Baseball . April 30, 2024

Baseball Hosts ETSU to Wrap Up Homestand

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FOR STARTERS

South Carolina wraps up its seven-game homestand Wednesday night against East Tennessee State with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch.
Wednesday’s game will be streamed on SEC Network Plus with Dave Weinstein and Grayson Greiner on the call.
Wednesday’s game also will be on the Gamecock Sports Network presented by Learfield with Derek Scott and Stuart Lake on the call.

SCOUTING ETSU

The Buccaneers enter Wednesday’s game with a 27-14 overall record and a 9-6 record in the Southern Conference.
ETSU enters the game with a No. 52 RPI and No. 82 strength of schedule.
The Bucs are coming off a three-game sweep of The Citadel, outscoring the Bulldogs 32-11. Tommy Barth had two hits and three RBI in the 13-3, 7-inning series finale.
Jackson Green leads ETSU with a .385 batting average while Cameron Sisneros has 14 doubles, 15 home runs and 59 RBI.
On the mound, Michael Harpster is 7-1 with 46 strikeouts in 54.2 innings pitched while Owen Kovacs has six saves and a .235 opponent’s batting average.
Joe Pennucci is in his seventh season in Johnson City. He was the associate head coach at Stony Brook for 12 years before coming to ETSU.

SERIES VS. ETSU

Carolina has won all eight meetings with ETSU, including a three-game sweep of the Bucs in 2002.
Yaron Peters had four hits in the series finale, a 14-5 win over the Buccaneers.
The two teams played in the 1980 Atlantic Region Tournament in Clemson with Carolina picking up an 8-5 win on May 25.

WHERE WE STAND

Carolina is currently tied with Vanderbilt for third in the SEC East with matching 11-10 records. Overall, Carolina is tied for sixth with the Commodores but holds the tiebreak thanks to a sweep of Vandy in April.
Carolina has a No. 11 RPI and a No. 4 strength of schedule as of April 30. That is the sixth best RPI in the SEC.
The Gamecocks are 12-12 against Quad 1 opponents this season. The 24 games against Quad 1 opponents are tied with Alabama for the most Q1 games played in the country.

GAMECOCK DUO ON MIDSEASON WATCH LISTS

Cole Messina was named to the Buster Posey Award Midseason Watch List.
The award is given to the best Division I catcher in the country.
Messina has a team-best 15 doubles to go along with 11 home runs and 39 RBI this season.
Garrett Gainey was named to the NCBWA Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List.
The award is handed out to the best relief pitcher in Division I baseball.
Gainey is tied for second in the SEC with six saves and has 36 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched.

ESKEW DEALS IN KENTUCKY WIN

Dylan Eskew pitched a career-high 6.1 innings, scattering five hits and walking only one in a 10-0, 7-inning shutout of Kentucky on April 28.
Eskew retired the first seven Kentucky hitters and helped Carolina to its third shutout of the season.
The outing lowered his ERA to 3.78 and his opponent’s batting average to .224.

OUTFIELDERS SHINE IN KENTUCKY SERIES

The outfield trio of Blake Jackson, Kennedy Jones and Austin Brinling had stellar weekends in the series win over Kentucky.
Jackson had two home runs, including a walk-off two-run shot in the 10th to defeat the Wildcats on Friday, 6-5.
Jackson had four hits and six RBI in the three-game set.
Jones drove in eight runs in the three-game set, going 5-for-11 with three runs scored. He had four RBI in the Sunday 10-0 win.
Brinling was 6-for-14 with five runs scored in three games. He was 3-for-6 in Saturday’s contest vs. Kentucky.

GAMECOCKS LEAD THE NATION IN WALKS

Carolina has drawn 299 walks in 43 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 42 walks, which is 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 6.95 walks per game.

PARKING INFORMATION

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.

Wednesday
Game Time: 6:30 p.m.
Stadium Opens: 5:15 p.m.
Business Lots Open: 3:30/4 p.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 3:30 p.m.
Bus Shuttle for Patrons: 3:30 p.m.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
South Carolina Jake McCoy (Fr. LHP) 0-0, 7.04 ERA, 7.2 IP, 7 BB, 10 K
ETSU Cason Engert (Fr. RHP) 0-1, 8.59 ERA, 14.2 IP, 4 BB, 18 K

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