Who: South Carolina (13-14) vs # 22 North Carolina (22-8). Truist Field, Charlotte.
Time/TV: 7:00 pm, Wednesday. Streaming on ACC Network Extra
Line: SC -110, UNC -120 O/U 10.5.
Starting Pitchers: Carolina Fr. RHP Eli Jones (0-0, 27.00 ERA, 1 IP, 1K, 1 BB, .625 OBA) v. UNC Jr. RHP Gage Gillian (1-3, 3.57 ERA, 22.2 IP, 22Ks, 3 BB, .244 OBA).
History: UNC leads 64-37-1. The Tar Heels defeated the Gamecocks in 10 innings last season 4-3. In that game, tonight's starter Gage Gillian pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless relief out of the bullpen. The Gamecocks managed only 3 hits off Tar Heel pitchers in that contest. From 2002-2004, South Carolina won 7 of 8 meetings. The Gamecocks ended the Tar Heels season in the NCAA Tournament in 2002, 2003, and 2004. UNC has owned Carolina since the two school resumed their yearly meetings in 2016, winning 4 of 5 meetings by scores of 15-0, 20-5, 11-3, and 3-2.
Scouting the Heels
North Carolina is coming off of 2 straight series losses. They were swept in beautiful Coral Gables by a surging Miami team, and they lost 2 of 3 in not so beautiful Chapel Hill to a formidable Virginia Tech team. The Tar Heels are only 6-6 in the ACC and they are 2-6 in games outside of Chapel Hill. The two wins were against Duke, 8 miles away from their campus.
Two Tar Heels that were on a lot of preseason watch lists have had slow first halves of the season. First baseman Alberto Osuna, (Mauldin High School product), has hit 7 home runs but is only batting .231. Third baseman Mac Horvath is hitting only .210 with 4 homers. UNC's top hitters of 2022 are a pair of infielders in Angel Zarate and Johnny Castagnozzi. Zarate is batting .368 with only 13 strikeouts in 114 at bats. Castagnozzi also has 7 homer runs and is hitting .333, with a team leading .581 SLG%.
The Tar Heel that has exceeded expectations is freshman outfielder Vance Honeycutt. The Salisbury native was a 20th round draft pick by the Giants in 2021, he opted to come to school and is leading UNC in home runs (8) and stolen bases (19). Honeycutt is prone to strikeout.
North Carolina's greatest strength this season has been a lights out bullpen. Caden O'Brien, Shawn Rapp, Davis Palermo, and Nik Pry have the 4 lowest ERA's on the team and have more strikeouts than innings pitched. Tar Heel starter Gage Gillian is making his first start of the season. The Gamecocks will be outgunned if this game is close late.
In addition to Osuna, North Carolina also has South Carolina natives Tomas Frick, (JL Mann, Go Patriots!), Tyler Causey, (Nation Ford), and a familiar name in former Hammond star Reece Holbrook.
Slipping away
The Gamecocks let a golden opportunity get away last week. First, their achilles heel, lack of pitching depth, cost them an extremely winnable midweek game with PC, second their bullpen couldn't hold on after Will Sanders left Saturday's game with a lead, and finally their bats went ice cold in a loss to a guy with an ERA just south of 5.00. Yet, they are still sitting at 52 in the RPI with a losing record.
Speaking of RPI, North Carolina enters tonights game at 21, and weekend foe Georgia is at 3. The Gamecocks again find themselves in the position to play their way right back onto the bubble with a winning week. Knowing this team, they will probably win 3 of 4 this week and lose to North Florida at home next Tuesday.
One Guy's Prediction:
There is no reason to pick South Carolina to win this game. UNC has a better roster and has owned the Gamecocks in this series, yet for some reason I think the trend of beating UNC in their home state, (football, WBB), continues. 5-4 Gamecocks.
