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Primer: Gamecocks preparing for challenge of LSU

Some notes

--Who: No. 2 LSU (43-17, 23-9 SEC) vs. No. 11 South Carolina (35-24, 16-18 SEC)

--TV: 1 p.m. EST, SEC Network

--Pitching probables: Colby Lee (2-0, 4.78 ERA) v. Jared Poche’ (9-3, 3.40 ERA)

--Chad Holbrook picked up his 200th win as a head coach Friday with the 3-1 victory over Kentucky.

--Adam Hill continues to be a thorn in Kentucky’s side. He’s pitched twice against the Wildcats this season, going a combined 11 innings in two starts with four hits and two runs, one earned. He’s struck out 11 batters.

--South Carolina is playing LSU for the fourth time this season, going 1-2 in the previous three matchups. The Gamecocks played the series close, only getting outscored 14-11 in the series. They hit .200 against the Tigers with four extra-base hits.

Also see: Full reports on 2017 baseball class

Pitching problems

South Carolina is stitching its pitching together as the Gamecocks go deeper into the SEC Tournament.

With normal starters Wil Crowe, Adam Hill and Reed Scott all used up, true freshman Colby Lee will likely get the start tomorrow against LSU. Lee is 2-0 with a 4.78 ERA with his last start coming Sunday against Georgia.

John Parke, who threw 30 pitches in two innings Wednesday against Kentucky, is also fresh and ready to go. The Gamecocks will likely be without closer Tyler Johnson as well, who’s thrown 85 pitches this week.

Whoever pitches will have to face an LSU lineup hitting .294 as a team with 52 homers and 392 runs scored this season. Jared Poche’ is expected to be on the mound for the Tigers and he threw six innings against South Carolina earlier in the season and gave up just one run in a 5-2 win.

“We don’t have many bullets. We have a few,” head coach Chad Holbrook said. “We’ve had to come through the loser’s bracket and I’m sure they have a weekend rotation guy waiting for us chomping at the bit. We’re down the line a little bit. We’ll still show up and play. It’s a crazy game. Who knows? Maybe we’ll put ourselves in a position to win tomorrow.”

Also see: Team scoop, including an update on Jaycee Horn

Texting TJ

TJ Hopkins wasn’t happy with the way he played in Thursday’s elimination game against Missouri. Despite the Gamecocks winning 10-1, Hopkins went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts.

In an effort to stay in the lineup, he texted Holbrook and told him he wanted to help the team win anyway he could. He didn’t make the starting nine, but came up huge by launching a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh game to clinch a berth in the semis of the SEC Tournament.

“You want kids that want to be in there. You don’t want kids to shy away from competition. TJ’s never been one to shy away from competition,” Holbrook said. “TJ’s one of those guys that’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. We got a lot of kids like TJ. It was good to see them enjoy a moment like that today.”

Hopkins has battled a lingering quad issue all season that’s kept him out of the lineup some throughout the course of the 55-game regular season. Hopkins, who was expected to have a breakout year, is struggling to hit for average while nursing a gimpy quad.

He’s batting around .260 with 48 hits coming into Friday’s year, and no hit was more important than No. 49.

“TJ will always be one of my all-time favorite kids. He’s just a tough nut; he’s a football-mentality kid, believes in himself, very athletic, loves to win,” Holbrook said. “He was due a moment like today. I couldn’t be happier or prouder of him.”

It’s unsure if he’ll be in the lineup, especially if Jacob Olson is healthy and recovering from strep throat. Holbrook seemed encouraged after Friday’s win that Olson was getting better each day. The mono test the team ran on him came back negative.

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