Series Primer: No. 24 South Carolina At No. 1 Tennessee

After suffering a brutal series sweep at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs this past weekend, the South Carolina Gamecocks are looking to prevent things from snowballing in their regular series finale against the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers, who have won eight straight series dating back to late March. The Vols have won each of the last four series against the Gamecocks.

The biggest reason Tennessee has had the significant success they’ve seen this season is their batting lineup. Looking at just league play, the Volunteers rank in the Top 4 in the SEC in batting average, hits, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, home runs, and RBIs. Three Tennessee batters have hit eight homers or more in SEC play, with Christian Moore hitting a ridiculous 17 bombs to go along with a .413 batting average and 1.325 OPS. He should get the Charlie Condon treatment beyond the first inning.

Where Carolina could make hay in this series is against the Volunteers’ pitching staff. The Volunteers have an interesting contrast on their stat sheet, as while they have the least amount of walks given up in conference play, they have the fifth-worst mark in the league when it comes to the batting average they allow. This indicates that Tennessee pounds the strike zone and challenges hitters. Based on these numbers, with the Gamecocks in ‘wounded animal mode,’ they need to be aggressive at the plate to take some of the weight off their pitchers and give themselves a better shot of pulling off the upset.

Thursday
South Carolina Ty Good (5th RHP) 5-1, 3.21 ERA, 47.2 IP, 21 BB, 63 SO
Tennessee Chris Stamos (Gr. LHP) 3-0, 3.33 ERA, 24.1 IP, 12 BB, 27 SO

Friday
South Carolina TBA
Tennessee Drew Beam (Jr. RHP) 7-2, 3.75 ERA, 74.1 IP, 17 BB, 67 SO

Saturday
South Carolina TBA
Tennessee Zander Sechrist (Sr. LHP) 1-1, 4.57 ERA, 43.1 IP, 10 BB, 48 SO

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