South Carolina currently sits at 6-9 in the SEC and 18-17 overall, with an RPI of 62. Obviously that is not good enough to garner even bubble consideration at this point. (Baseball America's latest projection has Carolina in the "first 4 out"- obviously BA thinks the Gamecocks have a run in them). The good news is that the Gamecocks still have 15 SEC games remaining and 19 games overall. The Gamecocks are currently tied for 9th in the league but they are only two games back of Auburn, Alabama, and Texas A&M, who collectively are tied for 4th in the SEC. South Carolina also still has series against all three of those schools. The point being, despite this consistently inconsistent season, South Carolina still controls their own postseason destiny.

The Gamecocks will need to be at least 15-15 in SEC play to get a postseason look. They would likely also need to leave Hoover with at least 2 wins. South Carolina also can't afford anymore midweek stumbles. The margin of error is incredibly slim.

This article would not have been written if not for Brandt Belk. The Graduate Senior has been an absolute tear in conference play hitting .396, 2nd best in the league, with an OPS of 1.109. Belk has only struck out 7 times in 53 at bats. Senior Josiah Slightler has also seen a resurgence in SEC play hitting .302 with an OPS of 1.119 and leading the team in home runs with 5. As a team, Carolina is last the conference in average, 13th in slugging, last in OB%, last in runs scored, last in hits, last in RBIs, and last in total bases. These numbers would be far worse without Belk and Slightler.

South Carolina's Freshman have struggled in conference play. Carson Hornung, Michael Braswell, Evan Stone, Thad Ector, and Elijah Lambros are all hitting .167 or under with a combined 2 home runs and 12 RBIs, while totaling 48 strikeouts. Catcher Talmadge LeCroy has hit a respectable .294 in his limited 17 at bats. The hope is that these guys will continue to gain confidence and they will find their stride in the next few weeks.

The Gamecocks are a solid fielding team ranking 3rd in the league in fielding percentage. Their remaining SEC opponents rank 9, 10, 12, 13, 14.

Most South Carolina fans are tired of hearing about the pitching injuries as the reason why this season has been a struggle. While the staff as whole has not been great, the pitching has far surpassed the team's offense. My only complaint with the pitching staff is that Coach Kingston and Coach Parker have had moments where they needed to get a little more creative with the staff in the late innings. South Carolina has a team ERA of 6.54 in conference play which is goon enough for 10th. Will Sanders has been solid at 2-1 with a 4.31 ERA, but the MVP on the mound this season has been Noah Hall. The App State transfer has been asked to face SEC aces on Friday night all season. He is currently 2-2 with an ERA of 2.97 in conference play. Even more importantly, Hall has been an innings eater pitching 33.1 innings in SEC games, which is 2nd in the league behind Tennessee star Drew Beam. Sanders is tied for 3rd in innings pitched at 31.1.

South Carolina has 4 midweek games left, starting tonight at Winthrop. Eli Stone will make the start for the Gamecocks tonight. Winthrop currently sits at #220 in the RPI and is only 12-23. A loss here would devastated the Gamecocks RPI. Carolina still also has single games with NC A&T, RPI of 258. A&T does have a win over UNC this season. The Gamecocks staunchest remaining midweek foes are Charlotte, (RPI 115) and Upstate, (RPI 140), both of whom are better than some of the midweek opponents the Gamecocks have lost to earlier this season.

Carolina is going to have to improve, and improve quickly, on the road. They are 1-7 in road games this season with their only win coming at Missouri. The Gamecocks have road SEC series at Auburn (RPI 23), Texas A&M (RPI 34), and Florida (9) remaining on the schedule this season. Carolina likely is going to need to find a way to win 2 of those 3 series to get into the postseason.

Kentucky (RPI 69) and Alabama (RPI 42) come to Founders Park in the next 4 weeks. Carolina will need to be at least 4-2 at home in the SEC for the rest of the season.