Baseball Hosts Longwood This Weekend
FOR STARTERS
- South Carolina hosts Longwood in a three-game, non-conference series this weekend at Founders Park.
- The series begins on Friday night (March 8) at 7 p.m. and continues Saturday afternoon (March 9) at 4 p.m.
- The series finale is Sunday afternoon (March 10) at 1:30 p.m.
- All three games will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.
- All three games also will be on the Gamecock Sports Network presented by Learfield with Derek Scott, Cade Crenshaw and Stuart Lake on the call.
SCOUTING LONGWOOD
- Longwood enters the weekend with a 7-5 overall record and is coming off an 11-6 loss to Elon on Tuesday afternoon.
- Hayden Harris and James Nelson had three hits apiece against the Phoenix.
- Noah Campanelli leads the Lancers with a .429 batting average while Willie Ravens has a team-best 17 RBI.
- Longwood opened the season with sweeps of Siena and Iona. The Lancers won 1-of-3 games at Kennesaw State but fell in a pair of one-run contests.
- Chad Oxendine is in his third season as head coach at Longwood. Oxendine played college baseball at Coastal Carolina, helping the Chanticleers to four straight Big South championships from 2001-04.
SERIES VS. LONGWOOD
- Carolina leads the all-time series with Longwood, 3-0, with all three games coming in the 2005 season.
- Carolina won the opener, 5-1, on Feb. 11, 2005, as Ian Paxton drove in three runs and Aaron Rawl struck out five in seven innings in the season opener.
- Carolina won 4-1 the next day as Davy Gregg went 3-for-5 Zac McCamie struck out six in six innings of work.
- The Gamecocks defeated the Lancers 13-3 in the series finale as Steven Tolleson had three hits and three RBI. Forrest Beverly had seven punchouts in four innings.
- Carolina is 201-47 all-time against teams in the Big South.
PARKING INFORMATION
Shuttle parking for the University of South Carolina baseball season will be operational at the Key Road Gravel Lot (1105 Key Road) for select games. Shuttle begins two (2) hours prior to first pitch and continues until 1 hour after the game. It is $5 to park at the Key Road Lot to take the shuttle.
For GPS purposes, the address for the Key Road Gravel Lot is 1105 Key Road, Columbia, SC 29201.
BUSINESS LOTS DURING AFTERNOON GAMES Business lot parking passes will be honored in Lot 1 ONLY for the Feb. 16, 20, 21, 23 and 27 and March 6 afternoon baseball games based on availability. 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: 6:00 p.m.
Business Lots Open: 5/5:30 p.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 5 p.m.
Bus Shuttle for Patrons: 5 p.m.
Saturday
Game Time: 4 p.m.
Stadium Opens: 3 p.m.
Business Lots Open: 2/2:30 p.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 2 p.m.
Bus Shuttle for Patrons: 2 p.m.
Sunday
Game Time: 1:30 p.m.
Stadium Opens: 12:30 p.m.
Business Lots Open: 11:30 a.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 11:30 a.m.
Bus Shuttle for Patrons: 11:30 a.m.
BREW CREW
- Dylan Brewer has had a hot start at the plate, going 19-for-42 (.500) with 14 runs scored, a double, a triple, 11 RBI, 12 walks and just one strikeout in 13 games played.
- Brewer was 3-for-7 with a run scored, an RBI and three walks in the two games against Clemson on March 2-3.
- Brewer currently is third in the SEC in batting average and fourth in on-base percentage (.571).
GAMECOCKS TIED FOR NATION LEAD IN WALKS
- Carolina has drawn 116 walks in 13 games this season, tied for the national lead with SEC opponent Ole Miss.
- Ethan Petry leads the team with 14 walks, which is tied for second in the SEC.
- Talmadge LeCroy has 13 walks, which is tied for fourth in the SEC.
- Carolina’s is averaging 8.92 walks per game.
GAMECOCK ARMS IMPRESS IN FIRST 13
- The South Carolina pitching staff has a 2.38 ERA after 13 games, good for second in the SEC and third in the country.
- The Gamecocks have struck out 132 batters in 109.2 innings, led by Roman Kimball and Tyler Pitzer’s 14 punchouts.
- The Gamecock opponents are hitting just .178, led by Dylan Eskew’s .122 opponent’s batting average, which is tied for fifth in the league.
- Ty Good has pitched 8.1 scoreless innings this season, including a perfect eighth with two strikeouts March 3 at Clemson.
- Eli Jones has a 2.03 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 13.1 innings pitched.
- The Gamecocks are fourth in the NCAA in hits allowed per nine innings (5.83) and fourth in team WHIP (1.03).
LECROY OFF TO HOT START
- Junior Talmadge LeCroy is hitting .357 with a .571 on-base percentage in Carolina’s first 13 games of 2024.
- LeCroy is tied for second in the SEC with 21 runs scored and tied for fourth in walks with 13.
- LeCroy was a home run shy of a natural cycle in Carolina’s 7-1 win over The Citadel on March 5. He singled in the second, doubled in the fourth and tripled in the fifth.
- LeCroy belted his first home run of 2024 in the 12-2 win over Winthrop.
- He also scored five runs in the win over the Eagles, becoming the first Gamecock since Michael Campbell at Furman on May 16, 2006.
PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Friday
South Carolina Eli Jones (Jr. RHP) 1-0, 2.03 ERA, 13.1 IP, 0 BB, 12 K
Longwood Brenton Fisher (Sr. RHP) 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 8.0 IP, 1 BB, 14 K
Saturday
South Carolina Dylan Eskew (R-Jr. RHP) 1-1, 3.29 ERA, 13.2 IP, 6 BB, 13 K
Longwood Ethan Walker (So. LHP) 1-0, 1.64 ERA, 11.0 IP, 6 BB, 19 K
Sunday
South Carolina TBA
Longwood Guillermo Garcia (Sr. RHP) 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 5 BB, 13 K
UP NEXT
- Carolina travels to SRP Park, home of the Augusta Greenjackets, to face Georgia State on Tuesday night (March 12) at 7 p.m.
- The Gamecocks then will open SEC play next weekend, visiting Oxford, Miss., for a three-game set at Ole Miss.
