Resume Check: Looking ahead to South Carolina baseball’s next opponent, the Kentucky Wildcats

South Carolina baseball picked up its first SEC series win of the season this past weekend, taking two of three from the Ole Miss Rebels at Founders Park. Then, the Gamecocks walked off the North Florida Ospreys in the mid-week. The win marked the fourth in five games for USC. Paul Mainieri’s team now owns a 24-18 overall record and a 4-14 mark in conference play.

Next up, the Gamecocks will travel to Lexington for a date with the Kentucky Wildcats.

Resume Check: Kentucky Wildcats

Record: 23-15 (8-10 in SEC)
D1Baseball Ranking: N/A
Last Week: 17-5 mid-week win over Louisville Cardinals in Lexington, 2-1 series win over Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville

Despite having played one of the most difficult schedules in the country since SEC play began, Nick Mingione’s Kentucky team is keeping itself afloat in the league. Coming off a road series win in Knoxville and a mid-week rivalry victory over Louisville, the Wildcats are playing good baseball, too.

This preseason, the SEC’s coaches picked UK as a middle-of-the-road team in the conference. That’s exactly where they’ve been. The coaches also selected catcher Devin Burkes and Robert Hogen to the preseason All-SEC team, but neither have quite lived up to those expectations. However, Tyler Bell, Patrick Herrera, and Cole Hage have played at all-conference levels for the Wildcat offense. Bell is among the conference leaders in doubles, and both Herrera and Hage own on-base percentages over .450 this season.

The Kentucky Wildcats’ starting pitching staff all have a case to see postseason award lists. Nate Harris, Nic McCray, and Ben Cleaver have combined to go 11-4 with strong ERA and WHIP numbers. Cleaver has racked up an impressive 63 strikeouts in 54 innings. McCray shut down the loaded Tennessee offense last weekend with a two-hit, 12-strikeout gem over 7.2 innings pitched. The bullpen has been up-and-down, but Hayden Smith, James McCoy, and Cole Hentschel have been excellent in limited action.

As a team, Kentucky is second in the SEC in steals. Mingione’s team also runs aggressively on balls put in play. Defensively, the Wildcats are solid, but they’ve been elite lately. UK’s entire defense has just one error in its last 11 games.

South Carolina baseball coach Paul Mainieri hasn’t revealed his team’s rotation for this weekend. Right-hander Dylan Eskew isn’t expected to throw after being scratched last weekend and Mainieri stating “there is no update” on his status on Tuesday. He did reveal, though, that Tuesday starter Jackson Soucie could be in line to help out on Sunday if needed. Brandon Stone, Jake McCoy, and Jarvis Evans started against Ole Miss with the former two pitching very well.

The South Carolina Gamecocks and Kentucky Wildcats will play three games this weekend on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The series opener on Friday will start at 6:30 p.m. First pitch for game two on Saturday will be at 4:30 p.m. Then, the Sunday finale will begin at 1:00 p.m. None of the three games will broadcast on traditional television but will stream on SEC Network+.

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