PREVIEW: Kentucky heads to South Carolina for ranked series
Fresh off its first conference series loss of the season to No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Kentucky looks to bounce back this weekend on the road at No. 20 South Carolina.
Kentucky (32-7, 15-3) currently sits atop the SEC East and are three games ahead of second place Tennessee (34-7, 12-6). South Carolina (27-13, 9-9) is tied for fourth in the East with Georgia and are six games behind Kentucky in the division.
These teams played in Lexington last season, where then ranked No. 21 Kentucky swept the No. 3 ranked Gamecocks at Kentucky Proud Park. Prior to the 2023 sweep, the Cats hadn’t won a series over Carolina since the 2018 season.
No. 20 South Carolina
South Carolina enters the weekend in desperate need of taking the series over the Cats, as they are currently right on the fringe of hosting a Regional. The ‘Cocks are the No. 15 national seed in D1Baseball’s latest Field of 64 Projections. A series victory over Kentucky would exponentially increase their chances of hosting a second consecutive Columbia Regional.
They’ve accrued a quality win over No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 2 Arkansas, No. 15 North Carolina, and No. 23 Alabama in just the last month. Carolina even swept No. 11 Vanderbilt in its second conference series of the season, outscoring the Commodores 26-9 over the three-game span.
Carolina and Kentucky are both teams that can kill you even when the bats aren’t hot. The Gamecocks lead all of college baseball with 281 drawn walks through 40 games, good for an average of seven a game. Their plate vision is elite.
The Gamecocks are a curious case as no offensive player is hitting over .300, while Kentucky has six. Their lineup is led by sophomore outfielder Ethan Petry (.296 BA, 15 HR, 39 RBI), fifth year outfielder Dylan Brewer (.290 BA, 4 HR, 21 RBI), and junior catcher Cole Messina (.290 BA, 10 HR, 35 RBI). Petry’s 15 home runs are tied for 10th most in the conference, while his 36 drawn walks are tied for sixth most in the SEC.
Junior right-handed pitcher Eli Jones anchors the South Carolina pitching staff, which boasts a team 4.44 ERA (seventh in the SEC). Jones will make the start on Saturday, while RS sophomore right-hander Roman Kimball starts Friday night and junior right-hander Dylan Eskew starts Sunday.
No. 4 Kentucky
For just the second time this season, the Cats had a full week to rest with no midweek game on the schedule.
Just over the midway point of conference play, Kentucky leads the SEC in stolen bases (81) and rank sixth in the SEC in team batting average (.296). The Cats boast six players over the .300-mark, and are led by fifth year designated hitter Nick Lopez (.386 BA, 14 2B, 29 RBI), junior second baseman Émilien Pitre (.310 BA, 5 HR, 39 RBI), and fifth year first baseman Ryan Nicholson (.325 BA, 12 HR, 38 RBI). Eight of Nicholson’s 12 home runs have come in the last nine games.
Kentucky left fielder Ryan Waldschmidt has emerged into one of the best players in the conference over the last few weeks of play. Waldschmidt is currently in the midst of a 10-game hitting streak and has totaled multiple hits in six consecutive games. He’s also batting .500 over his last 42 at-bats, garnering 21 hits in that span.
Devin Burkes continues to deal with his lingering hamstring injury, but played through the pain in the Tennessee series. He has now had a week of rest, so Burkes will certainly look much more linger than he did rounding third in the series opener against the Vols. He also won the Mr. Wildcat Award at the CATSPYs on Tuesday, so it’s certainly been a good week for the team captain.
Left-hander Dominic Niman and right-hander Mason Moore will look to bounce back this weekend, as they both endured rough outings against the Volunteers. Moore gave up five earned runs in five innings pitched, while Niman gave up five earned runs without recording a single out. It was an uncharacteristic start for Niman, who had allowed just one earned run in his previous 14 1/3 innings pitched.
Friday night’s contest will be streamed on SEC Network+, but the other two games of the series will be broadcasted on SEC Network.
Probable Starters
ALL-TIME SERIES: South Carolina leads 58-45
Game 1: Friday, April 26, 2024 (Founders Park – 7:00 p.m. EST) SEC Network+
UK: RHP Trey Pooser (3-0, 4.17 ERA, 41 IP) vs SC: RHP Roman Kimball (2-1, 4.24 ERA, 23 1/3 IP)
Game 2: Saturday, April 27, 2024 (Founders Park – 6:00 p.m. EST) SEC Network
UK: LHP Dominic Niman (7-3, 4.08 ERA, 53 IP) vs SC: RHP Eli Jones (3-1, 3.47 ERA, 49 1/3 IP)
Game 3: Sunday, April 28, 2024 (Founders Park – 3:00 p.m. EST) SEC Network
UK: RHP Mason Moore (7-0, 3.98 ERA, 52 IP) vs SC: RHP Dylan Eskew (2-3, 4.33 ERA, 43 2/3 IP)
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