Preview: Gamecocks host Texas A&M in key top of the table battle
WHAT: Texas A&M (37-10, 16-8) at South Carolina (37-11, 16-7)
WHERE: Founders Park, Columbia, SC
WHEN: Friday 7 p.m.; Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 4 p.m. (All times Eastern)
RADIO/TV: Gamecock Radio Network (107.5 FM in Columbia with Andy Demetra and Tommy Moody); SEC Network Plus on Friday (Derek Scott, Trey Dyson and Carolina Cann); SEC Network on Saturday and Sunday (Dave Neal and Chris Burke)
ALL-TIME SERIES: South Carolina leads 6-1
LAST TIME: USC won 8-7 on May 10, 2015 at College Station.
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS:
Friday: USC RHP Clarke Schmidt (9-1, 2.37 ERA, 83.2 IP, 98 K, 15 BB) vs. TAM RHP Brigham Hill (5-1, 2.31 ERA, 66.1 IP, 65 K, 14 BB)
Saturday: USC RHP Braden Webb (9-3, 3.38 ERA, 72.0 IP, 93 K, 38 BB)) vs. TAM RHP Turner Larkins (2-0, 1.69 ERA, 21.1 IP, 23 K, 6 BB)
Sunday: USC RHP Adam Hill (6-0, 2.83 ERA, 54.0 IP, 64 K, 20 BB) vs. TAM RHP Kyle Simonds (8-1, 2.48 ERA, 72.2 IP, 55 K, 20 BB)
If pitching is your thing, this weekend’s high stakes SEC series between South Carolina and Texas A&M is for you.
Texas A&M (team ERA of 3.07) and the Gamecocks (3.17) rank third and fourth, respectively, in the SEC in team earned run average and the Gamecocks have the lowest opposing batting average (.222) and fewest hits allowed (352 in 431.0 IP) in the conference while the Aggies are fourth (.233).
Five of the six scheduled starting pitchers possess earned run averages below 2.85, while five of the six average better than or close to one strikeout per inning.
The lone exception? Texas A&M’s Sunday starter Kyle Simonds, who threw a complete game no-hitter against Vanderbilt last Saturday, one of two shutouts the Aggies posted against the Commodores.
Indeed, mound mastery could be the theme of the weekend.
“Offensively, we have our work cut out for us because we have struggled of late,” USC coach Chad Holbrook said Thursday during a press conference previewing the three-game series. “We have to find ways to be creative to score more runs than perhaps the best offensive team in the country. We have to get some two-out hits and may be bunt a little earlier in the game than we have to get guys into scoring position. We might have to push the envelope from a hit-and-run standpoint.”
Leading the SEC West by one game over Mississippi State (15-9), the Aggies are just one-half game behind the Gamecocks in the overall SEC standings, so the winner of the series could find themselves atop the league mountain when the dust settles Sunday night with only one weekend series remaining in the regular season.
While dominant pitching has carried the Gamecocks and Aggies for most of the season, both teams feature potentially explosive offenses. The Gamecocks are, of course, led by Gene Cone (.354) and Alex Destino (.351), while the Texas A&M lineup is spearheaded by the SEC’s top hitter – Boomer White (.441), one of two players in the conference hovering above the magical .400 mark (Jake Mangum of Mississippi State is the other).
White ranks second nationally in batting average and hits (82), Hunter Melton leads the SEC in RBI with 57. The Aggies have the highest team batting average in the SEC (.320), making them possibly the best balanced team in the SEC.
“They are very physical and very offensive,” Holbrook said. “It may be the best offensive lineup we’ve faced all year. They have the guy many people say is the best hitter in college baseball and have guys that protect him. So, you have to pitch to him.”
How good is the Texas AUN lineup? Batters 7 through 9 are hitting a combined .315 (162-515) with 22 doubles, 14 homers and 105 RBI. Players hitting in the No. 8 spot have combined for 44 RBI, second highest in the batting order. Even the No. 9 hole is averaging above .300 with 22 RBI.
“Many people in baseball circles and colleagues of mine refer to Texas A&M as the most balanced team in college baseball,” Holbrook said. “They are very balanced and very experienced one through nine. They have a lot of maturity. Hitting .320 as a team is very difficult to do. Our pitchers must be at the top of their game.
“We know we have a big challenge ahead of us. It’s a big weekend for both teams. That’s what makes playing in the SEC so much fun. Both teams are very familiar with each other. There is a lot on the line for both teams. We’re thankful we get to play at home in front of our fans.”
STATS + FACTS by DOUG ADAMS
South Carolina vs. Texas A&M: USC swept the Aggies in 2013 in Columbia and took two of three against them in College Station last season...The first meeting between the two teams took place on June 19, 2011 in Omaha. USC won 5-4...Four of the seven meetings were one run games...Last season in College Station, USC outscored the Aggies 31-29.
A Little About Texas A&M: Ranked No. 2 in the country...The Aggies are 10-7 away from College Station. They are 7-5 when playing on the road in the SEC...It is their fourth series in the last seven weeks against a top-10 opponent...Won 15 of the last 18...A&M ranks sixth in the nation in shutouts with eight...Kyle Simonds leads the Aggies with 11 starts. He no-hit No. 5 Vanderbilt last weekend....Boomer White ranks second in the nation in batting average at .441. He is hitting .520 in SEC play...Hunter Melton leads the team with 10 home runs and 57 runs batted in. Six of his 10 homers are against SEC foes...J.B. Moss and Nick Choruby are tied for the team lead with 13 stolen bases. Choruby has nine stolen bases in league play while Moss has eight.
Recapping Kentucky: USC defeated the Wildcats on Friday, 10-5...The 10 runs on Friday night tied for the most by USC in a SEC game this year. Carolina also scored 10 in a 10-6 win vs. Arkansas in the SEC opener...Kentucky won Saturday 6-0. Carolina tallied just three hits, lowest total in a SEC game this year and the second lowest total in a game all season...The Wildcats took the series on Sunday with a 5-4 win in 12 innings. Carolina outhit UK 14-5 and left 15 runners on base compared to Kentucky’s four. USC was 2-17 with runners in scoring position. The Wildcats hit three solo home runs...Carolina has lost four straight series in Lexington to the Wildcats. The Gamecocks last series win at Kentucky came in 2009. The Wildcats have won nine of the last 12 in Lexington against USC.
Recapping Presbyterian: The Gamecocks defeated PC 3-1 on Tuesday night to improve their all-time record in the series to 46-19. USC is 38-5 in Columbia against the Blue Hose....Alex Destino hit two solo home runs...Taylor Widener faced 28 batters and had a career-high 12 strikeouts...Presbyterian defeated South Carolina 7-4 in 10 innings last season in Columbia. It snapped a 10 game winning streak for the Gamecocks in the series and was PC’s first win in the series since April 27, 1948.
Getting 40 Wins: The Gamecocks had at least 40 wins in every season from 2000 to 2014. Carolina went 32-25 last season. Currently with 37 wins, they need just 3 more to reach the 40-win plateau again.
It Is Good to Be Home: The Gamecocks are 28-2 at Founders Park this season, including a record of 10-1 against SEC opponents...USC is 9-7 in true road games including 6-6 against SEC foes.
Gamecock Offense: Carolina scored 22 runs in the three game series against Missouri. Since then, USC has scored 27 in seven games...USC left 28 runners on base in the Kentucky series...The team batting average is .288.
Gamecock Pitching: Allowed at least one home run in six of the last seven games, including the last four...Struck out at least 10 batters in nine of the last 11 games, including the last four...Team ERA is 3.17.
Gene Cone: His 31 game hitting streak and 34 game on base streak were snapped in Saturday’s 6-0 loss at Kentucky...Had two hits in his first two at bats on Sunday against the Wildcats...He was 0-4 against PC on Tuesday...Hitting .422 in SEC play...Leads the team with a .354 batting average with players who have a minimum of 100 at bats.
Dom Thompson-Williams: Batting .253 in SEC play...Went 0-4 against PC on Tuesday. His six game hit streak and 14 game on base streak were both snapped...One of two Gamecocks to start in all 48 games this season...Leads the team with 16 stolen bases...Hit clean-up against PC on Tuesday. It was his first time hitting clean-up since the Tennessee game on April 9, 2016...Leads the team with 17 multi-hit games.
Alex Destino: Went 2-4 against Kentucky on Saturday. The Gamecocks had three total hits on Saturday and Destino had two of them...Went 1-4 on Friday against the Wildcats with four runs batted in...Reached base in 12 straight games...Hit two home runs on Tuesday night against PC. He has eight on the year...In 20 SEC games, he is hitting .356 with a team leading 20 RBI...Leads the team with .561 slugging percentage and with eight home runs...Also leads the team with 13 multiple RBI games.
John Jones: Hitting .253 in SEC play...Went 4-12 in the series against Missouri. Since then, he is 0-10 in the last two SEC weekend series.
Jonah Bride: Went 2-4 with two doubles and two runs batted in against Kentucky on Friday...Batting .284 in SEC action...Hitting .267 on the season.
Chris Cullen: Went 3-4 on Friday at Kentucky...Batting average of .242 in SEC play...Tied for fourth on the team with 10 doubles.
DC Arendas: Started at second base on Sunday at Kentucky. It was his first start since April 23 against Missouri...Batting .180 in conference play...Played in 46 of 48 games with 31 starts...Hitting .205 on the season.
Madison Stokes: In 10 SEC games, he is hitting .281 with an overall batting average of .283.
Marcus Mooney: Hitting .229 against SEC opponents...Batting .311 overall and has 45 starts...Has 18 walks to 13 strikeouts.
LT Tolbert: Hitting .183 in SEC play...Played in 46 games with 45 starts...Hitting .213 overall.
Clarke Schmidt: Improved to 9-1 on the season with Carolina’s 10-5 win at Kentucky on Friday...Against the Wildcats he pitched 6.2 innings allowing five runs on eight hits. He had seven strikeouts and one walk...Has 98 strikeouts in 83.2 innings pitched...Pitched no more than 6.2 innings in his last three starts...8-2 career record at Founders Park.
Braden Webb: Set a school record for strikeouts in a single season by a freshman. He has 93, shattering the previous record of 86 set by Jason Hanyie in 1993 and tied by Kip Bouknight in 1998...Pitched 7 innings on Saturday against the Wildcats, allowing five runs on six hits and two walks. He had 10 strikeouts...Has at least 10 strikeouts in five of his last seven starts. ... 7-0 career record at Founders Park.
Adam Hill: Pitched five innings on Sunday at Kentucky allowing three runs on two hits and three walks. He struck out six...Opponents are hitting .201 against him...Season high in innings pitched is 6.1 innings against Missouri on April 24...Has pitched between 5.0 and 6.1 innings in eight of his last 11 starts including his last four...Has 14 strikeouts in his last 11.1 innings pitched. He had 13 in the previous 20.1 innings...4-0 career record at Founders Park.
Josh Reagan: Record of 1-2 with a 1.40 ERA in 23 appearances...Leads the team with 11 saves on the season...Holbrook said Thursday he continues to have “great confidence” in Reagan. “I thought he threw the ball great at Kentucky,” Holbrook said. “He gave up one home run that went about 325 feet and it was wind-aided. Other than that one pitch, he was terrific. He pitched with an edge.”
Tyler Johnson: 1-2 with a 3.31 ERA in 21 appearances...Four of his five saves this season are in SEC games...Made one appearance at UK on Sunday...Holbrook said Thursday he should be well rested for the Texas A&M series.
Reed Scott: Second most appearances on the Gamecocks with 22...Earned his second save of the season on Tuesday night vs. PC...Pitched 1.1 innings of relief against the Blue Hose. He faced four batters and struck out all four....3-1 with a 3.00 ERA.
Taylor Widener: Started Tuesday night against Presbyterian and struck out a career high 12 batters. His previous career high was seven against Furman on April 20, 2016 and Auburn on May 2, 2015. Pitched 7.2 innings allowing one run on six hits...Tuesday was his first start since April 20, 2016 at Furman.
SEC SCHEDULE (May 12-15)
(ALL THREE GAME SERIES)
Texas A&M at South Carolina
Alabama at Arkansas
Mississippi State at Auburn
Vanderbilt at Florida
Georgia at Missouri
Kentucky at Ole Miss (Thur.-Sat.)
LSU at Tennessee
SEC EAST STANDINGS
South Carolina 16-7
Florida 16-7
Vanderbilt 14-10
Kentucky 13-11
Georgia 8-16
Missouri 7-17
Tennessee 7-17
SEC TOURNAMENT SEEDING LADDER
1. South Carolina or Florida 16-7*
2. Texas A&M 16-8*
3. South Carolina or Florida 16-7
4. Mississippi State 15-9
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5-7. LSU, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt 14-10
8. Kentucky 13-11
9. Alabama 12-12
10. Auburn 8-16 (Wins tiebreaker over Georgia)
11. Georgia 8-16
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12-14. Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee, 7-17
NOTE: Division winners are automatically seeded No. 1 and No. 2 for the SEC Tournament. The remainder of the 12-team field is seeded based on winning percentage. The No. 13 and 14 teams do not qualify for the SEC Tournament. The top four teams receive first-round byes.
