Baseball Hosts Princeton in Saturday-Sunday Series

FOR STARTERS

• Carolina plays its final non-conference weekend series of the regular season this weekend, taking on Princeton in a three-game set at Founders Park.
• The Gamecocks and Tigers will play a doubleheader on Saturday, March 7 starting at 1 p.m. Both games will be nine innings in length.
• The series concludes with a single game on Sunday, March 8 at 1:30 p.m.
• All three games will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.
• All three games also will be broadcast on the Gamecock Sports Network presented by Learfield with Cade Crenshaw (Saturday), Derek Scott (Sunday) and Stuart Lake on the call.

PARKING INFORMATION

BUSINESS LOTS DURING AFTERNOON GAMES  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 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: 5:30 p.m.
Business Lots Open: 4:30/5 p.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 4 p.m.

Saturday
Game Time: 1 p.m.
Stadium Opens: 12 p.m.
Business Lots Open: 11/11:30 a.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 11 a.m. 

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

PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Saturday G1
South Carolina Josh Gunther (Jr. RHP) 2-0, 4.20 ERA, 15.0 IP, 5 BB, 20 SO
Princeton Justin Kim (Sr. RHP) 0-1, 4.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 3 BB, 7 SO

Saturday G2
South Carolina Riley Goodman (R-Fr. RHP) 0-2, 5.79 ERA, 9.1 IP, 8 BB, 10 SO
Princeton Liam Kinneen (So. RHP) 0-1, 15.43 ERA, 7.0 IP, 11 BB, 6 SO

Sunday
South Carolina Amp Phillips (Jr. RHP) 1-1, 4.15 ERA, 13.0 IP, 7 BB, 13 SO
Princeton Brady Kaufman (Fr. RHP) 1-0, 5.63 ERA, 8.0 IP, 5 BB, 5 SO

PROMOTIONS
We will close out the non-conference weekend slate with a three-game series against Princeton, highlighted by a Sunday celebration of the Irmo Little League baseball team, with players recognized during a pregame ceremony following the National Anthem.

SCOUTING PRINCETON

• The Tigers won the final game of a four-game series against Duke, 8-7, scoring three runs in the top of the ninth to get the victory.
• Jake Koonin was 3-for-4 for Princeton in the win.
• The Tigers also have a win over N.C. State in their young season.
• Tomas Cernius leads the Tigers with a .316 batting average while Bennett Crerar has two home runs and four RBI.
• On the mound, game one starter Justin Kim has seven strikeouts in nine innings of work.
• Scott Bradley is in his 28th season at Princeton. He has 476 total wins with the Tigers and was catcher for nine seasons in the Major Leagues.

SERIES VS. PRINCETON

• Carolina holds a 9-1 series advantage on Princeton heading into the weekend.
• The two teams last played in the 2018 season with the Gamecocks sweeping the three-game series on March 9-11.
• LT Tolbert had two home runs and five RBI in the series while Noah Campbell had six hits in the three games.
• Adam Hill had nine strikeouts on Friday night in the victory.
• Carolina has won nine games in a row over the Tigers. Princeton won the first meeting, 14-3, on March 25, 1970, played at Fort Jackson.

GUNTHER NAMED SEC PITCHER OF THE WEEK

• Junior Josh Gunther was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week on March 2.
• Gunther, who made his first career start, went seven innings and allowed just three with no runs and 10 strikeouts to just one walk in a 7-0 win over No. 15 Clemson.
• Gunther ended five of his seven innings with a strikeout and retired the final six batters of the night.
• Clemson came into the game hitting .332 but Gunther and Alex Valentin combined on Carolina’s second shutout of the season.
• Gunther is a perfect 2-0 on the year with a 4.20 ERA.

CRADDOCK NAMED SEC FROSH OF THE WEEK

• Freshman infielder Will Craddock was named the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week on Monday, Feb. 23 after his debut in a Carolina uniform.
• Craddock went 8-for-15 with nine runs scored, two doubles, a triple, two home runs, two walks and six RBI to help lead the Gamecocks to four wins last week.
• He was a perfect 3-for-3 and reached base safely in all five of his plate appearance in the Gardner-Webb win on Wednesday.
• In the win over Navy on Saturday, he opened the first with a leadoff home run and added a two-run double. Craddock had four RBI in the game.
• Then on Sunday in the win over Air Force, Craddock once again led off the Carolina first with a home run. He also added a double in the 4-2 win.
• Craddock becomes the first Gamecock to win Freshman of the Week honors since Tyler Pitzer in 2024.
• Craddock is hitting .367 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and six RBI with a .733 slugging percentage this season.

LECROY RETURNS FOR FIFTH SEASON

• Catcher Talmadge LeCroy returns for his fifth year at Carolina in 2026 after missing the second half of last season due to injury.
• LeCroy has played in 187 games in his Carolina career with 170 starts. If he plays in 24 games this season, LeCroy will become one of 17 Gamecocks to play in 200 games or more and the first to do it since Adam Matthews (2009-12).
• LeCroy also is 10 walks away from cracking Carolina’s top-10 list in base on balls.
• The Belton, S.C., native has 153 hits, 29 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 95 RBI in the Garnet and Black, helping Carolina to a Super Regional berth in 2023.
• LeCroy is hitting .362 with two home runs and eight RBI this season.

KJ MOVING TO SHORT FOR 2026

• Sophomore KJ Scobey manned the hot corner last year, starting at third in 56 of Carolina’s 57 games in 2025.
• Scobey will now move to shortstop this season, a position he played at Team USA training camp this summer and all through fall ball.
• Scobey had 34 runs scored, seven doubles, eight home runs and 27 RBI in his freshman season.
• Scobey had a walk-off double in Carolina’s 3-2 win over North Florida on April 22 and had a home run to lead off the ninth in the Gamecocks’ 6-5 win over No. 1 LSU on May 15.
• Scobey spent the summer of 2025 in the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training camp in Cary, N.C. He had two hits in the Stars and Stripes exhibition on June 30.
• In the second game of the 2026 season, Scobey hit a walk-off solo home run to start the bottom of the ninth, lifting Carolina to a 6-5 win.
• Scobey is hitting .333 with six doubles, two home runs and a team-best 11 RBI this year 

BE MY VALENTIN

• Junior lefthanded pitcher Alex Valentin has made three solid appearances for the Gamecocks to start the 2026 season.
• Valentin has two saves and nine strikeouts in 7.1 innings pitched, allowing just three hits and two walks and a .120 opponent’s batting average.
• In the 4-2 win over Air Force, Valentin picked up the save, pitching the final three innings and allowing just one hit with three strikeouts.
• He also earned the save in the season opener vs. Northern Kentucky, getting the final out of the game.
• Valentin pitched the final two innings against No. 15 Clemson on Feb. 27, striking out five in the 7-0 win.
• He earned his third save of the season on March 4 against Charleston Southern, striking out four in final two innings of a 4-1 win.

DOUBLES PARTY

• After 14 games, Carolina has 37 doubles on the season, which is second in the SEC behind Mississippi State’s 41 and is tied for sixth in the country.
• Georgia Tech leads Division I baseball with 43 doubles.
• Patrick Evans has seven doubles in 13 games with 12 starts. That number is tied for 14th in the nation.
• KJ Scobey is right behind Evans with six doubles in 2026.

UP NEXT

• Carolina visits Charleston, S.C., and Joe Riley Park for a Tuesday night (March 10) visit to The Citadel.
• First pitch for the midweek contest will be at 7 p.m.
• The game will be streamed on ESPN+.