Baseball Hosts Texas A&M This Weekend

FOR STARTERS

• South Carolina welcomes No. 3 Texas A&M to Founders Park this weekend for a three-game series.
• Friday’s game starts 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 Grayson Greiner on the call.
• All three games also will be on the Gamecock Sports Network presented by Learfield with Derek Scott 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 TEXAS A&M

• Texas A&M comes in to the weekend having won six games in a row and are 26-3 overall and 6-3 in the SEC.
• The Aggies defeated Texas State, 12-2, in seven innings in their last contest on Tuesday night.
• Braden Montgomery had four RBI in the win over the Bobcats while Gavin Grahovac was 3-for-4 with two RBI.
• Montgomery leads the Aggies with a .385 average, 17 home runs and 51 RBI.
• Texas A&M is hitting .305 as a team with 57 home runs and 261 runs scored.
• On the mound, Ryan Prager is a perfect 5-0 wiht a 2.21 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 36.2 innings pitched.
• Evan Aschenbeck has three saves and a 0.94 ERA in 11 relief appearances.
• Jim Schlossnagle is in his third season as head coach of the Aggies. He is a two-time national coach of the year and led A&M to the College World Series in 2022.

SERIES VS. TEXAS A&M

• Carolina leads the all-time series with Texas A&M, 11-10, heading into the weekend.
• The two teams last let in the 2023 SEC Tournament with Texas A&M winning 5-0.
• Carolina won the last game in the three-game set in 2022, 9-4, as Talmadge LeCroy and Josiah Sightler had three hits apiece.
• The last meeting between the two schools in Columbia was in 2019. Carolina won the middle game, 3-2, as Luke Berryhill’s three-run home run in the first was the difference.

GAMECOCKS LEAD THE NATION IN WALKS

• Carolina has drawn 219 walks in 29 games this season, which leads the country in free passes. The Gamecocks lead second place Texas A&M by seven walks.
• Ethan Petry leads the team with 29 walks, which is tied for third 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 7.55 walks per game.
• The Gamecocks also are third in the SEC and 11th nationally in on-base percentage (.435).

PETRY: 30 FOR 3(5)

• Sophomore Ethan Petry hit a pair of home runs in the 19-14 win over Presbyterian which was his 34th and 35th career round trippers.
• Petry is now in 14th 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 also has reached base in all 29 games this season. Combine that with reaching in the last 10 games of 2023, Petry currently has a 39-game reached base streak.

GOOD GREAT AT ALABAMA

• Fifth year senior Ty Good pitched three innings of relief March 30 at Alabama, striking out four and allowing just one hit in a 9-8 win.
• Good picked up his fourth win of the season and now has a 4-0 record with a 2.42 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 22.1 innings pitched.
• Good now has 29 career wins with 300 strikeouts between the College of Charleston and South Carolina.

PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Friday
South Carolina Eli Jones (Jr. RHP) 2-0, 2.45 ERA, 36.2 IP, 8 BB, 28 K
Texas A&M Ryan Prager (R-So. LHP) 5-0, 2.21 ERA, 36.2 IP, 5 BB, 51 K

Saturday
South Carolina Tyler Pitzer (Fr. RHP) 4-0, 1.99 ERA, 22.2 IP, 8 BB, 34 K
Texas A&M Tanner Jones (Jr. RHP) 2-1, 4.87 ERA, 20.1 IP, 8 BB, 23 K

Sunday
South Carolina TBA
Texas A&M Justin Lamkin (Jr. LHP) 2-0, 2.41 ERA, 33.2 IP, 9 BB, 46 K

MILESTONE CENTRAL

• Head Coach Mark Kingston earned his 200th win at South Carolina in the Presbyterian game on March 26. Kingston now has 201 wins at Carolina and 474 wins overall.
• Ethan Petry recorded his 100th career RBI in the Presbyterian win. Petry now has 103 RBI in only 91 career games.
• Cole Messina recorded his 100th career hit at Carolina March 26 vs. Presbyterian. Messina now has 106 hits, joining Talmadge LeCroy (101) and Ethan Petry (115) in the 100-hit club at Carolina.
• Ty Good recorded his 300th career strikeout March 30 at Alabama. Good has 303 strikeouts between the College of Charleston and Carolina.
• Kennedy Jones and Parker Noland both are in the 200-hit club in college. Jones has 206 hits between UNC Greensboro and Carolina while Noland has 212 hits between Vanderbilt and Carolina.

UP NEXT

• Carolina heads to Truist Field in Charlotte for its annual game against North Carolina on Tuesday, April 9 at 7 p.m.
• The game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.