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Baseball Heads to Charlotte to Face North Carolina
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Baseball Heads to Charlotte to Face North Carolina

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FOR STARTERS

  • Carolina travels to Charlotte, N.C., for its annual neutral-site matchup with No. 13 North Carolina.
  • First pitch for Tuesday’s game at Truist Park, home of the Charlotte Knights, will be at 6:30 p.m.
  • The game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
  • Tuesday’s game also will be broadcast on the Gamecock Sports Network presented by Learfield.

PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Friday
South Carolina Connor Chicoli (So. RHP) 1-1, 3.00 ERA, 18.0 IP, 5 BB, 17 SO
North Carolina Boston Flannery (Jr. RHP) 1-0, 1.74 ERA, 10.1 IP, 11 BB, 8 SO

SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA

  • The Tar Heels are coming off winning 2-of-3 games against Louisville in Chapel Hill.
  • Erik Paulsen drove in three runs in Sunday’s 7-6 win over the Cardinals.
  • Owen Hull leads UNC with a .353 batting average while Paulsen has a team-best 27 RBI.
  • On the mound, Jason DeCaro is 5-1 with a 1.65 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 32.2 innings pitched.
  • Scott Forbes is in his sixth season as head coach at North Carolina. Forbes has guided the Tar Heels to three Super Regional appearances and a trip to the College World Series in 2024.

SERIES VS. NORTH CAROLINA

  • North Carolina has a 65-40-1 series advantage on South Carolina heading into Tuesday’s game.
  • Last year, the Tar Heels defeated the Gamecocks in Charlotte, 13-8, on March 25. Nathan Hall drove in three runs in the game.
  • The Gamecocks are 6-10 against the Tar Heels in neutral-site games.

RANDOLPH’S A BLAST

  • Fifth-year senior Jake Randolph belted three home runs in the Arkansas series, including a pair in the 9-4 win over the Razorbacks on Sunday, March 22.
  • Randolph had a two-run home run on Friday, one of three home runs by the Gamecocks in that game.
  • Randolph then had home runs in consecutive at-bats against Arkansas on Sunday. His solo shot to lead off the fourth gave Carolina a 4-0 lead.
  • He then had a two-run home run in the sixth, part of a three-run frame.
  • Randolph currently is hitting .385 with seven runs scored and five RBI.

STONE’S LIKE A ROCK

  • Junior Brandon Stone earned his third win of the season in a 9-4 victory over Arkansas on March 22.
  • Stone struck out five in 5.1 innings pitched, allowing five hits and two runs.
  • Stone is now 3-1 on the year with a 2.39 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 26.1 innings pitched.
  • Stone now has five career wins in Columbia with 73 strikeouts at Carolina.

DOUBLES PARTY

  • After 25 games, Carolina has 56 doubles on the season, which is third in the SEC and 15th in the country.
  • Texas Tech leads Division I baseball with 68 doubles.
  • KJ Scobey has 10 doubles on the season, which is tied for third in the SEC. Patrick Evans has nine doubles in 2026.

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 did not allow a hit or a run in Friday’s game against No. 23 Florida on March 13. He struck out five in his third career start.

AMP’D UP

  • Amp Phillips did not allow an earned run in Carolina’s game at No. 23 Florida on Saturday night (March 14).
  • Phillips pitched six innings for the Gamecocks and allowed five hits with three strikeouts.
  • Phillips then went seven strong innings against Arkansas on March 21, striking out six and allowing one run on three hits.
  • Phillips has two wins on the season to go along with a 2.32 ERA and a .193 opponent’s batting average.

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 .342 with six doubles, a triple, five home runs and 15 RBI with a .658 slugging percentage this season.
  • Craddock hit a three-run home run on March 17 against Charlotte.

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 187 games in his Carolina career with 170 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 10 walks away from cracking Carolina’s top-10 list in base on balls.
  • The Belton, S.C., native has 153 hits, 29 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 95 RBI in the Garnet and Black, helping Carolina to a Super Regional berth in 2023.
  • LeCroy belted his first career grand slam in a win over Princeton on March 8.
  • LeCroy is hitting .271 with five home runs and is tied for the team lead with 17 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 .301 with 10 doubles, four home runs and is tied for the team lead with 17 RBI.

UP NEXT

  • Carolina heads to Foley Field in Athens, Ga., for a three-game SEC series at No. 7 Georgia.
  • The series starts on Friday night at 6 p.m. Saturday’s game will be at 2 p.m. with Sunday’s game at 1 p.m.
  • All three games will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.

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