South Carolina picked up a first round bye and the No. 2 seed and they start their trip through the SEC Baseball Tournament on Wednesday. South Carolina will face No. 7 seed Ole Miss, as the Rebels beat Georgia 5-1 on Tuesday.
Clarke Schmidt will take the mound for South Carolina, while David Parkinson gets the nod from Ole Miss. Schmidt is 9-2 on the season, while Parkinson, who pitched from the bullpen when they faced the Gamecocks, is 4-3.
The two teams met in late March in Missouri where South Carolina completed a three-game sweep. Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco recognized the strength in the South Carolina team at the Tuesday press conference.
“They were so good, and in all phases,” Bianco said. “They can really pitch and starting pitching is outstanding, and they don’t let you breathe, their bullpen is good, the offense was terrific and they play the game well ... Obviously you don’t have the success in our league that they have without being a really complete club, and so we know that.”
The SEC tournament could end up being a big factor for South Carolina’s NCAA Championship run. The Gamecocks are currently ranked in NCAA top 10, so doing well in this tournament could easily set them up to host a regional.
The Gamecocks have all the pieces to go far in the tournament; they just need to work well together. They got into a good rhythm this past weekend when they swept Alabama. Offense was hot all weekend, and they combined for 19 runs on 36 hits against the Tide.
Infielder Madison Stokes and catcher John Jones both came up big last weekend, and staying hot will be paramount in the tournament.
Stokes went 7-9 on the weekend with three doubles and a pair of RBI. Stokes, who missed the first part of the season due to a fracture in his foot, has been solid at second as well as turning in hits when needed.
Jones, who was going through a slump, returned to his late February self. He hit a big two-run homer in Friday’s win and had four RBI in the series finale.
Players like Alex Destino, Dom Thompson-Williams and Gene Cone have led the offense all season. Their strong seasons is a major the Gamecocks into the position they’re in now, and keeping that going will be big for the postseason.
The weekend rotation struggled in Tuscaloosa and needs to get back on track. However, both Clarke Schmidt and Braden Webb have shown much success in league play this year. Webb leads the SEC in strikeouts with his 109, while Schmidt follows behind in second with 108. Webb had a decent outing this weekend, while Webb and Adam Hill were not sharp. Schmidt will take the mound on shorter rest, so he has to be ready to go.
The bullpen continues to impress, as Tyler Johnson was outstanding and picked up three saves this past weekend. Josh Reagan, Reed Scott and Johnson are all huge arms that can pick up if they starters struggle. Having a strong rotation can be relaxing to Holbrook in the tournaments.
The offense and bullpen can only take a team so far. As long as the hits don't slow down, the bullpen stays ready and the starters get focused again, the Gamecocks can make a deep tournament run, and their second SEC tournament title is a possibility this year.