Who: #18 South Carolina 20-5 (4-2) at #16 Alabama 19-6 (2-4). Tuscaloosa, AL.
Time/TV: All SEC series will run Thurs-Sat this week with the Easter Holiday. Thursday: 8:00 pm on SEC Network. Friday 7:00 pm and Saturday 2:00 pm will stream on SEC Network +. Game times are listed in EST.
Line: Game one only: SC +130, Bama -166.
Projected Starting Pitchers: Friday, Eli Jones (Jr. RHP) 2-0, 2.35 ERA, 30.2 IP, 7 BB, 23Ks .235 BAA. v. Zane Adams (Fr. LHP) 2-1, 4.26 ERA, 19.0 IP, 7 BB, 12Ks, .278 BAA
Saturday, Dylan Eskew (R-Jr. RHP) 2-2, 3.81 ERA, 26.0 IP, 8 BB, 20Ks .184 BAA. v. Ben Hess (Jr. RHP) 3-1, 5.11 ERA, 24.2 IP, 12 BB, 40Ks, .211 BAA
Sunday, Tyler Pitzer (Fr. RHP) 4-0, 0.48 ERA, 18.2 IP, 7 BB, 29Ks, .176 BAA vs.Greg Farone (Sr. LHP) 3-0, 2.49 ERA, 25.1 IP, 5, BB, 28Ks, .227 BAA
The ace of the 2023 Alabama staff is currently the ace of the LSU staff, Luke Holman transferred in the offseason, quite coincidentally to school that offers the most NIL in college baseball.
Adams and Hess have not pitched well against SEC opponents this season. Adams has an ERA of 9.00. Tonight's game will be his first SEC start of the season. Hess is the Tide's best strikeout pitcher but he was given up six home runs on the season in 24+ innings. Farone is Alabama's best starter. The Tide's rotation was thrown off by the short week and a rain out last Friday at Georgia that forced a doubleheader on Saturday. Obviously South Carolina is in the same position but is keeping their rotation intact from last week's sweep of Vanderbilt. Eli Jones threw only 77 and Dylan Eskew just 61.
History: The Gamecocks hold a 40-30 series advantage over the Tide heading into Thursday’s game. Alabama has a narrow 16-14 edge in games played in Tuscaloosa. Carolina swept the Tide in 2022 in Columbia and Alabama won two of three in 2019 in Tuscaloosa. Overall, the Gamecocks have won seven of the last eight series with the Crimson Tide.
Last Meeting: A Gamecock team that finished under .500 for the season swept Alabama at Founders Park in 2022. Carolina won by scores of 6-5, 2-1, and 11-5. Matthew Becker earned the win in game two. Andrew Eyster had a big day in the finale driving in six runs.
Weather: Tonight's game will be chilly with temperatures in the upper 50s and possibly high 40s by the game's conclusion. Further taking away from a home field advantage, Alabama and UNC will tip-off their Sweet 16 matchup around 9:40 EST. Friday will be a little warmer and Saturday should be a beautiful day for the series finale.
Scouting the Tide
Alabama is an offensive-first team. They are hitting .327 as a team with 47 home runs. The Tide rank second in the SEC in batting and fourth in home runs. Their slugging percentage of .563 is good enough for third in the league. They've also struck nearly 40 times less than the Gamecocks. Alabama has an aggressive contact-minded approach at the plate. They don't take a lot of free bases or strike out a lot.
The Tide's heavy hitters are third baseman Gage Miller, who is hitting .429 with six doubles and 11 home runs, which is tied for the team lead. He also has a team best 34 RBIs. Miller is second in the SEC in average behind Georgia's Charlie Condon. Alabama brought in a new coach this offseason following a bizarre incident with former coach Brad Bohannon. Rob Vaughn was hired from Maryland. Vaughn hit the portal to bring in several SEC veterans from other programs. Catcher Mac Guscette started 46 games at Florida. TJ McCants was a three-year starter at Ole Miss and is in his first year with the Crimson Tide. Guscette is hitting .318 with 16 RBIs and only five punch outs in 66 at-bats on the season. McCants has 10 doubles to go along with 11 home runs and a .355 batting average. Bryce Elblin is also hitting .365 with only six strikeouts. While the sample size of six games is small, the Tide are hitting a solid .278 in league play with 10 homers.
The Alabama pitching staff is not one of the scarier ones in the league. In SEC play, they have a team ERA of 7.76 and a WHIP of 1.73. The staff has allowed 16 home runs in six conference games and opponents are batting .300. Despite the poor numbers, Alabama did earn a hard-fought series win over Tennessee at home before traveling to Athens to get swept by Georgia.
The Tide's RPI is sitting at #31.
South Carolina Thoughts
Huge weekend for the Yardcocks. This series is chance to build some real momentum with Texas A&M, North Carolina, Florida, and Arkansas making up 10 of the next 12 games. Mark Kingston and staff would feel much more comfortable with 6-3 or 7-2 conference record heading into that stretch. 5-5 against those four opponents with midweek wins against Georgia Southern and The Citadel would have the Gamecocks firmly in position to host a regional heading into the last third of the regular season.
Ethan Petry has regained his All-American form. Since South Carolina has started its six-game winning streak, Petry is 10-19 with five home runs and 13 RBIs. He also has nine walks against with only four strikeouts during that period.
"For the last six, seven, eight games, he's been one of the elite hitters in the country again. I think that will continue. He seems to be in a really good place swing-wise and mentally." Kingston on Petry.
