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Regular season college baseball is over and SEC Tournament play begins for the Gamecocks tonight in Hoover. Last year Carolina finally snapped their ridiculous losing streak in Hoover and went on a surprise run to make it to semifinals before having their season ended by the LSU Tigers. This year the Gamecocks have done enough in the regular season that they should be in the NCAA Tournament, but they’re still heading to Hoover hoping to strengthen their resume.
Thanks to a fantastic second half of conference play the Gamecocks finished 5th overall in the conference, barely missing the cut for a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament. They will face Missouri in the late game tonight in the fourth matchup of the day. You can check out GABA’s SEC Tournament preview here and you can find the full bracket and the daily schedule/matchups on the SEC website.
SEC Tournament Game 4 Preview: #5 South Carolina vs #12 Missouri
The Gamecocks finished the regular season 32-22 (17-13 SEC) after winning their final regular season series at Texas A&M. Missouri was the last team into the SEC Tournament, as they beat Tennessee on Saturday to finish the season 34-21 (12-18 SEC) and secure a spot in Hoover. The two teams faced each other less than two weeks ago in Columbia, where the Gamecocks won two of three to take the series.
Rather than starting someone in the weekend rotation on short rest, the Gamecocks have opted to go with their usual Tuesday night starter, freshman RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (4.93 ERA, 34 SO, 15 BB). Missouri is starting sophomore LHP TJ Sikkema (3.41 ERA, 75 SO, 19 BB). Sikkema was the starter and pitched well in the one game that the Tigers won against Carolina two weekends ago, but he also just pitched seven innings against Tennessee on Thursday.
USC vs Missouri Stats
| Stat | South Carolina | Missouri |
|---|---|---|
| Stat | South Carolina | Missouri |
| Batting Average | 0.276 | 0.268 |
| On-Base % | 0.369 | 0.372 |
| Slugging % | 0.452 | 0.381 |
| ERA | 4.27 | 3.74 |
| Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio | 2.1 | 2.87 |
| Fielding % | 0.982 | 0.981 |
The first round of games is single elimination, so the loser of tonight’s game will go home. The winner will advance to face #4 Arkansas in the late game Wednesday night.
When: Tuesday, about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the 5:30 game
How to Watch: SEC Network
How to Listen: 107.5 The Game & The Gamecock Radio Network