Preview: LSU @ South Carolina – Thu 6 (SECN) | Fri 7 (ESPNU) | Sat 7 (SECN)

#1 LSU Fighting Tigers (44-8, 19-7) vs South Carolina (31-22, 12-15) at Carolina Stadium in Columbia, SC.

The Tigers head to Columbia, SC, for the final series of the year with a magic number of 2 to win the SEC regular season title. LSU has won 14 of the last 16 games and is the consensus #1 ranked team for the fourth week in a row. The Gamecocks, on the other hand, kept their post-season hopes alive with a series win over Texas A&M last week and made quick work of SC-Upstate in Tuesday’s midweek action. This is the final tune-up for LSU before the conference tournament starts on Tuesday. LSU has already secured a tournament bye and will play Wednesday. All 3 games this weekend will be televised nationally. LSU leads the all-time series over the Gamecocks 32-24-1.








South Carolina Gamecocks
Record: 31-22
Conference: 12-15, 5th SEC East
Non-Conf: 19-7
Home: 24-9
Away: 6-12
Neutral: 1-1

Team Overview:
Chad Holbrook continues his 3rd season as the head coach in Columbia. The Gamecocks have finished 2nd in the SEC East in each of the previous two seasons with over 40 wins. That number will be a challenge to reach this year without a tournament run. They currently sit 5th in the East and have 31 wins. SC ranks well into the 200’s in the country in batting average and over 100th in ERA. The Cocks have beaten two of the top 3 teams in the league in Vanderbilt and Texas A&M, but also lost series to two of the bottom 3 teams in the league in Georgia & Mississippi State. Fighting for their postseason lives, a series win over LSU would make them a very attractive at-large pick despite possibly finishing below .500 in the SEC.



The only designated starter for this weekend is Jack Wynkoop. South Carolina has had some weekend rotation issues, but Wynkoop has been the one consistent since opening day. The veteran has compiled 22 career wins at Carolina over 49 appearances. Wynkoop is a typical lefty, throwing 88-89mph fastballs and relying heavily on his control. His strikeout to walk ratio (80/13) ranks 21st in the nation and 3rd in the conference. He also features a 78-80 mph slider and a soft changeup around 75 mph is his best secondary pitch. He will throw all of his pitches in any count. Wynkoop got the victory over LSU in 2013 in a rubber game at Alex Box. Koop went 7 innings allowing just 5 hits and no runs, tossing just 72 pitches. The members of this 2015 LSU team who faced Wynkoop – Bregman, Stevenson, Foster, and Chinea – went a combined 1 for 8 against the southpaw.



South Carolina’s rotation this year has been a disaster, particularly once Wil Crowe went down with an arm injury. Crowe, a freshman All-American in 2014, had struggled early in the season, but was a big piece of the puzzle for this rotation. Unfortunately, Crowe threw his last game on April 10th, will require Tommy John surgery, and will miss the entire 2016 season also. After Wynkoop, the options are limited. SC has thrown 8 different weekend starters this year. Reed Scott and Clarke Schmidt are the most likely candidates to fill these TBA spots. Their numbers are in the bullpen below. LSU will move Austin Bain up to Friday, and Alex Lange will pitch on Saturday in order to set up the postseason rotation.

Stat of the Week: South Carolina pitching in SEC series...
Game 1: 4-4, 4.06 era, 57.2 ip, .260 oba
Game 2: 2-2, 4.19 era, 53.2 ip, .296 oba
Game 3: 0-3, 6.42 era, 33.2 ip, .336 oba




The Carolina bullpen is somewhat of a mess. Five different players have recorded a save and not one player has an ERA under 3, but this is a unit that has been taxed more than most with the exception of Wynkoop’s starts. Lefty Vince Fiori leads the team with 24 appearances and sits 87-89 mph with a curveball-changeup off speed combo. Clarke Schmidt is a top candidate to start one of the 3 games this weekend and sits 88-90. Taylor Widener leads the team with 9 saves on the year, but there is some buzz that he could make his 3rd start of the season after some recent backend struggles. Just a freshman, Widener runs his fastball all the way up to 95 mph, typically 92-94, with a 82-84 mph slider and upper 70’s changeup.



There is no question that Kyle Martin is the heart and soul of this Carolina offense. Martin is a 5-tool senior who has improved year over year and is hitting .328 over 189 games in his collegiate career. He leads the team in 9 offensive categories and ranks in the top 10 in the SEC in BB, HR, OBP, SLG, R, RBI, SF, and total bases. Martin is hitting .396 in SEC games and leads the league with 11 home runs in those 27 contests. He homered in all 3 games last week vs A&M. Elliot Caldwell is also having a terrific season batting .346, and he leads the SEC with 8 triples. Caldwell leads the team with 22 multi-hit games. Lefties Max Schrok and Alex Destino are two guys who can provide an offensive spark as well.

As a team, SC has stolen the 3rd most bases in the SEC with 63. The biggest threat on the bases is the speedy outfielder Caldwell. He and Gene Cone share the team lead with 13 stolen bags on the season. Kyle Martin has also swiped 11 bases this year. South Carolina as a team has the 2nd highest stolen base percentage in the SEC at an 82% success rate.



The Carolina defense has been slightly below average this year. Their .972 fielding% ranks 67th in the nation but 10th in the SEC. They have turned the 2nd most double plays in the league with 52. Starting catcher Hunter Taylor has allowed 16 stolen bags in 22 attempts. SC has allowed 29 stolen bases in 27 SEC games, 3rd most allowed in the league.





Helpful Links
South Carolina Season Stats
South Carolina Roster
South Carolina Schedule (via Warren Nolan)
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