Baseball Faces LSU Wednesday Morning in SEC Tournament Play

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina baseball team will continue SEC Tournament play Wednesday morning (May 24) as the sixth-seeded Gamecocks face No. 3 LSU at 10:30 a.m. EDT (9:30 a.m. CDT).

PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Wednesday
South Carolina Eli Jones (So. RHP) 4-4, 3.88 ERA, 46.1 IP, 15 BB, 57 K
LSU Thatcher Hurd (So. RHP) 4-2, 6.59 ERA, 41.0 IP, 29 BB, 55 K

Game Notes

– The Gamecocks belted 12 hits and received stellar pitching from James Hicks and Cade Austin in a 9-0 win over Georgia on the opening day of SEC Tournament play Tuesday afternoon in Hoover, Ala.

– The win over the Bulldogs was the first shutout by the Gamecocks in their SEC Tournament history.

– The win by the Gamecocks was the first for Carolina in the SEC Tournament since a 4-2 win over Missouri in the 2018 SEC Tournament. Carolina improved its SEC Tournament record vs. Georgia to 2-3.

– The win for Carolina was the 450th career win for head coach Mark Kingston.

– Will Tippett had three hits and three RBI in the win. His three-run triple gave Carolina an 8-0 lead. It’s the first multi-hit game of Tippett’s career.

– Evan Stone opened the scoring for Carolina with a two-run single in the second. Stone now has 18 RBI on the year.

– Braylen Wimmer and Talmadge LeCroy each had two hits in the win. It was the first time the Gamecocks had 10 or more hits in a game since May 9 vs. North Florida and last one against an SEC team since April 30 against Auburn.

– James Hicks struck out six in 6.2 shutout innings to earn his seventh win of the season. He also lowered his ERA to 3.61.

– Hicks threw a career-high 90 pitches, allowing just four hits with no runs and two walks. He has now pitched eight scoreless innings against Georgia this season.

– Cade Austin picked up his second save of the year, striking out three in 2.1 innings. He got a big strikeout with bases loaded in the seventh. He allowed just one hit and walked one.

– All-time, Carolina is 2-9 against LSU in the SEC Tournament. The two wins both came in the 2002 tourney. Carolina defeated the Tigers 10-8 and 5-4 before falling in the championship game to Alabama.

– The two teams split the regular-season series in Columbia in April. Carolina picked up the 13-5 win on April 6 as Ethan Petry drove in eight and had two home runs. Dylan Brewer also hit a home run in the win. LSU earned an 8-7 come-from-behind win over Carolina on April 8. The third game of the series was rained out.

– Eli Jones will get the start for Carolina. He is 4-4 with a 3.88 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 48 innings pitched. Jones pitched in both games against LSU this season. He allowed two hits and two runs with three strikeout and no walks in an inning of work on April 6. He took the loss on April 7, allowing a run and a hit with a walk in an inning.

–  With the win over Georgia on Tuesday, Carolina now has 20 win over RPI Top-50 teams. Carolina moved up to No. 5 in the RPI after the win over the Bulldogs.

– The winner of Carolina-LSU will play on Thursday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. EDT (4:30 p.m. CDT). The loser will play Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m. EDT (9:30 a.m. CDT).