As per usual, the SEC is full of powerful teams that the Gamecocks will battle against for the second half of the season, but first the team will start with a 10-game home stand.
This season Gamecock baseball will face eight teams ranked in the preseason Top 25, and seven of those are fellow members of the SEC. These teams include the reigning national champion and No.1 preseason-ranked Florida Gators as well as the 2017 runner-up and No. 16 preseason-ranked LSU Tigers.
Before the Gamecocks reach this stout conference schedule, they’ll face off against their bitter rival, the Clemson Tigers. This series starts March 2 at Founders Park, continues at neutral site Greenville and finishes March 4 in Clemson. Last year, the Gamecocks lost the series 2-1. No game was decided by more than two runs, and the final outing went to the 11th inning. This year's Clemson squad is led by first basemen Seth Beer, who had 16 home runs in 2017 along with a batting average of .298 and 53 RBIs.
This year’s tough SEC schedule kicks off March 16 with a three-game home series against preseason favorite Florida. The Gators are looking to repeat this year with preseason All-American starting pitchers Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar and All-American reliever Michael Byrne spearheading the bullpen. Last year the Gamecocks lost their series in Gainesville 2-1 but held their own against the future champions.
The Gamecocks will face a big challenge on April 3 in a neutral site game against the North Carolina Tar Heels, who are currently ranked No. 6. This game opens a tough slate for the Gamecocks, and they don't have the best track record playing in this series. The Tar Heels defeated the Gamecocks 20-5 last year and 15-0 the year before at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte. First year head coach Mark Kingston is looking to turn this streak around.
From there, the Gamecocks start a grueling eight-day stretch. They'll play the No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington, return home to play in-state foe The Citadel and then travel to Fayetteville to take on the No. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks, who are predicted to win the SEC West. While the Gamecocks didn’t play the Razorbacks in 2017, they became all too familiar with the Wildcats, losing the season series 3-1 and again in the SEC tournament.
The SEC slate doesn't get any easier from there. The Gamecocks return home to play the 2017 College World Series runner-up LSU Tigers. They then go to Nashville to play the perennial powerhouse Vanderbilt Commodores, who are currently ranked No. 14. The Gamecocks split last year's season series with Vanderbilt 2-2, including a win in the SEC Tournament, but they were eventually knocked out by LSU in a blowout loss. The Gamecocks will be eager to face both of these teams as the regular season begins to round out.
The season ends with a mix of non-conference and conference games highlighted by a series with the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels at Founders Park. The last games of the regular season will be against a highly competitive No. 10 Texas A&M team in College Station.
The Gamecocks have a lot to prove after falling short of high expectations last season, but the tough slate that awaits them will make for an exciting season at Founders Park and beyond.