Baseball Visits Missouri for Three-Game SEC Set

FOR STARTERS

• South Carolina visits Taylor Stadium in Columbia, Mo., for a three-game SEC series at Missouri.
• Friday’s game starts at 7 p.m. EDT with Saturday and Sunday’s games at 4 and 2 p.m. EDT.
• All three games will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.
• All games also will be on the Gamecock Sports Network presented by Learfield with Derek Scott and Stuart Lake on the call.

SCOUTING MISSOURI

• The Tigers come into the weekend with a 20-26 overall record and a 6-15 record in SEC play.
• Missouri is coming off a 13-1 win over Lindenwood on Tuesday night. Matt Garcia had three RBI and Danny Corona had two hits and two RBI in the win.
• Jackson Lovich leads the Tigers with a .293 batting average while Trevor Austin has 10 home runs and 30 RBI this year.
• On the mound, Ryan Magdic has two saves and 29 strikeouts in 22 innings pitched.
• Kerrick Jackson is in his first season in Columbia. He was the head coach at Memphis from 2021-23. He is the first African-American head baseball coach in Southeastern Conference history.

SERIES VS. MISSOURI

• Carolina leads the all-time series with Missouri 20-13 heading into the weekend.
• Last season, the Gamecocks swept the Tigers, winning 9-8 in the opener on a fielder’s choice and throwing error in the bottom of the ninth.
• Ethan Petry’s RBI single in the 12th gave the Gamecocks the sweep in the 5-4 win.
• Carolina is 5-10 all-time against Missouri in CoMo.

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. 10 RPI and a No. 4 strength of schedule as of May 2. 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 12 home runs and 42 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 39 strikeouts in 27 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 307 walks in 44 games this season, which leads the country in free passes. The Gamecocks lead second place Texas A&M by six walks.
• Ethan Petry leads the team with 44 walks, which is tied for second  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 6.98 walks per game.

PETRY: 30 FOR 3(9)

• Sophomore Ethan Petry hit a home run in the 15-2 win over ETSU on May 1, his 39th career home run as a Gamecock.
• Petry is now in 12th 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 needs two more home runs to pull into a tie for ninth with James Darnell (2006-08), Tripp Kelly (1998-2001) and Charlie Aldrich (1985-87).

MILESTONE CENTRAL

• Head Coach Mark Kingston earned his 200th win at South Carolina in the Presbyterian game on March 26. Kingston now has 210 wins at Carolina and 483 wins overall.
• Ethan Petry recorded his 100th career RBI in the Presbyterian win. Petry now has 118 RBI in only 107 career games. Cole Messina joined Petry in the 100-RBI club on April 20 against Arkansas. Messina has 108 RBI in his Gamecock career.
• Cole Messina recorded his 100th career hit at Carolina March 26 vs. Presbyterian. Messina now has 122 hits, joining Talmadge LeCroy (113) and Ethan Petry (129) in the 100-hit club at Carolina.
• Ty Good recorded his 300th career strikeout March 30 at Alabama. Good has 323 strikeouts between the College of Charleston and Carolina.
• Kennedy Jones and Parker Noland both are in the 200-hit club in college. Jones has 220 hits between UNC Greensboro and Carolina while Noland has 230 hits between Vanderbilt and Carolina.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
Friday
South Carolina Roman Kimball (R-So., RHP) 2-1, 4.10 ERA, 26.1 IP, 26 BB, 36 K
Missouri Logan Lunceford (So. RHP) 1-4, 7.04 ERA, 47.1 IP, 17 BB, 43 K

Saturday
South Carolina Eli Jones (Jr. RHP) 3-2, 3.91 ERA, 53.0 IP, 15 BB, 44 K
Missouri Javyn Pimental (Jr. LHP) 2-2, 3.64 ERA, 42.0 IP, 13 BB, 45 K

Sunday
South Carolina TBA
Missouri TBA

UP NEXT
Carolina visits Rock Hill for a Tuesday night (May 7) matchup at Winthrop. First pitch is at 6 p.m.