How To Watch: SEC Baseball Tournament, First Round, No. 10-Seed South Carolina Vs. No. 7-Seed Alabama

Mar 30, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama catcher Mac Guscette (9) takes a throw to the plate but is too late to get South Carolina runner Cole Messina at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in the final game of the weekend series. South Carolina held on for a 9-8 victory. | Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA

On Tuesday afternoon, South Carolina's baseball team will begin SEC Tournament play against the Alabama Crimson Tide in a single-elimination first-round matchup. The two teams met in the regular season in Tuscaloosa, with the Tide getting the better of the Gamecocks and winning the series two games to one.

What hurt Carolina in their regular season series against Alabama was their inability to bring baserunners home (1-23 or .043 with runners in scoring position in losses) while their opponent made them pay for allowing runners on the basepaths (.339 series batting average with runners on for Bama). In this game, they'll look for the junior right-hander Dylan Eskew (4.67 ERA, 54 IP, 22 BB, 37 SO) to bounce back after he gave up five earned runs in two and two-thirds innings in his outing against the Crimson Tide back on March 29th.

If Gamecock fans want a reference to gauge what South Carolina needs to do to win tomorrow, think of this game like the Georgia series. If Mark Kingston's squad allows Alabama, who ranks second in the SEC in hits and has struck out the least amount in league play, to put the ball all over the yard, the Gamecocks will have to win a shootout. Much like the Bulldogs, the Crimson Tide doesn't excel on the mound (tied for most home runs (57) and 4th-most hits (287) allowed in SEC play), so the possibility of this happening is higher than normal.

The last thing to note is the location of this contest. No, I'm not talking about Carolina's putrid history when the SEC Tournament is in Hoover; I'm talking about the actual location. This game, being in Hoover, AL, gives Alabama an automatic advantage, as their fans will likely show up in droves compared to the Gamecocks, making the matchup feel more like a road game for Kingston's team.

How To Watch: No. 10 seed South Carolina Vs. No. 7 seed Alabama

• Gameday: Tuesday, May 20st, 2024
• Venue: Hoover Metropolitan Stadium (Hoover, AL)
• Game time: 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Georgia - LSU game, which begins at 10:30 AM ET
• TV/Streaming: SEC Network
• Live stream on fuboTV: Start with a 7-day free trial!
• Radio: Gamecock Radio Network

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