Baseball Announces Opening Weekend Rotation
Carmen Mlodzinski, Dylan Harley and Reid Morgan will take the mound vs. the Flames.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Head Coach Mark Kingston announced his Opening Weekend rotation this afternoon (Wednesday, Feb. 13) for the three-game series against Liberty. The Gamecocks will go with sophomore righthander Carmen Mlodzinski, freshman lefthander Dylan Harley and junior righthander Reid Morgan for the first three contests.
Mlodzinski will get the ball on Opening Day after making 19 appearances with seven starts for the Garnet and Black in 2018. He had three wins and a save while striking out 43 batters in 45.2 innings pitched. Mlodzinski earned the win in the Greenville Regional championship game against UNC Wilmington on June 4, striking out three and allowing four hits and three runs in five innings of work. He also struck out five in five innings in an SEC Tournament win over Missouri on May 22.
Harley will get the nod on Saturday afternoon and will make his Gamecock debut in the process. The Summerville, S.C., native was 8-0 with a state-best 111 strikeouts for Cane Bay High School his senior season. He helped Cane Bay to a 22-6 record and a Region 8-4A championship in 2018 while being named to the USA TODAY High School Sports All-South Carolina first team.
Morgan also will be making his Gamecock debut on Sunday afternoon. The Kingwood, Texas, native played at San Jacinto Community College for his sophomore year and was 2-1 with a 3.10 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 40.2 innings pitched. He helped San Jac to a 52-15 overall record and a semifinal berth in the JuCo World Series in 2018. Morgan attended Oklahoma State as a freshman, striking out four in six innings for the Cowboys. Morgan was 7-1 with a 1.27 ERA as a junior at Foster High School in Texas.
