Keys to victory: South Carolina over Tennessee
A major series for South Carolina and its hosting chances starts Friday afternoon. the Gamecocks host a top-20 Tennessee team looking for the first series win this month and a chance to secure a top-16 seed in the tournament.
It’s a tall test for a scuffling South Carolina team, but here’s how the Gamecocks can win a massive series over the Vols.
Get at least one quality start Friday afternoon
Playing 27 innings of baseball over a 24-hour period is not good for a South Carolina pitching staff dealing with injuries, so the Gamecocks are going to need a pitcher to go deep into a game during the doubleheader.
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It could be Eli Jones, who is now on a full week of rest for his second consecutive start, or whoever starts the second game of the day. But one of the first two starters of the day has to keep most of the bullpen fresh and produce at the same time.
The Gamecocks got great starting pitching last weekend at Arkansas from Jones, Jack Mahoney and Matthew Becker and need more of the same against Tennessee with a now-thin bullpen.
Hit for power, keep Tennessee to singles
This is a vastly different team the Gamecocks are facing compared to last weekend. Tennessee is a much better offensive team than the Razorbacks, third in SEC play in OPS (.868) and one spot ahead of South Carolina (.853).
The Vols are one of the better power-hitting teams in the league with a lineup that has the ability to go yard at any point in an at-bat. South Carolina built its offense on that as well, but that’s dried up over the last three weeks.
The Gamecocks aren’t hitting for a ton of power right now during this stretch and the losses have begun to mound in part because of that. South Carolina hit more home runs (3) than it had in the past and showed progress Tuesday in a loss.
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If the Gamecocks want to win this series, they’ll have to find ways to do damage gap to gap.
They’ll also need to keep Tennessee in the ballpark and limit a potent offense to just singles.
Finish innings
When South Carolina’s pitching staff is at its best, it’s limiting damage and pitching out of jams, which is what the staff did for the most part last weekend against Arkansas.
Tennessee is going to put men on base and it’s going to be up to the Gamecock pitchers to try and navigate a few jams over the course of the game. If they do that, then they have a chance to keep that Vol offense at bay.
Conversely, South Carolina has to get clutch hits from its big boppers in the lineup like Ethan Petry, Cole Messina and Gavin Casas. If there is limited power throughout the lineup, South Carolina has to find ways to string hits together against a high-strikeout pitching staff and get productive at-bats.
Use the home field to your advantage
If there’s been one issue for the Vols this season, it’s been them going on the road. Here are the Vols road stats versus being at home.
Pitching at home: 5.5 runs/game, 10.6 strikeouts/game, 3.4 walks/game, 4.90 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, teams hitting .236/.312/.459 with a .281 BABIP
Pitching on road: 9.3 runs/game, 8.5 strikeouts/game, 3.8 walks/game, 5.27 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, teams hitting .292/.388/.492 with a .358 BABIP
Hitting at home: 8.6 runs/game, 8.7 strikeouts/game, 6.9 walks/game, .297/.442/.548 with a .351 BABIP
Hitting on road: 4.2 runs/game, 10.5 strikeouts/game, 3.2 walks/game, .241/.328/.386 with a .316 BABIP
So the Vols have struggled away from home and the Gamecocks have to take advantage of that in a ballpark where they’ve been really good this season until late. That means getting strikeouts in big spots, limiting free passes and getting on base at a solid clip.
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Series details
Who: No. 13 South Carolina (37-15, 15-11 SEC) vs. No. 18 Tennessee (36-17, 14-13 SEC)
When: Friday, May 19 through Saturday, May, 20
Where: Founders Park (Capacity: 8,242)
Game times (ET): Friday (Game 1), 3 p.m.; Friday (Game 2), one hour after game one Saturday, 2 p.m.
How to watch: Friday, SEC Network Plus; Saturday, SEC Network
How to listen: 107.5 FM and the Gamecock Radio Network
Probable pitching
Friday (Game 1): RHP Eli Jones (4-3, 3.40 ERA) vs. RHP Andrew Lindsey (1-2, 2.98 ERA)
Friday (Game 2): TBA vs. RHP Chase Dollander (6-5, 4.35 ERA)
Saturday: TBA vs. TBA
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