Previewing South Carolina's opening weekend matchup

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASEBALL

It's finally baseball season.

The Gamecocks start their 2019 campaign Friday against Liberty with a lot of new pieces on the roster as they try to replace almost every piece of the infield and starting rotation from last season.

Below is a full breakdown of the Gamecocks' matchup with the Flames this weekend with a look at the lineup and pitching rotations.

Game times: 4 p.m./3 p.m./1:30 p.m.

TV: Friday and Sunday's games will be streamed on SEC Network Plus; Saturday's game will not be streamed

Also see: Team scoop from winter workouts plus notes on a few four stars

Pitching matchups (last year's stats):

Friday: RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (3-6, 5.52 ERA) vs. RHP Andrew McInvale

Saturday: LHP Dylan Harley vs. LHP Mason Meyer

Sunday: RHP Reid Morgan vs. RHP Noah Skirrow (4-3, 4.57 ERA)

The lineup

First base: Kingston didn't give a definitive answer on this position, but Josiah Sightler seems the odds-on favorite to win this spot on Opening Day. The staff also really likes Jordan Holladay, and it wouldn't be a surprise if the sophomore gets at least one start over the teams first three or four games.

Second base: Since Justin Row's graduated and Noah Campbell is coming off almost winning the Cape Cod MVP this summer, this is the sophomore's spot to lose. He'll play there and hit at the top of the order, barring something crazy happening.

Third base: The Gamecocks lost arguably their best-ever defensive third baseman in Jonah Bride and Jacob Olson will transition from right field to the corner infield spot for the season. Heading into his senior season, he's said multiple times he feels comfortable manning one of the more important infield spots.

Shortstop: Nick Neville will start here after a solid fall and spring practice, Kingston confirmed Thursday. The junior college transfer is coming from San Jacinto CC and could develop into a top-of-the-order guy by season's end.

Left field: With the other two outfield spots locked up, this is the only real spot in question. It looks like it's Brady Allen's spot to lose after a good preseason showing. Allen's shown solid speed and power offensively and has a strong arm throwing from the outfield. A top 500 recruit coming out of high school, he could be one of just a few true freshmen to see significant action this season being able to play all three outfield spots.

Also see: Inside the position breaking down the Gamecock outfielders

Centerfield: TJ Hopkins is healthy, and this is his spot unless he gets injured. When he's at tip-top shape, the staff thinks he's as good a centerfielder as there is in the country.

Right field: Andrew Eyster, a junior college transfer, comes in with some hype and some power in his bat. He'll anchor this spot for now but could also move over and play left field as well. Kingston said he'll start in right on Opening Day.

Catcher: Chris Cullen has shown progress both offensively and behind the plate and has simplified his swing to try and increase his power numbers. He's slimmed down 10 pounds heading into the season and the senior has done enough to win the starting job for the season opener.

Designated hitter: Luke Berryhill, a transfer catcher, will likely start at this spot and could move to the catcher spot if need be. He's shown some solid speed on the bases and can also hit for power.

Quotable

Mark Kingston on choosing Reid Morgan for the Sunday starter: "We had a lot of good candidates for that spot, but we landed on Reid thinking opening weekend he's a guy with really good stuff, has a calm presence about him. He has a good slider, a good fastball that he can spot up. If you can find a guy with good pitch-ability Sunday, I think that's a good way to go."

Also see: A look back at some memorable February commitments

Mark Kingston on the first base job: "We'll probably look at a couple of guys early in the season. We feel good about Sightler, we feel good about Holladay. Brady Allen can be moved in to play there, Luke Berryhill's been a guy that's gotten reps there. We feel like we'll land on a guy there that can get it done; maybe it's platoon, maybe one guy runs with the position. Nobody's totally run away with the position where you can say, 'He's our every day guy,' but we have guys with good potential."

Mark Kingston on how the bullpen will work out: " (Hayden) Lehman's going to be a key guy back there. This opening weekend (John) Gilreath will be a key guy. Danny Lloyd has really come on, (Wes) Sweatt has really come on, (Cam) Tringali has really come on. We have a lot of options back there we feel really good about. My hope is whoever we give the ball to we don't have to ask them to do too much. From what we've seen so far, they're all capable of getting the job done."

TJ Hopkins on this team's potential: "This team, you have a lot of new faces. I can see there's going to be outside sources saying there are a lot of question marks, but I don't see those question marks. i know how good the team is. We've been going since the fall. I can see how some outside sources can say there are question marks, but I'm really excited to see this team get going."

Carmen Mlodzinski on pitching to Eyster and Allen: "Definitely tough hitters to get out. I hung a slider to Eyster and he hit it off the wall, obviously. They're really talented hitters and you have to be aware of them."

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