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The Gamecocks earned a couple of comeback wins to get the series victory at Vandy last weekend and improve to 26-18 (11-10 SEC). Carolina did not have a midweek game this week, as the players were beginning exams. They’ll return to action tonight hosting the highly-ranked Ole Miss Rebels at Founders Park.
The Gamecocks are in third place in the SEC East after last weekend’s series win. Most of the teams in the conference are still within a few games of each other and the Gamecocks crept above .500 in the SEC to put themselves right in the thick of things. Carolina is now very much in the postseason conversation and was in the projected field of 64 from both D1 Baseball and Baseball America this week. If the Gamecocks can stay hot against a very good Ole Miss team this weekend they’ll have a fantastic resume win to keep them in the conversation.
SEC Standings
| SEC East | SEC West |
|---|---|
| SEC East | SEC West |
| Florida (16-5, .762) | Arkansas (13-8, .619) |
| Georgia (12-9, .571) | Ole Miss (12-9, .571) |
| South Carolina (11-10, .524) | Texas A&M (11-10, .524) |
| Vanderbilt (11-10, .524) | Auburn (10-11, .476) |
| Kentucky (10-11, .476) | LSU (10-11, .476) |
| Missouri (9-12, .429) | Mississippi State (9-12, .429) |
| Tennessee (8-13, .381) | Alabama (5-16, .238) |
The Rebels are 35-11 (12-9 SEC) and have been one of the best teams in the country all year, with their only series losses coming at Mississippi State and Vandy. Ole Miss beat LSU last weekend and is coming off of a midweek win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
The Rebels do pretty much everything well. They have a strong offense led by Ryan Olenek (.398/.432/.522) and they don’t strike out much as a team. The Ole Miss pitching and defense are statistically among the best in the SEC as well. The Gamecocks will have to play a more complete series than they did last week in order to pull off an upset win against the Rebels. South Carolina’s starting pitchers all had a rough time against Vandy last week and had to be bailed out twice by the bullpen and the offense for the Gamecocks to walk away with a series win. Comeback wins are exciting, but they’ll be tougher against a team as good as Ole Miss and Carolina will need strong performances from everyone from the beginning this week.
USC vs Ole Miss Stats
| Stat | South Carolina | Ole Miss |
|---|---|---|
| Stat | South Carolina | Ole Miss |
| Batting Average | 0.275 | 0.301 |
| On-Base % | 0.371 | 0.392 |
| Slugging % | 0.455 | 0.473 |
| ERA | 4.28 | 3.55 |
| Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio | 2.01 | 2.94 |
| Fielding % | 0.979 | 0.981 |
The Friday starter for the Gamecocks will be freshman RHP Logan Chapman (4.53 ERA, 40 SO, 22 BB). The Rebels will start sophomore LHP Ryan Rolison (3.26 ERA, 82 S0, 26 BB).
On Saturday junior RHP Adam Hill (4.94 ERA, 73 SO, 32 BB) will take the mound. Ole Miss will also start a junior RHP, Brady Feigl (3.38 ERA, 58 S0, 19 BB).
Sophomore RHP Cody Morris (4.70 ERA, 54 SO, 20 BB) will be the Carolina starter for the series finale. The Sunday starter for the Rebels will be James McArthur (3.93 ERA, 42 SO, 28 BB).
Game 1: Friday, 7 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday 4 p.m.
Game 3: Sunday, 12 p.m.
Watch: The first two games will be available on SEC Network Plus. Sunday’s game will be on SEC Network.
Listen: 107.5 The Game & the Gamecock Radio Network