South Carolina Baseball: Week 12 Preview; How to watch vs. Winthrop, Kentucky
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina baseball dropped its weekend series to the Auburn Tigers two games to one. The series loss was just the second of the season for the Gamecocks, but the Carolina resume was strong enough to keep the baseball program ranked #3 in the latest D1Baseball poll. The series saw some suspect pitching from the Gamecocks, and the offense missed some crucial opportunities to score, especially in the two losses. Now, the Gamecocks have four straight road games that will be critical in their pursuit of a top-8 national seed.
In the mid-week, the Gamecocks will take on Winthrop in Rock Hill. The short drive up I-77 should serve as a bit of a “get right” game for South Carolina as Winthrop is a .500 team (both in overall record and in the Big South Conference). The Carolina starter has not yet been announced, but Eli Jerzembeck started the last mid-week game for the Gamecocks. EDIT: Eli Jones has been announced as the starter vs. Winthrop.
Over the weekend, though, Carolina will take a longer road trip to Lexington, Kentucky. The Wildcats are ranked 15th nationally and are an incredibly scrappy team. In true scrappy baseball team fashion, Kentucky doesn’t hit for much power (tied at 248th in the country in home runs), but they do get on base at a high clip (18th-best in America). The pitching is relatively average, but the Wildcat defense is among the best in the conference, led by shortstop Grant Smith.
South Carolina’s defense will be tested this weekend by the contact-heavy Kentucky bats. The errors and misplays on defense that have plagued the Gamecocks at times this year must not present themselves again this weekend or UK will be given free base runners. When Kentucky gets on base, they run a lot, having 70 steals on the year. 8 different Wildcats have a .350+ on-base percentage, so the run game will come into play at some point this weekend for the Gamecock pitchers and catchers.
The YardCock offense was fine against Auburn, but situational hitting was poor at times in the two losses. Hitting a few more balls over the fence would alleviate that issue, and the Wildcats have given up a home run per game this season. Cole Messina’s bat has woken up over the last week or so, and Caleb Denny busted out of his long slump by getting on base double-digit times over the weekend. If those two can pair with Ethan Petry and Dylan Brewer, who both have been great for a month or longer, the Gamecock offense should score plenty of runs this series.
Injuries are still a storyline for the weekend. Braylen Wimmer pulled his hamstring against Auburn and will be out this week, and pitcher Noah Hall also will not play. Will McGillis remains out with his broken arm, and Carson Hornung will still be relegated to DH-only duties with his hairline foot fracture. Talmadge LeCroy might play (he pinch hit against Auburn), but the Gamecock defensive lineup has shifted around significantly in recent weeks, so LeCroy’s health may or may not lead him back to a starting spot at 3B.
All-in-all, the Gamecocks are a superior team to the Wildcats. No series in the SEC should ever be taken for granted, though, especially not on the road. A good outcome is a two of three series win, and that is very much in play for South Carolina. The pitching must bounce back for the weekend to go well, but if they do, Gamecock fans should expect a positive weekend for their team.
The mid-week game against Winthrop will be broadcast only on ESPN+ at 6:00 on Wednesday. The Kentucky series will be on the SECNetwork+ on Friday and Saturday at 6:30 and 2:00, respectively. The series finale on Sunday will be at 2:00 on the SECNetwork.