Preview: Gamecocks look to stay focused against Alabama
WHAT: Alabama (11-10, 0-3 SEC) at South Carolina (15-5, 3-0 SEC)
WHERE: Founders Park, Columbia, S.C.
WHEN: Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m., Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
RADIO/TV: SEC Network Plus (Burch Antley & Trey Dyson) Live SEC Network Plus Video and 107.5 The Game & The Gamecock Radio Network (Tommy Moody and Drew Meyer).
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS:
Friday: South Carolina - Adam Hill (So. RHP) 1-2, 1.54 ERA, 23.1 IP, 10 BB, 25 SO Alabama - Jake Walters (Jr. RHP) 3-2, 1.91 ERA, 28.1 IP, 12 BB, 29 SO
Saturday: South Carolina - Wil Crowe (Jr. RHP) 3-0, 2.73 ERA, 29.2 IP, 11 BB, 36 SO Alabama - Dylan Duarte (So. LHP) 1-1, 2.78 ERA, 22.2 IP, 6 BB, 26 SO
Sunday: South Carolina - Clarke Schmidt (Jr. RHP) 3-0, 1.04 ERA, 26.0 IP, 10 BB, 31 SO Alabama - Nick Eicholtz (Sr. RHP) 1-0, 6.48 ERA, 16.2 IP, 5 BB, 11 SO
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While much of Gamecock Nation will be glued to the Sweet 16 this weekend, the South Carolina baseball team has its own important business to tend to: remaining focused against an Alabama team that's struggled to this point in the season.
Winners of eight straight, the Gamecocks host Alabama in a three-game series at Founders Park this weekend.
While South Carolina is fresh off a three-game sweep of Tennessee to start conference play, Alabama found itself on the other side of a sweep at the hands of Missouri.
"They got off to a rough start, but I know their personnel and I know their players and they have a really good team," South Carolina head coach Chad Holbrook said Wednesday night. "They put it together on any given weekend and they'll beat your tail, so we've got to be ready to go."
South Carolina has put together its current winning streak despite injuries to several key contributors, one of which will return this weekend.
After ace Clarke Schmidt took last weekend off with a minor oblique strain, he returns to the rotation against Alabama, though he'll start on Sunday rather than in his usual Friday night role.
The Gamecocks are still without preseason All-American closer Tyler Johnson, who has been out since the Clemson series with soreness in his arm. Johnson will start throwing again on Monday with a goal of returning to the mound for the Vanderbilt series, which begins April 6.
Catcher Chris Cullen is considered day-to-day with pain in his knee
"He’ll be active for the weekend," Holbrook said. "The squatting is what’s irritating Cullen. He’s going to have to play through the pain; everything structurally sound in his knee. He needed this week off. He needed some rest. He got some treatment from the doctor and needed a rest to take care of the swelling. I feel fine. I’m sure he’ll catch at some point this weekend."
Despite their 0-3 start in SEC play, Holbrook is wary of a talented Alabama team that has yet to put it all together.
The Tide are led at the plate by sophomores Chandler Avant and Cobie Vance, who have started all 21 games. Avant is hitting a team-leading .349 with a .406 on-base percentage while Vance hits .346 with a team-leading 17 RBIs.
"They're a good team and they've got good pitchers," Holbrook said. "We faced them last year. They've got some guys that have had good summers in the Cape (Cod League) and guys that are going to be drafted pretty high. They're position players were young last year, a couple of them, but really had good weekends against us, some home runs. It's SEC baseball. They're good enough to beat anybody in the country on any given day."
The Gamecocks hold a 34-25 all-time advantage in the series, including a 19-8 mark in Columbia. South Carolina has won nine of the last 10 games between the two teams, with the Gamecocks riding a four-game winning streak.
"We expect it's going to be difficult to score," Holbrook added. "Hopefully our guys make it difficult on them to score. It's going to be close games. Hopefully we'll play better than them and that's usually what makes the difference. Luckily we're at home and hopefully our crowd will get into it. But it will be another competitive SEC weekend."
The two teams met in the final regular-season SEC series last season, with Carolina sweeping Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
NOTES:
** South Carolina is ranked in all six major collegiate rankings. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 4 by Perfect Game, No. 7 by Baseball America and the NCBWA, No. 8 by D1Baseball and in the USA Today coaches poll and No. 13 by Collegiate Baseball. South Carolina also had a RPI ranking of No. 2 released by the NCAA on Monday.
** The South Carolina pitching staff has lowered the team ERA to 2.75 for the season, second-best in the SEC. South Carolina has allowed 65 runs, 56 earned, on 140 hits in 183.0 innings with 75 walks to 210 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .209 against the Gamecocks this year. South Carolina ranks fourth in opponents batting average and fifth in strikeouts in the SEC. Carolina allowed just seven runs on 23 hits in 28.0 innings vs. the Volunteers with 29 strikeouts. The run total was the second-lowest allowed by a SEC team over the weekend.
** Junior first baseman Matt Williams has reached base safely in 18 straight games. He is South Carolina's leading hitter with a .383 average (23-for-60) with 11 runs scored and 10 RBI. He also leads the team with a .480 on-base percentage. Williams tied a career-high he set last week vs. Michigan State going 3-for-5 with a run scored and a RBI in the 10-2 win over the Volunteers. Williams ranks seventh in the SEC in batting average and 12th in on-base percentage.
GAMECOCKS 2017 SEC SCHEDULE:
March 24-26 ALABAMA
March 31-April 2 at Auburn
April 6-8 VANDERBILT
April 14-16 MISSISSIPPI STATE
April 20-22 at Florida
April 28-30 KENTUCKY
May 5-7 at LSU
May 12-14 at Missouri
May 18-20 GEORGIA
May 23-28 SEC Tournament (at Hoover, Ala.)