Baseball Travels to Nashville to Face Vanderbilt
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina baseball team heads to Nashville, Tenn., and Hawkins Field for a three-game SEC series with Vanderbilt. The series begins Friday, April 14 at 7 p.m. EDT (6 p.m. CDT). The series continues Saturday, April 15 at 3 p.m. EDT (2 p.m. CDT) and concludes Sunday, April 16 at 2 p.m. EDT (1 p.m. CDT).
All three games will be streamed on SEC Network Plus. All games also will be broadcast on the Gamecocks Sports Network from Learfield with Derek Scott and Tommy Moody on the call.
The Gamecocks are coming off a 7-2 win over USC Upstate on Tuesday night. Dylan Brewer and Ethan Petry hit back-to-back home runs in the first and the pitching staff allowed just four hits in the win.
SCOUTING VANDERBILT
The Commodores lead the SEC with an 11-1 conference record heading into the weekend. Vanderbilt is coming off a 14-2, 7-inning win over North Alabama on Tuesday night. Parker Noland was a perfect 4-fo-4 at the plate and Davis Diaz drove in four runs. Chris Maldonado is hitting .367 while RJ Schreck has eight home runs and 38 RBI. Enrique Bradfield Jr., leads the SEC with 25 stolen bases. On the mound, Devin Futrell is 6-1 with a 2.21 ERA and a .174 opponent’s batting average.
SERIES VS. VANDERBILT
The Gamecocks have a 61-39 series advantage on Vanderbilt going into the weekend. The Gamecocks won 2-of-3 games over Vandy in Columbia last year. Braylen Wimmer was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and five RBI in the 8-6 series finale win while Will Sanders struck out 11 in seven innings in an 8-2 win in game two.
PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Friday
South Carolina Will Sanders (Jr. RHP) 2-1, 4.72 ERA, 34.1 IP, 12 BB, 41 SO
Vanderbilt Bryce Cunningham (So. RHP) 1-0, 3.20 ERA, 25.1 IP, 11 BB, 27 SO
Saturday
South Carolina Jack Mahoney (Jr. RHP) 3-0, 3.12 ERA, 40.1 IP, 11 BB, 45 SO
Vanderbilt TBA
Sunday
South Carolina TBA
Vanderbilt Devin Futrell (So. LHP) 6-1, 2.21 ERA, 40.2 IP, 9 BB, 33 SO
GAMECOCKS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The University of South Carolina baseball team is ranked in all six major polls after the week of April 10. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 3 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, No. 5 in the Baseball America, USA Today and Perfect Game polls, No. 6 in the D1Baseball.com poll and No. 7 in the NCBWA poll. The Gamecocks face No. 4 Vanderbilt (D1Baseball) this weekend in Nashville.
PETRY NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
University of South Carolina freshman outfielder Ethan Petry has been named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced this afternoon (Monday, April 10).
Petry, who has been named Freshman of the Week three times this season, earns Player of the Week in the league after another monster week at the plate, highlighted by a Thursday night performance where he hit two home runs and drove in eight in Carolina’s 13-5 win over LSU. Petry hit a two-run home run off LSU’s Paul Skenes, the first off the LSU pitcher this season, and added a grand slam in a five-run fifth inning. Petry’s eight runs are the most by a Gamecock since Adam Mathews drove in eight against College of Charleston in 2011. Petry had a single, walked and scored a run in the 5-0 win over North Carolina on Tuesday and had an RBI with a single and run scored in Friday’s game against LSU. Petry currently is second in the SEC with 52 RBI to go along with 16 home runs and a .449 batting average.
Petry’s 16 home runs are just one off Carolina’s freshman record (17), set by Justin Smoak in the 2006 season.
RPI WATCH
With 33 games in the books, it’s time to start looking at the RPI. The Gamecocks currently are second in those rankings, one of four SEC teams in the top five. Carolina currently is 20-1 at home and 7-3 on the road. Carolina has three-game series remaining against No. 1 Kentucky, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 7 Vanderbilt and No. 8 Florida.
GAMECOCKS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
The Gamecocks lead the nation with 78 home runs this season. Ethan Petry is tied for third with 16 home runs while Gavin Casas is tied for fifth with 15 … USC is seventh in the nation with 316 runs scored … Carolina is third in the nation in drawing walks with 215 and fifth in the country with 77 hit by pitches … The Gamecocks’ .436 on-base percentage is seventh in the country … On the mound, Carolina is fourth in earned-run average at 3.10 … Ethan Petry is third with 52 RBI … The .879 winning percentage is the second best in the country behind Virginia.
UP NEXT
Carolina starts a seven-game homestand Tuesday night (April 18) at 7 p.m. against Charleston Southern. The game will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.
