After beating Furman on Tuesday to improve to 3-1 on the season, the Gamecocks will host Northeastern on Saturday and Sunday. For the second weekend in a row the cold weather has forced a Saturday doubleheader in an effort to avoid playing in freezing temperatures.
The Huskies are members of the Colonial Athletic Association and are 2-1 so far this season after winning their opening series at Incarnate Word. This is the first time that South Carolina and Northeastern have met on the baseball field.
South Carolina | Northeastern | |
Batting Average | .262 | .324 |
On-Base Percentage | .366 | .365 |
Slugging Percentage | .369 | .444 |
ERA | 2.75 | 2.08 |
Fielding Percentage | .987 | .942 |
After an absolutely fantastic game against Furman, Elliott Caldwell is atop the offensive stats for the Gamecocks. He is batting .571, has an OBP of .667 and has a slugging percentage of 1.143. Martin, Gore and Destino are the only other Gamecock players that are currently hitting over .300. For the Huskies, Michael Foster leads the team in batting average with .750 and there are four other Northeastern players hitting over .400. While the Huskies have some good bats in their lineup, a strong Gamecocks pitching staff should limit their offense to a greater extent than Incarnate Word did in the first weekend of the season.
The pitching rotation for the Gamecocks will remain the same as it was on opening weekend. Left-hander Jack Wynkoop will get the start in Game 1. He had a rough game in the Opening Day loss for the Gamecocks that put his season ERA at 7.20. Coach Holbrook has expressed confidence in Wynkoop's abilities and emphasized that the game he had last Friday was not representative of "the real Jack Wynkoop." Sophomore right-hander Wil Crowe will start Game 2 for Carolina. He had a fantastic game on opening weekend, striking out a career-high 10 batters. His season ERA is 1.42. Josh Reagan, a sophomore lefty, will again get the start in Game 3. He has an ERA of 4.76 after being a part of the weekend rotation for the first time last Sunday.
The Huskies will send senior right-hander Nick Berger to the mound in Game 1. Berger has a 1.29 ERA and struck out nine batters in his start last weekend. The Game 2 starter for Northeastern will be Dustin Hunt, a sophomore righty with a 1.50 ERA. Junior left-hander James Mulry will start Game 3 for Northwestern. He has an ERA of 4.50.
Game 1, Saturday
Start time: 2 pm
Game 2, Saturday
Start time: 45 minutes after the end of Game 1
Game 3, Sunday
Start time: 1:30 pm 12 pm (Due to impending weather)
How to watch: All 3 games will be on SEC Network+
How to listen: 107.5 The Game and Gamecock Radio Network Affiliates