 nationally.
Carolina will look to continue their success this week with four games of a five-game road trip against The Citadel and Mississippi State. The stretch of games visiting Bulldogs will begin on Tuesday, as The Citadel Bulldogs will host the Gamecocks at 7:00 on ESPN+ and the ESPN App.
The Charleston-based Bulldogs are a solid team with a 14-9 record. Their pitching coach is South Carolina legend and national champion Blake Cooper, but Cooper’s group has struggled in the early goings of 2023. The Bulldogs do not hit for much power but get on base at a high clip, smacking singles and doubles at will to the tune of a team on-base percentage over .400. It is unclear who the Bulldogs or Gamecocks will pitch in the game. Second baseman Will McGillis will be out with a broken arm that he suffered against Missouri.
The weekend series against Mississippi State will test the Gamecocks’ undefeated SEC record. The 2021 national champions are not nearly as talented in 2023, but the Bulldogs are a proud program desperate for their first conference win of the year. Starkville, Mississippi should host a rowdy crowd as the fanbase is not happy after back-to-back sweeps at the hands of Kentucky and Vanderbilt. The series will begin one day earlier than most, as the three-game set will run from Thursday to Saturday instead of the typical Friday to Sunday.
Bulldog pitching has really struggled in 2023 as they’ve given up double-digit runs nine times this season, including in five of six SEC contests. Vanderbilt lit up the Bulldog hurlers for 55 runs, including two 10-run rule beatdowns.
The prolific Gamecock bats should feast this weekend. Ethan Petry is hotter than an August afternoon in Columbia as the true freshman now leads the country’s best offense in hits, RBI, total bases, and slugging percentage and is second in home runs behind only Gavin Casas. Casas (when he’s not hitting the ball over the fence) continues to walk at a high clip, and defensive wizard Evan Stone swung a hot bat last weekend against Missouri.
The Bulldog outfield has been one of the lone bright spots this year, as Colton Ledbetter, Hunter Hines, and Clark Kellum have excelled offensively. The trio has combined for 23 home runs as each player has a slugging percentage over .600 and over 20 runs scored on the year.
If the Gamecocks can pitch well, they should win the series against Mississippi State. One should never predict sweeps on the road in the country’s best conference, but the directions of these two programs’ 2023 seasons are headed in almost opposite trajectories. South Carolina baseball appears to be one of the country’s elite teams, while the Bulldogs of Stark-Vegas are in danger of seeing their season spiral out of control if they do not get off the schneid soon.
As of now, the Gamecock rotation is not expected to change, though it is important to mention that usual Saturday pitcher Noah Hall has been the ace of the staff in 2023. With the early start to the series, the rotation is likely to be Will Sanders (Thursday), Noah Hall (Friday), and Jack Mahoney (Saturday). It is worth noting that Head Coach Mark Kingston has, at times in the past, elected to keep his pitchers on their “normal day.” This could mean that Sunday’s starter Jack Mahoney could shift to Thursday so that Sanders and Hall pitch on their typical Friday and Saturday.
Game 1 against Mississippi State will begin at 7:00 on the SECNetwork and ESPN App. Friday’s first pitch is set for 7:00 on the SECNetwork+ and the ESPN App. Saturday’s finale will start at 3:00 and be shown on the SECNetwork+ and the ESPN App.