Baseball . April 18, 2024

Baseball Opens Homestand with Arkansas Series

Game Notes Live Audio Live Video Live Stats Kingston Press Conference

FOR STARTERS

South Carolina starts a seven-game homestand this weekend, hosting No. 2 Arkansas for a three-game series at Founders Park.
Friday night’s game begins at 7 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday’s contests at 3 and 1:30 p.m., respectively.
All three games will be streamed on SEC Network Plus with Dave Weinstein and Kip Bouknight on the call.
All three games also will be on the Gamecock Sports Network presented by Learfield with Derek Scott, Stuart Lake and Cade Crenshaw on the call.

SCOUTING ARKANSAS

The Razorbacks are coming off a pair of one-run wins over Texas Tech in the midweek. Arkansas won in come-from-behind fashion, 9-8, on Tuesday and picked up a 5-4 win on Wednesday.
Arkansas is 12-3 in the SEC, good for the lead in the SEC West and second overall. The Razorbacks have won 24 straight games at home and have a 32-5 overall record.
Hagen Smith, who leads the SEC with a 1.53 ERA, is 7-0 with 89 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched. Smith will get the ball on Friday night.
Peyton Stovall leads the Razorbacks with a .327 average while Wehiwa Aloy has nine home runs and 36 RBI.
Dave Van Horn is in his 22nd season as the head coach at Arkansas. He has led the Razorbacks to seven College World Series appearances and has won SEC Coach of the Year three times.

SERIES VS. ARKANSAS

Arkansas leads the all-time series 45-35 heading into this weekend’s series.
The Gamecocks are 17-16 against the Razorbacks in Columbia.
The two teams played in Fayetteville last season as Carolina won the Saturday contest, 3-1, as Jack Mahoney pitched seven shutout innings and Braylen Wimmer had two hits and an RBI.
Carolina and Arkansas met in Columbia in 2021 as the Gamecocks won the middle game, 6-2, as Andrew Peters earned the win by pitching three shutout innings and Brett Kerry had three strikeouts to earn the save.

PARKING INFORMATION
Shuttle parking for the University of South Carolina baseball games for Friday and Sunday 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 SATURDAY: The shuttle will run from the AD7 Barnwell Lot (1708 Washington Street)

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

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

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: 3 p.m.
Stadium Opens: 2 p.m.
Business Lots Open: 1/1:30 p.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 1 p.m.
Bus Shuttle for Patrons: 1 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.

GAMECOCKS EARN SERIES WIN AT FLORIDA

The Gamecocks earned a series win at Florida for the first time since the 2011 season with wins on Friday (10-3) and Saturday (9-8).
Cole Messina had three hits while Parker Noland, Talmadge LeCroy and Will Tippett all homered in Friday’s win.
Ethan Petry had two home runs and six RBI in the series.
Tyler Pitzer picked up his first save in his career by pitching a perfect ninth on Saturday.
Carolina snapped Florida’s 15-series home winning dating back to April of the 2022 season.

REEVES PROVIDES JOLT IN GAMECOCK LINEUP

Fifth-year senior Dalton Reeves homered on Saturday and Sunday in the Florida series.
In the three-game series, Reeves was 4-for-8 with a double, two home runs, five RBI, three runs scored and two walks.
His two-run home run on Saturday in the seventh inning gave Carolina an 8-3 lead.
On the season, Reeves is hitting .345 with four home runs and 13 RBI.

ELI SPINS A GEM AT FLORIDA

Junior Eli Jones pitched six innings on Friday in a 10-3 win over Florida.
He struck out six and allowed five hits and one run with a pair of walks, earning his third win of the year.
Jones had 1-2-3 innings in the first, second and fourth frames.
On the season, Jones is 3-1 with a 3.57 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 45.1 innings pitched.

GAMECOCKS WIN CAROLINA BATTLE

Carolina picked up a 2-1 win over No. 13 North Carolina on April 9 in Charlotte.
The Gamecocks scored runs in the third and eighth frames and held UNC to six hits on the night.
Dylan Brewer, who was 3-for-4 on the night, had a big RBI double in the eighth inning that scored Talmadge LeCroy and put Carolina up for good.
Roman Kimball and Connor McCreery struck out five Tar Heels apiece in relief. McCreery earned the win, going the last 2.1 innings, allowing just one hit.

GAMECOCKS LEAD THE NATION IN WALKS

Carolina has drawn 263 walks in 37 games this season, which leads the country in free passes. The Gamecocks lead second place Texas A&M by 11 walks.
Ethan Petry leads the team with 35 walks, which is tied for third in the SEC.
The Gamecocks walked 18 times in the 22-6 win over Longwood on March 10. It’s the most dating back to 2005 (first year of game-by-game stats available).
Carolina is averaging 7.11 walks per game.

PETRY: 30 FOR 3(8)

Sophomore Ethan Petry hit a home run in the 11-9 loss to Florida on April 14, his 38th career home run as a Gamecock.
Petry is now in a tie for 12th place on Carolina’s all-time home runs list and is the 29th Gamecock to hit 30 or more home runs in a career.
The last player to achieve that feat was Braylen Wimmer (2020-23), who had 32 career home runs. Wes Clarke (2019-21) also had 32 home runs in his Gamecock career.
Petry is tied with Eric Stanton (1996-98) for the 12th spot. He needs three more to pull into a tie for ninth with James Darnell (2006-08), Tripp Kelly (1998-2001) and Charlie Aldrich (1985-87).

MILESTONE CENTRAL

Head Coach Mark Kingston earned his 200th win at South Carolina in the Presbyterian game on March 26. Kingston now has 206 wins at Carolina and 479 wins overall.
Ethan Petry recorded his 100th career RBI in the Presbyterian win. Petry now has 113 RBI in only 100 career games.
Cole Messina recorded his 100th career hit at Carolina March 26 vs. Presbyterian. Messina now has 114 hits, joining Talmadge LeCroy (110) and Ethan Petry (125) in the 100-hit club at Carolina.
Ty Good recorded his 300th career strikeout March 30 at Alabama. Good has 313 strikeouts between the College of Charleston and Carolina.
Kennedy Jones and Parker Noland both are in the 200-hit club in college. Jones has 211 hits between UNC Greensboro and Carolina while Noland has 223 hits between Vanderbilt and Carolina.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday
South Carolina Roman Kimball (R-So. RHP) 2-1, 4.71 ERA, 21.0 IP, 22 BB, 28 SO
Arkansas Hagen Smith (Jr. LHP) 7-0, 1.53 ERA, 47.0 IP, 17 BB, 89 SO

Saturday
South Carolina Eli Jones (Jr. RHP) 3-1, 3.57 ERA, 45.1 IP, 12 BB, 38 SO
Arkansas Mason Mollina (Jr. LHP) 3-0, 3.32 ERA, 43.1 IP, 21 BB, 65 SO

Sunday
South Carolina TBA
Arkansas Brady Tygart (Jr. RHP) 3-1, 2.59 ERA, 41.2 IP, 21 BB, 52 SO

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