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Preview: Gamecocks begin homestretch with trip to Kentucky

The Gamecoks prepped for the Kentuckyseries by downing USC Upstate Wednesday night
The Gamecoks prepped for the Kentuckyseries by downing USC Upstate Wednesday night
Chris Gillespie, Gamecock Central

WHAT: South Carolina (35-9, 15-5) at Kentucky (27-18, 11-10)

WHERE: Cliff Hagan Stadium, Lexington, Ky.

WHEN: Friday 6:30 p.m.; Saturday 6:30 p.m., Sunday 3 p.m. (All times Eastern)

RADIO/TV: Gamecock Radio Network (107.5 FM in Columbia with Andy Demetra and Tommy Moody); SEC Network Plus Friday and Saturday (Dick Gabriel & Keith Madison); ESPNU on Sunday (Clay Matvick & Mike Rooney).

ALL-TIME SERIES: South Carolina leads 48-34

LAST TIME: USC won, 6-4 (10 Inn) on March 15, 2005.

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS:

Friday: USC RHP Clarke Schmidt (8-1, 1.99 ERA, 77.0 IP, 91 K, 14 BB) vs. KTY RHP Zack Brown (2-8, 5.45 ERA, 66.0 IP, 49 K, 25 BB)

Saturday: USC RHP Braden Webb (9-2, 3.05 ERA, 65.0 IP, 83 K, 36 BB) vs. KTY RHP Dustin Beggs (7-1, 2.79 ERA, 77.1 IP, 63 K, 13 BB)

Sunday: USC RHP Adam Hill (6-0, 2.57 ERA, 49.0 IP, 58 K, 17 BB) vs. KTY RHP Kyle Cody (5-2, 4.06 ERA, 62.0 IP, 55 K, 25 BB)

Cliff Hagan Stadium in Lexington, Ky. has proven to be a House of Horrors for South Carolina over the past decade.

Since sweeping the Wildcats there in 2002, USC has lost five of six series, been swept twice (2006 and 2012) and compiled a meager record of 5-13.

Thus, even though Kentucky is struggling of late to stay competitive in the SEC East, Chad Holbrook is taking nothing for granted in the Gamecocks’ next-to-last conference road series. The Gamecocks conclude the regular season May 19-21 with a three-game series at Alabama.

How dangerous is Kentucky at home? The Wildcats have already beaten Florida at home this season.

“They have three great pitchers they are going to throw at us,” Chad Holbrook said Wednesday night following his team’s 4-1 victory over USC Upstate at Founders Park. “They have won some big series. They have beaten some of the best teams in the country. They won the series against Florida. They are always very difficult to play (in Lexington). They have a great home field and they are comfortable playing in their park.”

JaVon Shelby leads Kentucky with 10 homers, but is a classic feast or famine hitter with 49 strikeouts in 150 at-bats (1 K every 3 AB). Evan White ignites the Wildcats offense with a team-high .358 batting average and nine stolen bases.

“Shelby can hit the ball out of the park at any time,” Holbrook said. “They have pesky guys at the top of the lineup that set the table for their middle guys. Their starting pitching is as good as anybody in the league. They are all high draft picks.”

Kentucky has lost its last three SEC series, dropping to one game above .500 in conference play. The Wildcats are tied with LSU (11-10) in the overall SEC standings and are essentially battling for the best possible seeding in the SEC Tournament, which begins May 24 in Hoover, Ala.

Kentucky currently stands in eighth place on the SEC ladder, but UK trails fourth-place Vanderbilt by just two games in the race for the final first-round bye spot.

Currently owning the best mark in the SEC, nine conference games stand between the Gamecocks and the regular season title and the accompanying No. 1 seed for the SEC Tournament. Holbrook, though, isn’t one to rush things, especially with two of the final three series on the road and the lone home series against SEC West leader Texas A&M.

“Nine games to the fans and (media) probably doesn’t (sound like a lot), but it’s a lifetime to me,” Holbrook said. “That’s because the league is so hard. Honestly, I won’t start thinking about the SEC (regular season) championship until the final weekend. It’s too far away.

“Too much can happen in one weekend. We just need to keep trying to play our best baseball. Hopefully, with one or two games left to play we’ll look up and say, ‘We have a chance to accomplish something here.’ Right now, I’m just focused on winning our next game.”

STATS + FACTS by DOUG ADAMS

Gamecocks at Kentucky: USC has won seven of the last nine games against Kentucky, including the last four...The last time the Gamecocks won a regular-season series in Lexington was in 2009...The Wildcats have won seven of the last nine meetings against USC in Lexington...Chad Holbrook is 7-2 all-time against Kentucky.

Back on the Road: USC is 8-5 on the road this season. They were 6-13 last year...Carolina ends the regular season with a series at Alabama May 19-21.

Comparing Some Numbers...Carolina has 87 doubles this season in 44 games. Last season, they had 63 in 57 games...Jack Wynkoop led the pitching staff last season with eight wins. He was the only Gamecock with more than six. This season, Braden Webb leads the team with nine while Clarke Schmidt has eight and Adam Hill has six...Last season, the longest reached base streak by a player was 20 by Gene Cone. This season, four players have a streak of at least 21 straight games to reach base...USC has 31 errors in 1,586 chances (.980) this season. They had 61 errors in 2,173 chances (.972) last season.

Recapping USC Upstate: USC defeated Upstate 4-1 on Wednesday night to improve to 11-0 all-time against the Spartans...Carolina earlier defeated Upstate 12-6 on March 15 at Fluor Field in Greenville...The Gamecocks have scored more than 10 runs against Upstate in six of the 11 meetings including four of the last six games...Gamecock hitters started the game with four straight strikeouts. Five of the first six outs were called strike three...USC batters struck out seven times in the two games against Florida. They struck out nine times against Upstate. Seven of the nine strikeouts were by the top four hitters in the lineup...Carolina’s first hit of the night came in the fourth inning by John Jones.

Founders Park: Carolina is 27-2 at Founders Park this season. They were 25-11 last season at home...The Gamecocks went 36-4 at Founders Park in 2011 and 34-7 in 2014.

A Little about the Kentucky Wildcats: Last SEC series won was the weekend of April 8-10 in Lexington against Alabama. The Wildcats won two of the three games...UK has lost 10 of its last 15 games...The Wildcats have 38 home runs on the season. They are led by JaVon Shelby with 10. Four of his 10 are in SEC play...Evan White leads UK with a .358 batting average and 96 total bases. He is hitting .323 in SEC play...Kyle Cody is 3-1 with a 3.50 ERA in seven starts against SEC opponents. SEC foes are hitting .227 against him...Dustin Beggs is 3-1 with a 3.88 ERA in seven SEC starts. He has 33 strikeouts to nine walks in 48.2 innings...Zack Brown is 1-6 with a 5.67 ERA in seven SEC starts. SEC opponents are hitting .298 against him...Overall, Kentucky’s team ERA in SEC play is 4.28.

Gene Cone: Appeared in 39 games this season...Hitting .379 on the season with three home runs and 20 runs batted in...Tied for the team lead with 53 hits this season. In 2015, he had 55 hits in 214 at bats...Has batted leadoff in 27 straight games...Reached base in 33 straight games...Has a hit in 30 straight games, the longest streak in Division I baseball this season...Went 2-3 at the plate and hit game-winning solo home run in Carolina’s 2-1 win over Florida last Saturday...Hitting .461 in SEC play with three home runs and 11 runs batted in. He has 18 walks to six strikeouts.

Alex Destino: Hitting .356 in SEC play with one home run and 16 runs batted in...Reached base in eight straight games...Tied for the team lead with 53 hits...Batting .344 on the season with five home runs and 40 runs batted in.

Dom Thompson-Williams: Batted in the second spot of the order in four of the last six games...Hitting .230 in SEC play with 13 runs batted in. He has two of the team’s four triples in SEC play...Reached base in 11 straight games...Batting .323 on the season with four home runs and 32 runs batted in...Leads the team with 15 stolen bases.

John Jones: Hitting .263 in SEC play with two home runs and 14 runs batted in...Batting .309 on the season with six home runs and 39 runs batted in.

Marcus Mooney: Hitting .203 in SEC play with eight runs batted in...Reached base in 16 straight games...Had two hits Wednesday against Upstate. It was his 10th multi-hit game of the year...Batting .308 with one home run and 23 runs batted in this season.

Jonah Bride: Started every game at third base this season...Hitting .289 in SEC play with one home run and eight runs batted in...One of two Gamecocks to start all 44 games this season...Batting .268 with one home run and 18 runs batted in.

LT Tolbert: Hitting .197 in SEC play with one home run and 10 runs batted in...Batting .226 overall with two home runs and 20 runs batted in.

DC Arendas: Hitting .179 in SEC play with two home runs and seven runs batted in...Batting .206 overall with two home runs and 14 runs batted in.

TJ Hopkins: Hitting .300 in SEC play with six runs batted in...Batting .333 overall with one home run and 19 runs batted in.

Madison Stokes: Started four straight games...Hitting .286 in SEC play with one RBI...Drove in two runs on Wednesday night with his single to left field. He entered Wednesday’s game with one RBI on the season. Stokes then stole second. It was his first career stolen base...Batting .273 overall with three runs batted in.

Chris Cullen: Hitting .226 in SEC play with one home run and 11 runs batted in...Batting .266 on the season with one home run and 21 runs batted in.

Clarke Schmidt: Pitched 6.1 innings on Friday against Florida allowing three runs, one earned, on five hits and two walks. He struck out six...Has a no decision in his last two starts...His last two road starts were against Georgia and Vanderbilt. In those two games, he combined for 17 innings allowing seven runs on 13 hits with one walk and 19 strikeouts...4-1 with a 2.96 ERA in seven starts against SEC foes. He has 59 strikeouts to nine walks.

Braden Webb: Pitched 7.1 innings on Saturday against the Gators allowing one run on five hits and three walks. He struck out seven. The previous two games he combined for eight innings allowing nine runs on 13 hits, and nine walks...Since allowing eight runs in 2.1 innings at Georgia, Webb has allowed two runs on nine hits in his last 13 innings. He has 17 strikeouts and nine walks in those 13 innings...Against SEC opponents, he is 6-1 with a 3.60 ERA in seven starts. He has 62 strikeouts to 23 walks.

Adam Hill: Record of 2-0 with a 3.94 ERA in six starts against SEC opponents...He has walked four batters in the previous 11.1 innings...Overall, 6-0 with a 2.57 ERA in 10 starts. He has 58 strikeouts to 17 walks in 49 innings.

Tyler Johnson: Had two appearances for a combined 3.1 innings last weekend against Florida. He allowed no runs on one hit and struck out four. He picked up the save in Saturday’s 2-1 win...Picked up his fifth save of the season on Wednesday against Upstate...1-1 with a 3.34 ERA in 20 appearances. He has 38 strikeouts to four walks in 32.1 innings.

Josh Reagan: All five runs allowed this season came off solo home runs. Four of the five runs allowed have come in two of the last three appearances...Allowed two solo home runs to Georgia on April 17, 2016 and Florida on April 29, 2016...In SEC play, he has a 2.35 ERA in 11 appearances...Leads the team with 11 saves and 21 appearances on the season.

Reed Scott: Came in relief on Wednesday night against Upstate. He pitched one inning. It was his first appearance since the Missouri game on April 23, 2016...Has a 3.65 ERA in eight appearances against SEC opponents...3-1 with a 3.19 ERA in 20 overall appearances.

Brandon Murray: Made his first career start on Wednesday night against USC Upstate...Pitched 3.1 innings against Upstate facing 12 batters. He allowed one run on three hits and struck out two...He also pitched 3.1 innings against Upstate earlier this season on March 15. He was credited with the win in that meeting.

Taylor Widener: Pitched 3.2 innings in relief on Wednesday night against Upstate. He struck out four and walked one. He picked up the win to improve to 2-2 on the season...Pitched at least three innings in eight of 10 appearances.

SEC SCHEDULE (May 5-8)

(ALL THREE GAME SERIES)

South Carolina at Kentucky

Auburn at Alabama

Arkansas at LSU

Florida at Tennessee

Ole Miss at Georgia

Missouri at Mississippi State (Thur-Sat.)

Vanderbilt at Texas A&M (Thur-Sat.)

SEC EAST STANDINGS

South Carolina 15-5

Florida 14-6

Vanderbilt 13-8

Kentucky 11-10

Georgia 7-14

Missouri 7-14

Tennessee 6-15

SEC TOURNAMENT SEEDING LADDER

1. South Carolina 15-5*

2. Texas A&M 14-7*

3. Florida 14-6

4. Vanderbilt 13-8

***************************************

5. Mississippi State 12-9 (Wins tiebreaker over OM)

6. Ole Miss 12-9

7. LSU 11-10 (Wins tiebreaker vs. UK)

8. Kentucky 11-10

9. Alabama 10-11

10-13. Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, Missouri 7-14 ***************************************

14. Tennessee 6-15

* Division winners are automatically seeded No. 1 and No. 2 for the tournament. The rest of the 12-team field is seeded based on winning percentage. The top four teams receive first-round byes.

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