Baseball Hosts USC Upstate, Charleston Southern in the Midweek

FOR STARTERS

• Carolina hosts a pair of Big South opponents during the midweek at Founders Park.
• The Gamecocks host USC Upstate on Tuesday night (March 3) at 6:30 p.m. before facing Charleston Southern Wednesday night (March 4) at 6:30 p.m.
• Both games will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.
• Both games also will be broadcast on the Gamecock Sports Network presented by Learfield with Cade Crenshaw, Wil Crowe (Tuesday) and Stuart Lake (Wednesday) on the call.

PARKING INFORMATION

BUSINESS LOTS DURING AFTERNOON GAMES Business lot parking passes will be honored in Lot 1 ONLY for the Feb. 13, 18 and 20 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: 6:30 p.m.
Stadium Opens: 5:30 p.m.
Business Lots Open: 4:30/5 p.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 4:30 p.m.

Saturday
Game Time: 2 p.m.
Stadium Opens: 1 p.m.
Business Lots Open: 12/12:30 p.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 12 p.m.

Sunday
Game Time: 1:30 p.m.
Stadium Opens: 12:30 p.m.
Business Lots Open: 12:30 p.m./1 p.m.
Lot 1, STDM, HDG PGDL Open: 11:30 a.m.

PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Tuesday
South Carolina Logan Prisco (So. LHP) 0-0, 3.86 ERA, 4.2 IP, 2 BB, 5 SO
USC Upstate Max Kaplan (So. LHP) 2-0, 1.32 ERA, 5 BB, 16 SO

Wednesday
South Carolina TBA
CSU TBA

PROMOTIONS
Tuesday and Wednesday – Early Bird Special

SCOUTING USC UPSTATE

• The Spartans are coming off losing 2-of-3 games at Georgia Southern this past weekend. USC Upstate won the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, 8-2.
• Johnny Sweeney had three RBI in Upstate’s win over the Eagles on Saturday.
• Henry Zenor has a team-best 13 RBI to go with four extra-base hits.
• On the mound, Max Kaplan, Tuesday’s starter, is 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 13.2 innings pitched.
• Kane Sweeney is in his second year as the head coach at USC Upstate. He led the Spartans to the Big South Tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA Clemson Regional last year.

SERIES VS. USC UPSTATE

• Carolina holds a 17-1 all-time series lead on USC Upstate heading into Tuesday’s game.
• The Gamecocks defeated the Spartans 13-3 in seven innings on April 8, 2025, as Dalton Mashore hit a grand slam and Jordan Carrion drove in three runs.
• Carolina is 13-1 all-time against USC Upstate in Columbia.

SCOUTING CHARLESTON SOUTHERN

• The Buccaneers are off to a school-best 10-1 after sweeping Brown in a three-game series this past weekend.
• Tyler Wright was 3-for-4 in the 10-4 win over Brown in the series finale.
• Chandler Tuupo leads CSU with a .436 batting average to go along with three home runs and 19 RBI.
• On the mound, Brady Bickett is 2-0 with 11 strikeouts in 13.2 scoreless innings.
• Karl Kuhn is in his second season at Charleston Southern. He was the head coach at Radford and the pitching coach at Virginia, where he helped the Cavaliers win the title in 2015.

SERIES VS. CHARLESTON SOUTHERN

• Carolina holds an 80-13 all-time series advantage on Charleston Southern heading into Wednesday.
• Last season, Carolina defeated CSU, 5-3, on April 29, as Evan Stone drove in two runs as the Gamecocks put up a four-spot in the seventh.
• Carolina has won the last four meetings with the Buccaneers.

GUNTHER NAMED SEC PITCHER OF THE WEEK

• Junior Josh Gunther was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week on March 2.
• Gunther, who made his first career start, went seven innings and allowed just three with no runs and 10 strikeouts to just one walk in a 7-0 win over No. 15 Clemson.
• Gunther ended five of his seven innings with a strikeout and retired the final six batters of the night.
• Clemson came into the game hitting .332 but Gunther and Alex Valentin combined on Carolina’s second shutout of the season.
• Gunther is a perfect 2-0 on the year with a 4.20 ERA.

CRADDOCK NAMED SEC FROSH OF THE WEEK

• Freshman infielder Will Craddock was named the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week on Monday, Feb. 23 after his debut in a Carolina uniform.
• Craddock went 8-for-15 with nine runs scored, two doubles, a triple, two home runs, two walks and six RBI to help lead the Gamecocks to four wins last week.
• He was a perfect 3-for-3 and reached base safely in all five of his plate appearance in the Gardner-Webb win on Wednesday.
• In the win over Navy on Saturday, he opened the first with a leadoff home run and added a two-run double. Craddock had four RBI in the game.
• Then on Sunday in the win over Air Force, Craddock once again led off the Carolina first with a home run. He also added a double in the 4-2 win.
• Craddock becomes the first Gamecock to win Freshman of the Week honors since Tyler Pitzer in 2024.
• Craddock is hitting .393 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and six RBI with a .786 slugging percentage this season.

LECROY RETURNS FOR FIFTH SEASON

• Catcher Talmadge LeCroy returns for his fifth year at Carolina in 2026 after missing the second half of last season due to injury.
• LeCroy has played in 182 games in his Carolina career with 165 starts. If he plays in 24 games this season, LeCroy will become one of 17 Gamecocks to play in 200 games or more and the first to do it since Adam Matthews (2009-12).
• LeCroy also is 14 walks away from cracking Carolina’s top-10 list in base on balls.
• The Belton, S.C., native has 152 hits, 29 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 94 RBI in the Garnet and Black, helping Carolina to a Super Regional berth in 2023.
• LeCroy is hitting .381 with two home runs and seven RBI this season. 

KJ MOVING TO SHORT FOR 2026

• Sophomore KJ Scobey manned the hot corner last year, starting at third in 56 of Carolina’s 57 games in 2025.
• Scobey will now move to shortstop this season, a position he played at Team USA training camp this summer and all through fall ball.
• Scobey had 34 runs scored, seven doubles, eight home runs and 27 RBI in his freshman season.
• Scobey had a walk-off double in Carolina’s 3-2 win over North Florida on April 22 and had a home run to lead off the ninth in the Gamecocks’ 6-5 win over No. 1 LSU on May 15.
• Scobey spent the summer of 2025 in the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training camp in Cary, N.C. He had two hits in the Stars and Stripes exhibition on June 30.
• In the second game of the 2026 season, Scobey hit a walk-off solo home run to start the bottom of the ninth, lifting Carolina to a 6-5 win.
• Scobey is hitting .321 with two home runs and nine RBI this year. 

BE MY VALENTIN

• Junior lefthanded pitcher Alex Valentin has made three solid appearances for the Gamecocks to start the 2026 season.
• Valentin has two saves and nine strikeouts in 7.1 innings pitched, allowing just three hits and two walks and a .120 opponent’s batting average.
• In the 4-2 win over Air Force, Valentin picked up the save, pitching the final three innings and allowing just one hit with three strikeouts.
• He also earned the save in the season opener vs. Northern Kentucky, getting the final out of the game.
• Valentin pitched the final two innings against No. 15 Clemson on Feb. 27, striking out five in the 7-0 win.

UP NEXT

• Carolina will play its final non-conference weekend series of the season when the Gamecocks face Princeton at Founders Park.
• The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday March 7 starting at 1 p.m.
• The series concludes on Sunday with a 1:30 p.m. first pitch.
• All three games will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.