Baseball . February 29, 2024

Baseball Faces Clemson in Annual Three-Game Set

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FOR STARTERS

South Carolina faces in-state rival Clemson in the annual three-game series across the state on March 1-3.
The Gamecocks and Tigers start the series Friday night at 7 p.m. at Founders Park.
The series shifts to Segra Park, home of the Columbia Fireflies, on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
The series concludes on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Friday’s game will be on SEC Network while Saturday and Sunday’s contests will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
All three games also will be on the Gamecock Sports Network presented by Learfield with Derek Scott, Cade Crenshaw and Stuart Lake on the call.

PARKING INFORMATION
Shuttle parking for the University of South Carolina baseball season will be operational at the Key Road Gravel Lot (1105 Key Road) for select games. Shuttle begins two (2) hours prior to first pitch and continues until 1 hour after the game. It is $5 to park at the Key Road Lot to take the shuttle.

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

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.

SCOUTING CLEMSON

Clemson is off to a 7-1 start, which includes a series sweep of Xavier and a series win over Kennesaw State.
The Tigers are coming off a 12-6 win over USC Upstate at home on Tuesday afternoon. Will Taylor homered three times for Clemson in the win.
Cam Cannarella, a preseason All-America selection, is hitting .517 with two home runs and 10 RBI while Blake Wright has 11 hits and eight RBI.
Tristan Smith and Aidan Knaak lead the pitching staff with 11 strikeouts. Knaak went six scoreless frames against Kennesaw State last Sunday, striking out five.
Erik Bakich is in his second season at Clemson. He helped Michigan to a College World Series runner-up finish in 2019.

SERIES VS. CLEMSON

Carolina and Clemson will meet for the 334th time on the diamond on Friday night. The Tigers have a 186-145-2 series advantage on the Gamecocks.
Carolina won the 2023 series over the Tigers, winning the Saturday game in Greenville, 11-9, thanks to home runs from Carson Hornung and Cole Messina.
The Gamecocks picked up the win on Sunday at Founders Park as Jack Mahoney and James Hicks combined to strike out 10 in a 7-1 win.
Talmadge LeCroy earned the Tom Price Award as the Most Valuable Player for the Gamecocks in the Clemson series. LeCroy was 5-for-10 with a home run and six RBI in the series.

BREW CREW

Dylan Brewer has had a hot start at the plate, going 14-for-27 (.519) with 10 runs scored, a double, a triple, 10 RBI, eight walks and no strikeouts in the first nine games.
in the Belmont series, Brewer was 7-for-9 with four runs scored and four RBI, including going a perfect 3-for-3 in Friday’s 8-1 win over the Bruins.
Brewer currently is second in the SEC in batting average, tied for fourth in hits and second in on-base percentage (.622).

LECROY OFF TO HOT START

Junior Talmadge LeCroy is hitting .346 with a .585 on-base percentage in Carolina’s first nine games of 2024.
LeCroy is tied for second in the SEC with 11 walks and tied for the lead with 17 runs scored.
LeCroy belted his first home run of 2024 in the 12-2 win over Winthrop.
He also scored five runs in the win over the Eagles, becoming the first Gamecock since Michael Campbell at Furman on May 16, 2006.

GAMECOCKS LEAD COUNTRY IN WALKS

Carolina has drawn 86 walks in nine games this season, good for the national lead in that category.
Talmadge LeCroy and Parker Noland lead the team with 11 walks, which is second in the SEC and 10th overall.
Carolina’s 86 is nine more than the next best, which is Southern Illinois at 77.

KENNEDY CONNECTS

Making his first start of 2024, Kennedy Jones led off the bottom of the first with a home run in the 12-1 win over Belmont on Feb. 25.
Jones drove in three runs in the win, including an RBI single which also was in the first frame.
Jones now has 26 home runs between Carolina and UNC Greensboro.

GAMECOCKS RANKED IN ALL FIVE POLLS

Carolina is ranked in all five polls as of Feb. 19, 2024.
The Gamecocks are as high as No. 12 according to Baseball America.
Perfect Game has Carolina at No. 13 , while the USA TODAY Coaches’ poll ranks the Gamecocks at No. 16.
The NCBWA puts Carolina at No. 17 and D1Baseball ranks the team at No. 19.
The rankings come off the 2023 season where the Gamecocks finished ranked in all five polls.

PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Friday
South Carolina Eli Jones (Jr. RHP) 1-0, 1.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 0 BB, 8 K
Clemson Billy Barlow (R-So. RHP) 1-1, 6.43 ERA, 7.0 IP, 2 B, 3 K

Saturday
South Carolina Dylan Eskew (R-Jr. RHP) 1-1, 3.60 ERA, 10.0 IP, 5 BB, 9 SO
Clemson Tristan Smith (So. LHP) 0-0, 3.12 ERA, 8.2 IP, 4 BB, 11 K

Sunday
South Carolina Roman Kimball (R-So. RHP) 1-0, 1.50 ERA, 6.0 IP, 5 BB, 9 K
Clemson Aidan Knaak (Fr. RHP) 1-0, 5.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 4 BB, 11 K

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