Series Preview: Ags 'Turn It Gold' vs. South Carolina at Blue Bell Park
Who: South Carolina Gamecocks (20-14, 2-10 in SEC)
Where: Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park - Bryan-College Station, TX
When:
Thursday: 7 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Friday: 6 p.m. CT (SEC Network+/ESPN+)
Saturday: 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network+/ESPN+)
Pitching matchups
Thursday: LHP Ryan Prager (2-2, 3.52 ERA) vs. LHP Jake McCoy (3-3, 6.35 ERA)
Friday: LHP Justin Lamkin (2-3, 3.66 ERA) vs. LHP Matthew Becker (2-2, 6.19 ERA)
Saturday: LHP Myles Patton (3-3, 3.92 ERA) vs. TBA
Scouting South Carolina
Paul Mainieri may have never started 2-10 in the SEC during a long and successful tenure in Baton Rouge. Yet, in his first season in Columbia after a short-lived retirement, his Gamecocks sit 14th in the league. Their only conference wins came at home vs. Oklahoma in Week 1 and then at Mississippi State (3-9) on Friday. Beyond the SEC, South Carolina is 0-4 vs. other power conference opponents, suffering a three-game sweep at the hands of in-state rival Clemson and dropping a neutral-site matchup with North Carolina on March 25...
Actually, without the magic of Saturday, A&M would be sitting in a similar situation. The statistics below point to these clubs being more alike than different entering this three-game set in Aggieland, though they may be trending in opposite directions.
South Carolina’s offense is led by junior right fielder Ethan Petry, who is hitting .361 with an OPS of 1.155. With eight doubles, a triple and nine home runs, he is the only Gamecock with over 13 extra-base hits. Petry hits behind center fielder Nathan Hall, who is a .359 hitter with nine doubles and four home runs. He’s the only other Gamecock slugging above .500, and Petry and Nall are the top two RBI men with 29 and 27, respectively.
Additionally, with catcher Talmadge LeCroy (all-time SEC baseball name, by the way) likely out for the year with a hip injury, old friend Max Kaufer is splitting time behind the plate with Gavin Braland. The two backup backstops are hitting .156 and .147, respectively.
On the mound, right-hander Dylan Eskew has a team-best 1.77 ERA with a 1.19 WHIP in 20.1 innings across five starts. However, the senior has not pitched since March 16 after being struck in the head by a home run ball during batting practice two weeks ago at Arkansas, causing him to miss his Sunday start vs. the Razorbacks. With Eskew out of concussion protocol and now nursing an oblique injury, Mainieri said on Tuesday that the righty had a “positive” bullpen this week and could return to the rotation “soon”...and it just so happens South Carolina has left the series finale “TBD.” If Eskew can’t go, expect to see lefty Jarvis Evans Jr. on Saturday, who has made three consecutive weekend starts.
Beyond Eskew, every player who has toed the rubber for the Gamecocks, starters and relievers alike, own an ERA at or above 3.00. It’s a staff that will issue many free passes. In SEC play, the staff ERA sits at a bloated 7.39 with a WHIP of 1.75. Left-handed starters Jake McCoy and Matthew Becker enter this weekend with ERAs of 8.40 and 7.07 in SEC play.
| Hitting | Avg. | Runs/Game | Slugging % | On-Base % | K/Game |
| Texas A&M | .272 | 7.47 | .478 | .387 | 8.25 |
| South Carolina | .278 | 6.65 | .433 | .384 | 7.47 |
| Pitching | ERA | WHIP | BB/9 | Opp. Avg. | K/9 | Fielding % |
| Texas A&M | 4.04 | 1.23 | 2.82 | .244 | 9.14 | .966 |
| South Carolina | 4.93 | 1.40 | 4.43 | .240 | 10.60 | .977 |
Texas A&M storylines to watch
Scoring is fun, huh? A&M finally has a basketball coach who agrees, and the baseball team is absolutely doing its part to jumpstart the offenses in Aggieland.
Hoops jokes aside, Michael Earley’s offense is firing on all cylinders right now. Sure, the 11-homer output in last weekend’s doubleheader was an anomaly, but across their last five games, A&M has scored 61 runs...and that includes a loss in which the Ags were no-hit. Further, dating back to the Houston Christian win on March 25, the Ags have plated 93 runs in their previous nine contests.
While the long ball has been a big component (including 11 last Saturday alone), the overall approach and consistency of putting together competitive at-bats has improved significantly during that stretch. Tuesday’s win at Sam Houston saw the Aggies score 14 runs without a single home run. A&M can and will do damage when the time is right, but the Ags have also recently exhibited the willingness to pass the baton by taking their walks or shortening up to put the ball in play.
A big part of A&M’s current offensive tear is the white-hot Bear Harrison. Whether you call him “El Oso Blanco” (Evan Gattis) or “Bear-y Bonds” (you can figure that one out yourself), the sophomore backstop is slashing .465/.556/1.070 with five doubles, seven home runs and 20 RBIs since claiming the starting job on March 18. That was 13 games ago, and Harrison has reached base in all 13. In his 20 games played, he owns a .375 average and a mind-boggling 1.346 OPS.
And, of course, Caden Sorrell’s insertion into the lineup has provided a noticeable jolt. Joining power hitters Jace LaViolette and Wyatt Henseler (who have hit 60 and 62 career home runs, respectively), Sorrell has helped turn the heart of A&M’s lineup into a fearsome 2-3-4 stretch. In just seven games, the sophomore has hit four homers and driven in nine. He’s hitting .407 with a ridiculous 1.373 OPS.
Terrence Kiel II and Ben Royo also deserve their flowers. Now in the leadoff spot, Kiel is hitting a team-leading .363 on the year with a .292 mark in conference play. In 12 SEC games, Kiel’s on-base percentage sits at .370. Meanwhile, Royo is hitting a sneaky .319 with five homers. His OPS is 1.091 in 20 games played. Those two guys are doing their jobs of getting on base and doing damage when necessary at the top and toward the bottom of A&M’s order, respectively.
That’s a lot of offensive talk for a team that hung its hat on starting pitching early on, but that’s just the impact of a gold putter in the Aggie dugout.
In all seriousness, the game continues to begin and end with starting pitching, and while not great, A&M continues to get solid outings from its rotation. Yes, Ryan Prager has been poor since conference play began, watching his ERA balloon from 0.35 to 3.52 across his last four starts. However, his body of work makes it believable that a vintage Prager performance is right around the corner. Meanwhile, both Justin Lamkin and Myles Patton turned in quality starts vs. Tennessee’s high-powered offense last Saturday, and the Aggies truly believe they have one of the best rotations in the nation. If Prager joins his fellow southpaws in the “quality start” category this week, a sweep could be within reach.
Most importantly: This weekend is A&M’s “Turn It Gold” series as the Aggies join the fight against childhood cancer by supporting the Turn It Gold Foundation. Fans are invited to help Turn It Gold at Blue Bell Park this weekend as A&M will sell special edition dri-fit t-shirts for $20 exclusively at all three games. So, if you see the Ags wear their “gold standard” uniforms with additional gold accents, it’s all for a great cause! If you’re unable to make a game but want to learn more about how you can help Turn It Gold, click HERE. #BTHOcancer
What’s at stake this weekend
If the hope provided by a series victory on Rocky Top is to stay alive, the Aggies need to win another SEC series this weekend...at a minimum.
Speaking in absolutes at this point is pointless because nobody knows how the NCAA’s selection committee will treat the new 16-team SEC, so to say the Aggies “must” get to an arbitrary number of conference wins to get into the NCAA Tournament remains, well, unknown.
However, if you want to play that game, it’s simple counting math. With an RPI of 60 and a rather lackluster non-conference resume, the Aggies likely need to get to 14 or 15 SEC wins, but that number could be 13. We just don’t know. A&M currently has three conference victories. Doubling that total with a sweep would go a long way to reaching the unknown threshold, especially with what remains ahead...trips to Fayetteville, Austin and Athens with a home series against No. 3 LSU.
The path to the postseason is absolutely still an uphill climb. A series victory vs. 2-10 South Carolina is an absolute necessity to stay on that path. Any sort of step backward might cause A&M’s flickering hopes to be extinguished completely. #BTHOsouthcarolina