A Look At South Carolina's 2023 Baseball Schedule
Head coach Mark Kingston and his staff will be looking to bounce back in 2023 after the Gamecocks' baseball team's first losing campaign last year, it's first since 1996.
This offseason, the Gamecocks had multiple critical players from last year's squad return, hired former Clemson head coach Monte Lee to the staff, and brought in several transfers whom they hope can help this team at the plate and on the mound.
On Tuesday, South Carolina released their full schedule for the upcoming season, and when glancing at it, it looks to be one that'll present a well-rounded challenge for South Carolina.
Notable Non-Conference Opponents
When looking at who South Carolina will play in the non-conference portion of their schedule, the first thing that sticks out is the amount of in-state matchups with schools like Clemson, Winthrop, USC Upstate, and the Citadel being spread out throughout the calendar.
All of these in-state foes combined to go 114-110-1 in 2022, but the Gamecocks wound up losing games against three of the aforementioned teams, so this is one trend that Kingston and this team will need to buck to get back on track in 2023.
As far as other non-conference opponents are concerned, the Gamecocks will also play weekend series' against UMass-Lowell, Penn, and Bethune-Cookman, with Penn. They were the only squad in that grouping with a winning record last season, and none of the teams made the NCAA Regionals.
Conference Slate
When looking at the SEC opponents South Carolina will face, they'll play each team in the SEC East once while they draw Auburn, Arkansas, Mississippi State, and LSU from the western division. This group consists of seven teams who made it to the NCAA Super Regionals last season and two in Auburn and Arkansas who made it to the College World Series this past summer.
Toughest Stretch
If you're looking for a series of games that could indicate how well South Carolina could perform in the SEC this season, look no further than the stretch between March 30th and April 11th, where the Gamecocks will face Mississippi State, North Carolina, LSU, and USC Upstate in that order.
The series against Mississippi State will be on the road in Polk-DeMent Stadium, regarded as one of the best home-field advantages in all college baseball. At the same time, North Carolina and LSU made the NCAA Regionals last season, and USC Upstate finished 13 games above .500.
With the rigors of SEC baseball being combined with some of the spread-out formidable non-conference matchups, this schedule will be a grueling challenge for South Carolina.
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