COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina baseball team makes the trip to Nashville, Tenn., and Hawkins Field for a three-game series at No. 17 Vanderbilt. The series begins on Friday night (April 27) at 6:30 p.m. CDT (7:30 p.m. EDT). Saturday’s game starts at 2 p.m. CDT (3 p.m. EDT) with the series finale Sunday afternoon (April 29) at 1 p.m. CDT (2 p.m. EDT).

All three games against the Commodores will be streamed on SEC Network Plus. Every game will be on the IMG Gamecock Radio Network with Derek Scott and Tommy Moody on the call.

South Carolina has won four games in a row after sweeping No. 19 LSU this past weekend and defeating Furman, 10-2, on Tuesday night in Greenville.

SCOUTING VANDERBILT

> The Commodores lost 2-of-3 games at Missouri this past weekend, winning the series finale, 6-2, as Mason Hickman pitched seven scoreless innings with four strikeouts and Ethan Paul was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Austin Martin leads the Commodores with a .373 batting average while Paul has a team-best 10 doubles and eight home runs. Vanderbilt leads the conference with 74 stolen bases, 17 of them from Martin. On the mound, Patrick Raby has a 2.47 ERA and 40 strikeouts in seven starts.

SERIES VS. VANDERBILT

> South Carolina enjoys a 56-32 series advantage on Vanderbilt heading into the weekend. Last season, the Commodores took 2-of-3 games in Columbia, but the Gamecocks knocked Vanderbilt out of the SEC Tournament with a 7-4, 11-inning win. In that game, Justin Row went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run and Riley Hogan had the game-winning RBI on a bases-loaded walk in the 11th. South Carolina has a 27-11 record in Nashville against Vandy, although the Commodores won 2-of-3 games in the 2016 at Hawkins Field.

PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION

Friday
South Carolina Logan Chapman (Fr. RHP) 3-0, 3.29 ERA, 41.0 IP, 20 BB, 40 SO
Vanderbilt Drake Fellows (So. RHP) 4-3, 3.03 ERA, 59.1 IP, 26 BB, 69 SO

Saturday
South Carolina Adam Hill (Jr. RHP) 4-4, 4.05 ERA, 46.2 IP, 30 BB, 67 SO
Vanderbilt Patrick Raby (Jr. RHP) 2-4, 2.47 ERA, 47.1 IP, 19 BB, 40 SO

Sunday
South Carolina Cody Morris (So. RHP) 6-3, 4.18 ERA, 51.2 IP, 19 BB, 54 SO
Vanderbilt Mason Hickman (Fr. RHP) 7-1, 3.69 ERA, 46.1 IP, 13 BB, 44 SO

SEASON HIGHS ABOUND IN FURMAN WIN

> South Carolina had a season high 17 hits in the 10-2 win over Furman on April 24. Six Gamecocks had two or more hits, led by Jonah Bride‘s four, which was a season high and tied a career high. Carlos Cortes tied a season high with four RBI while Carmen Mlodzinski set career bests with seven innings pitched and seven strikeouts.

GAMECOCKS BREAK OUT THE BROOMS AGAINST LSU

> South Carolina outscored No. 19 LSU 30-10 and hit .355 with 13 extra-base hits in a three-game sweep April 20-22. Carolina earned its first-ever sweep over LSU in Columbia and third sweep overall. The Gamecocks swept the Tigers in back-to-back years in 2005 and 2006 in Baton Rouge. Logan Chapman helped the Gamecocks to an 11-0 win on Friday, striking out six in 6.2 innings pitched. TJ Hopkins also had a big week, hitting .467 with six RBI in his return to action from injury. Carolina picked up its third shutout of the season in Friday’s win. In fact, Carolina held LSU without a run for the first 16.1 innings of the series. It was Carolina’s third series sweep in 2018 and second in conference play (Tennessee on March 29-31).

SC IN THE SEC LEADERS

> Adam Hill leads the SEC in opponent’s batting average (.145) and is tied for ninth in strikeouts with 67. Jacob Olson is tied for fourth in the league with 13 doubles. TJ Hopkins is tied for fourth in the conference with 12 stolen bases, while Noah Campbell and LT Tolbert are tied for fifth with three triples. In SEC play, Justin Row is ninth with a .360 batting average.

ROW STEPPING UP IN SEC PLAY

> Senior Justin Row leads the Gamecocks with a .360 batting average in conference play and he stepped up big in the 8-6 win over LSU on April 22. Row made a brilliant play in the field for the third out of the first inning. He then tied the game at six in the seventh frame with a two-run home run. Row has 18 hits in SEC play with two doubles, a home run, five RBI and a .411 on-base percentage.

WHAT A COMEBACK!

> Carolina fell behind LSU, 6-0, on April 22, but responded with eight unanswered runs in the 8-6 win. The Gamecocks scored four runs in the sixth to get back in the game. Then in the seventh, Justin Row homered to left to tie the contest. LT Tolbert had the game winner, a two-run single in the eighth. Carolina picked up its third win this season when trailing entering the seventh.