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Baseball Hosts Vanderbilt in Weekend SEC Series
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Baseball Hosts Vanderbilt in Weekend SEC Series

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FOR STARTERS

  • South Carolina plays its first SEC home series of 2024 when the Gamecocks welcome Vanderbilt to Founders Park for a three-game set.
  • Friday’s game begins at 7 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday’s games at 4 and 1:30 p.m., respectively.
  • All three games will be streamed on SEC Network Plus with Dave Weinstein and Kip Bouknight on the call.
  • 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.

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.

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.

SCOUTING VANDERBILT

  • Vanderbilt is one of the hottest teams in the country heading into Columbia as the Commodores have won 14 games in a row and are 19-3 overall and 3-0 in the SEC.
  • Vandy defeated Belmont, 3-1, at the Nashville Sounds park on Tuesday. Davis Diaz had two hits and an RBI in the win.
  • Before that, the Commodores swept Auburn in Nashville to open SEC play.
  • Alan Espinal was named SEC Player of the Week on Monday and he currently leads the team with a .392 average and four home runs.
  • Bryce Cunningham comes into the weekend with a 3-0 record and a 2.45 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 25.2 innings pitched.
  • Tim Corbin is in his 22nd season as head coach of Vanderbilt. He guided the Commodores to the national championship in 2014 and 2019 and won his 1,000th career game on March 5 in a win over Eastern Michigan.

SERIES VS. VANDERBILT

  • Carolina holds a 61-39 series advantage on Vanderbilt heading into the weekend.
  • Last year in Nashville, Vanderbilt won 2-of-3 games in the series as Carolina won the opener, 14-6.
  • In that Friday win, Carson Hornung was 3-for-5 with three RBI and Cole Messina reached base four times, including two off of home runs. Ethan Petry homered and scored a pair of runs.
  • The last meeting in Columbia happened in 2022, when the Gamecocks won 2-of-3 games over the Commodores.
  • Braylen Wimmer was 3-for-5 with five RBI and two home runs in the 8-6 win in the series finale.

GAMECOCKS LEAD THE NATION IN WALKS

  • Carolina has drawn 172 walks in 21 games this season, which leads the country in free passes. The Gamecocks lead second place Texas A&M by two walks.
  • Ethan Petry leads the team with 21 walks, which is fifth in the SEC.
  • The Gamecocks walked 18 times in the 22-6 win over Longwood on March 10. It’s the most dating back to 2005 (first year of game-by-game stats available).
  • Carolina is averaging 8.19 walks per game.

GAMECOCK ARMS IMPRESS IN FIRST 21

  • The South Carolina pitching staff has a 3.11 ERA after 21 games, good for fifth in the NCAA.
  • The Gamecocks have struck out 206 batters in 176.2 innings, led by 22 punchouts from Chris Veach.
  • The Gamecock opponents are hitting just .205, led by Dylan Eskew’s .186 opponent’s batting average. Garrett Gainey has a .105 opponent’s batting average in 11.1 innings.
  • Eli Jones has a 2.22 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 24.1 innings pitched.
  • Tyler Pitzer is 3-0 with a 0.73 ERA in 12.1 innings pitched.
  • The Gamecocks are eighth in the NCAA in hits allowed per nine innings (6.83) and are eighth in team WHIP (1.17).

OLD HOME WEEK

  • Gamecock infielders Parker Noland and Gavin Casas will face their old team in Vanderbilt this weekend.
  • Noland played at Vandy for four seasons, where he appeared in 192 games, driving in 119 runs with 60 extra-base hits
  • Became the first Commodore and fifth SEC player to hit two grand slams in one game in a win over Mississippi State in 2023.
  • Casas was at Vandy for two years, where he hit .279 with 15 RBI in 31 games played
  • Casas played against Vandy last year in Nashville and doubled in the 14-6 win in the series opener.

PETRY: 30 FOR 3(1)

  • Sophomore Ethan Petry hit a home run in the fourth inning on Tuesday at USC Upstate which was his 31st career round tripper.
  • Petry is now tied for 20th place on Carolina’s all-time home runs list and is the 29th Gamecock to hit 30 or more home runs in a career.
  • The last player to achieve that feat was Braylen Wimmer (2020-23), who had 32 career home runs. Wes Clarke (2019-21) also had 32 home runs in his Gamecock career.
  • Petry currently is tied with Jacob Olson (2017-19), Michael Campbell (2003-06), Brendan Winn (2004-05), Yaron Peters (2001-02) Jerry Shepherd (1991-92) and Dave Hollins (1985-87) for 20th place.
  • Petry also has reached base in all 21 games this season. Combine that with reaching in the last 10 games of 2023, Petry currently has a 31-game reached base streak.

PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Friday
South Carolina Eli Jones (Jr. RHP) 2-0, 2.22 ERA, 24.1 IP, 6 BB, 19 K
Vanderbilt Carter Holton (Jr. LHP) 3-0, 3.96 ERA, 25.0 IP, 8 BB, 39 K

Saturday
South Carolina Dylan Eskew (R-Jr. RHP) 2-2, 3.91 ERA, 23.0 IP, 7 BB, 18 K
Vanderbilt Bryce Cunningham (Jr. RHP) 3-0, 2.45 ERA, 25.2 IP, 12 BB, 36 K

Sunday
South Carolina TBA
Vanderbilt Devin Futrell (Jr. LHP) 2-0, 4.67 ERA, 27.0 IP, 3 BB, 20 K

BECKER, GAINEY SHUT IT DOWN ON SUNDAY

  • Carolina relievers Matthew Becker and Garrett Gainey were brilliant in Sunday’s 6-2 win over Ole Miss in Oxford.
  • Becker pitched 5.1 innings of relief, allowing four hits and two runs with four strikeouts and no walks to earn his fourth win of the season.
  • Becker was two outs shy of his career high in innings pitched, set his freshman season against Texas.
  • Gainey pitched the final two frames and allow a hit and walk with two strikeouts.
  • Gainey has a 0.79 ERA and has 19 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched this season.

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