Baseball Travels to Charlotte for Midweek Matchup with App State

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina baseball team makes the first of two trips to Truist Field in Charlotte, N.C., home of the Charlotte Knights, on Tuesday night (March 1) as the Gamecocks face Appalachian State for a 6 p.m. first pitch. The game will be streamed on SEC Network Plus. All games also will be broadcast on The Game 107.5 FM with Tommy Moody and Stuart Lake on the call. The Gamecocks are coming off a three-game sweep of George Washington, outscoring the Colonials 28-10, as Carolina is on a five-game winning streak heading into Tuesday’s contest.

SCOUTING APP STATE
The Mountaineers won 1-of-3 games at UNC Greensboro this past weekend, winning the Sunday game, 10-1, as Hayden Cross and Austin St. Laurent both went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and Jacob Whitley drove in three runs. Former Gamecock Trey Tujetsch struck out six in 4.2 innings in the Sunday start. Cross leads the Mountaineers with a .364 batting average while Alex Aguila has a team-best five RBI. On the mound, Tujetsch has a 2.57 ERA and eight strikeouts in seven innings pitched.
 
SERIES VS. APP STATE
Carolina leads the all-time matchup with Appalachian State, 16-1, heading into Tuesday’s contest. Last season, the Gamecocks shut out the Mountaineers, 2-0, behind a strong start from CJ Weins (4 IP, 0 H, 6 K’s) and RBI’s from Brady Allen and Wes Clarke. The only other neutral-site matchup between the two teams was on April 28, 1999 in Hickory, N.C., a 12-3 Gamecock win.

PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Tuesday
South Carolina CJ Weins (Sr. RHP) 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.0 IP, 1 BB, 3 SO
App State Jason Cornatzer (R-Sr. RHP) 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 2 BB, 6 SO
 
HALL RETURNS TO HOMETOWN TO FACE FORMER TEAM
Junior Noah Hall will see some familiar faces in the opposing dugout on Tuesday, as he played two seasons at App State. Hall was 5-1 with three saves and a 3.99 ERA last season and was a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American in 2020, striking out 21 batters in 20 innings pitched. Hall also returns to his hometown for Tuesday’s game as he prepped at Providence High School in Charlotte, going 9-1 with a 1.66 ERA and 103 strikeouts as a senior.
 
EYSTER STARTING OUT HOT
Andrew Eyster continued his hot start to 2022 as he had three multi-hit games on the week, including a 4-for-5 performance on Friday night (Feb. 25) vs. George Washington. Eyster leads the team in home runs (3) and RBI (13) and is 17-for-34 at the plate this season. He is tied for second in the country in hits per game and is one RBI away from 100 in his career.

SEC LEADERS
South Carolina heads into Tuesday’s game against Appalachian State fifth in batting average (.319). Andrew Eyster leads the league with 17 hits, while Braylen Wimmer is tied for fourth in 14. Eyster is third in batting average (.500), tied for fourth in RBI (13) and second in total bases (28) Michael Braswell is tied for the lead with nine walks, is tied for eighth in on-base percentage (.568) and tied for eighth in runs scored (11). On the mound, Will Sanders is tied for fourth with 12 innings pitched and John Gilreath is tied for second with four appearances. Carolina is third in the SEC with a .988 fielding percentage.

UP NEXT
The Gamecocks will start the three-game series with in-state rival Clemson on Friday night (March 4) at 7 p.m. at Founders Park. The game will be on SEC Network Plus.