Baseball Hosts Auburn to Close out March

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina baseball team hosts No. 15 Auburn for a three-game SEC series March 29-31 at Founders Park. Friday’s game begins at 7 p.m. with Saturday’s contest scheduled for 1 p.m. The series concludes on Sunday at noon. Friday’s game will be streamed on SEC Network + while Saturday and Sunday’s game will be televised on SEC Network with Dave Neal and Mike Rooney on the call. All games will be broadcast on The Game 107.5 FM and the Gamecock Sports Network with Derek Scott and Tommy Moody on the call. Carolina fell to North Carolina A&T, 2-0, Tuesday night at Founders Park. Dylan Harley and Wesley Sweatt combined to strike out seven in eight innings of work.

PARKING INFORMATION

> For the third straight season, shuttle parking for the University of South Carolina baseball season will be operational at the Key Road Gravel Lot (1105 Key Road) and in Lot B of the Colonial Life Arena parking lot. Shuttles will begin running two hours prior to game time.

We strongly recommend that fans use the baseball shuttle from Key Road to Founders Park over the CLA shuttle for the convenience, spacious parking (650 spaces) and less congestion than at the arena. Please remember that at the arena, shuttle parking will be limited to 50 spaces because of the student demand for parking in this area. There is a high student demand Monday through Thursday that lasts until 7 p.m. because of classes. Lots A and B are also reserved for men’s and women’s basketball parking on Feb. 19, 26, March 3 and March 9.

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/$5 per game))

Weekdays
Game Time: 7 p.m.
Stadium Opens: 5:30 p.m.
Business Lots Open: 5/5:30 p.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 4 p.m.
Bus Shuttle for Patrons: 5 p.m.

Saturday
Game Time: 1 p.m.
Stadium Opens: 11:30 a.m.
Business Lots Open: 10 a.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 10 a.m.
Bus Shuttle for Patrons: 11 a.m.

Sunday
Game Time: 12 p.m.
Stadium Opens: 10:30 a.m.
Business Lots Open: 9 a.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 9 a.m.
Bus Shuttle for Patrons: 10 a.m.

PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION

Friday
South Carolina Daniel Lloyd (Fr. RHP) 2-1, 4.32 ERA, 8.1 IP, 7 BB, 9 SO
Auburn Tanner Burns (So. RHP) 3-0, 1.41 ERA, 38.1 IP, 8 BB, 52 SO

Saturday
South Carolina Reid Morgan (Jr. RHP) 2-0, 2.56 ERA, 38.2 IP, 4 BB, 34 SO
Auburn Brooks Fuller (Fr. LHP) 1-0, 1.62 ERA, 16.2 IP, 12 BB, 10 SO

Saturday
South Carolina TBA
Auburn TBA

SCOUTING AUBURN

The Tigers fell to Alabama, 6-3, in the Capital City Classic in Montgomery, Ala., as Steven Williams and Conor Davis had two hits apiece in the loss. Auburn opened conference play with a three-game sweep against Tennessee before losing 2-of-3 games at Mississippi State this past weekend. Rankin Woley leads the Tigers with a .323 batting average while Edouard Julien has five home runs and 26 RBI. On the mound, righty Tanner Burns is 3-0 with a 1.41 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 38.1 innings pitched.

THE SERIES

Carolina leads the all-time series with Auburn, 45-24, and has a 20-10 record in games in Columbia. The two teams last met in 2017 in Auburn as the Tigers won 2-of-3 games. Carolina won the Saturday game, 7-0, on April 1, 2017 as Jacob Olson scored three runs and Carlos Cortes drove in five.

EIGHT GAMECOCKS DOT MLB OPENING DAY ROSTERS

South Carolina had eight players on Major League Baseball rosters on Opening Day (March 28), including Jackie Bradley Jr., who earned a World Series ring with the Boston Red Sox and was named the 2018 ALCS Most Valuable Player. Whit Merrifield (Kansas City), Justin Smoak (Toronto), Sam Dyson (San Francisco), Grayson Greiner (Detroit) and Christian Walker (Arizona) all are on active rosters while Steve Pearce (Boston), who was the 2018 World Series MVP, and Jordan Montgomery (New York Yankees) will start the 2019 season on the disabled list. Tyler Webb (St. Louis) is on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster heading into the new campaign. The SEC has 85 former players on Opening Day rosters.

SEC LEADERS

At the plate, Jacob Olson is tied for the SEC lead with nine home runs. Senior TJ Hopkins leads the league in total bases (70), is fourth in home runs (8), tied for the lead in triples (3) and is fifth in slugging percentage (.673). Olson is tied for second in slugging percentage (.694) and tied for second in total bases (68). Luke Berryhill is tied for second in doubles (11) and 10th in slugging percentage (.625). On the mound, Reid Morgan is third with 38.2 innings pitched and Cam Tringali is tied for the lead with 13 appearances. As a team, SC is 14th in batting average, 12th in ERA and eighth in fielding percentage.

HOPKINS NOTES

Senior TJ Hopkins is tied for the team lead with a .327 batting average heading into the Auburn series while slugging .673 and leading the team and the conference with 70 total bases … Hopkins had a pair of home runs in the 12-7 win over Furman on March 19. It is the second time in his career he has hit two home runs in a game. He had a pair on March 7, 2017, against The Citadel … Hopkins hit for the cycle in the 12-6 win over Valpo on March 10. He homered in the fourth, doubled in the fifth, singled in the seventh and tripled in the eighth. It was the first cycle for a Gamecock since Kyle Martin at Florida in 2015 … Hopkins earned the Tom Price Award, given to the Most Valuable Player of the Clemson series, after hitting three home runs and driving in nine on the weekend. For his efforts, Hopkins was named the SEC Player of the Week and National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA … Hopkins is tied for the conference lead in triples (3), is fourth in home runs (8) and fifth in slugging percentage (.673).

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks head to Charlotte, N.C., for a neutral-site matchup with North Carolina State at BB&T Ballpark. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.