Baseball Welcomes George Washington for Weekend Series

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina baseball team continues its season-opening homestand with a three-game set against Atlantic 10 foe George Washington at Founders Park. The series starts Friday afternoon (Feb. 25) at 4 p.m. and continues on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 26) at 2 p.m. The series concludes Sunday afternoon (Feb. 27) at 1:30 p.m. All three games will be streamed on SEC Network Plus with Cade Crenshaw, Drew Meyer and Kip Bouknight on the call. All games also will be broadcast on The Game 107.5 FM with Derek Scott, Tommy Moody and Stuart Lake on the call. The Gamecocks are coming off a 7-1 win over Winthrop on Tuesday afternoon in Columbia. Cade Austin earned the win on the mound while Kevin Madden connected on his first home run as a Gamecock.
 
PARKING INFORMATION
Shuttle parking for the University of South Carolina baseball season will be operational at the Key Road Gravel Lot (1105 Key Road). Shuttle begins two (2) hours prior to first pitch and continues until 1 hour after the game.

For GPS purposes, the address for the Key Road Gravel Lot is 1105 Key Road, Columbia, SC 29201.

BUSINESS LOTS DURING AFTERNOON GAMES Business lot parking passes will be honored in Lot 1 ONLY for the Feb. 18, 22, 25 afternoon baseball games based on availability. The businesses at 405 (Lot 9) and 401 (Lot 10) Huger Street request that you begin parking at 5:30 p.m. on weekdays. Other business lots open at 5 p.m. on weekdays. Parking is allowed in Lot 8 (the Cregger lot) on the Williams St. side for the afternoon early games.

GAME DAY PARKING INFORMATION (including public game day lots (PGDL: $10/$5 per game). All gameday lots are cashless. Please have a debit card or credit card ready for payment upon entry into parking lots.

Weekday 4 p.m. Games (Feb. 25)
Game time: 4 p.m.
Stadium opens: 3:00 p.m.
Business Lots Open: 5/5:30 p.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PDGL Open: 2 p.m.
Bus Shuttle for Patrons: 2 p.m.

Weekdays
Game Time: 7 p.m.
Stadium Opens: 6:00 p.m.
Business Lots Open: 5/5:30 p.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 5 p.m.
Bus Shuttle for Patrons: 5 p.m.

Saturday
Game Time: 2 p.m.
Stadium Opens: 1 p.m.
Business Lots Open: 12 p.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 12 p.m.
Bus Shuttle for Patrons: 12 p.m.

Sunday
Game Time: 1:30 p.m.
Stadium Opens: 12:30 p.m.
Business Lots Open: 11:30 a.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 11:30 a.m.
Bus Shuttle for Patrons: 11:30 a.m.

SCOUTING GEORGE WASHINGTON
The Colonials were swept at UT Rio Grande Valley this past weekend. George Washington lost 3-0 in the series opener as Harrison Cohen struck out five in five innings of work. At the plate, Logan Leax is hitting .500 while Michael Ludowig has a pair of doubles in his four hits in three games.

SERIES VS. GEORGE WASHINGTON
Carolina has won all five matchups with George Washington. The Gamecocks swept a two-game series on March 17-18, 1993 and swept a three-game set on Feb. 26-28, 1999. Kip Bouknight pitched a three-hit shutout in the first game of the 1999 series while Brian Roberts homered and had three RBI in the win.

PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Friday
South Carolina Will Sanders (So. RHP) 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 5.0 IP, 0 BB, 3 SO
GW Harrison Cohen (R-Sr. RHP) 0-1, 3.60 ERA, 5.0 IP, 3 BB, 5 SO
 
Saturday
South Carolina James Hicks (Jr. RHP) 0-1, 8.31 ERA, 4.1 IP, 0 BB, 5 SO
GW Connor Harris (Jr. LHP) 0-1, 6.00 ERA, 3.0 IP, 1 BB, 3 SO
 
Sunday
South Carolina TBA
GW Justin Solt (Gr. RHP) 0-1, 45.00 ERA, 1.0 IP, 2 BB, 0 SO
 
MADDEN HOMERS IN WINTHROP WIN
Senior Kevin Madden belted his first home run as a Gamecock in the eighth inning of a 7-1 win over Winthrop on Feb. 22. Madden, who hit 10 home runs in his three years at Virginia Tech, has a .375 batting average after four games to go along with a .444 on-base percentage.
 
SEC LEADERS
South Carolina heads into the weekend series against George Washington seventh in batting average (.313). Andrew Eyster and Braylen Wimmer are tied for third in the league with a .500 average. Eyster leads the SEC with 10 hits, while Wimmer is tied for second with nine. Wimmer also is tied for fifth with two stolen bases. Eyster is fourth with 10 RBI and fourth with 17 total bases. Brandt Belk is tied for the lead in walks with six. On the mound, John Gilreath is tied for the lead with three appearances. The Gamecocks are tied for third in the league in fielding percentage (.993).
 
EYSTER THE HERO IN UNCG WIN
Andrew Eyster stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the ninth of a 7-3 deficit and came through with a grand slam to left to tie the game at 7-all. It was Eyster’s first grand slam since he had one at Kentucky last season. Eyster also had a home run on Opening Day for the second straight year. He had seven hits, three for extra bases, in the UNC Greensboro series.

UP NEXT
The Gamecocks travel to Charlotte for a 6 p.m. game against Appalachian State on Tuesday, March 1 inside Truist Field. The game will be on SEC Network Plus.