Baseball Visits Charlotte on Tuesday Night

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina baseball team concludes its four-game road trip on Tuesday night (March 21) as the Gamecocks visit Truist Field, home of the Charlotte Knights, to face Charlotte at 6:05 p.m.

Tuesday’s game will be streamed on ESPN+. All games also will be broadcast on The Game 107.5 FM with Derek Scott and Tommy Moody on the call.

The Gamecocks improved to 20-1 on the season with a three-game sweep at Georgia to open SEC play. Noah Hall pitched a complete game on Saturday, striking out five in seven innings, while Will McGillis and Gavin Casas each had a pair of home runs in Sunday’s 12-1 win. Carolina leads the nation with 56 home runs and leads the SEC with a 2.57 ERA.

SCOUTING CHARLOTTE
The 49ers won 2-of-3 games at Louisiana Tech this past weekend, winning the final two contests by scores of 14-6 and 9-0. Jack Dragum had four hits and drove in a pair in Sunday’s finale. Cam Fisher leads Charlotte with a .408 batting average and 10 home runs. On the mound, Cameron Hansen is 1-0 with a 3.33 ERA and 18 strikeouts with a .187 opponent’s batting average.

SERIES VS. CHARLOTTE
Carolina holds a 25-9 series advantage on Charlotte heading into Tuesday. The 49ers won the last meeting in 2022, scoring eight runs in the fifth on its way to an 8-3 win on May 17. Carolina won 5-4 contests over Charlotte in both 2107 and 2019.

PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Tuesday
South Carolina Eli Jerzembeck (Fr. RHP) 0-0, 1.38 ERA, 13.0 IP, 1 BB, 18 SO
Charlotte Collin Kramer (So. LHP) 0-2, 9.82 ERA, 14.2 IP, 9 BB, 18 SO

PETRY NAMED SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
University of South Carolina outfielder Ethan Petry has been named the Southeastern Conference Baseball Freshman of the Week, the conference office announced March 20. Petry had a stellar week at the plate, hitting .562 (9-for-16) with four runs scored, seven RBI, four extra-base hits, which included three home runs. The freshman opened the week going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored in a 5-0 win over Presbyterian. He homered in the game one win over Georgia on Saturday, then drove in five with a pair of home runs, part of a 4-for-4 afternoon in Carolina’s 12-2, 7-inning win. Petry closed the weekend with an RBI single as the Gamecocks swept Georgia in Athens for the first time since 2010.

SOLID START TO SEC PLAY
The Gamecocks went into Georgia and swept the Bulldogs for the first time since 2013 and the first time in Athens since 2010. This included a pair of run-rule win and come-from-behind, 5-4 win in the first game on Saturday. Michael Braswell’s 2-run double in the top of the ninth in game one was the difference. Ethan Petry homered three times on Saturday while Will McGillis and Gavin Casas each had a pair of home runs on Sunday. Carolina’s offense worked 18 walks while the Gamecock arms only walked the Bulldogs three times.

CAROLINA LEADS THE SEC IN ERA
South Carolina leads the SEC and is third in the nation with a 2.57 ERA after 21 games. The Gamecocks allowed just seven runs in the three wins over Georgia on March 18-19 as Jack Mahoney allowed just one run in six innings to pick up his third win. Noah Hall has a 2.59 ERA on the season in 31.1 innings pitched, while James Hicks has allowed just two runs in 19.1 innings of work.

UP NEXT
Carolina hosts No. 22 Missouri this weekend, beginning Friday night (March 24) at 7 p.m. on SEC Network.