Series Primer: South Carolina at No. 24 Florida

Author:
Andrew Lyon
Apr 12, 2024

After securing a much-needed résumé-boosting win over the No. 13 North Carolina Tar Heels on Tuesday night, Mark Kingston and the South Carolina Gamecocks will look to exorcise some demons this weekend when they take on the No. 24 Florida Gators in Gainesville, the same situation that saw the team's magical 2023 season come to an end last Summer. Much like Carolina, the Gators came into the season with high expectations, especially after finishing as national runner-ups in the College World Series last year, but so far, the blue and orange have largely disappointed, currently sitting at 17-14 record-wise and having only won 4 home games against Power 5 competition this Spring. Florida is currently in the midst of a four-game losing skid, having been swept by Missouri last weekend and losing 19-4 to Florida State on Tuesday night.

As far as the Gators' problems go, there are issues both on the mound and at the plate, as only three batters, including Jac Cagilanone, have an OPS higher than .916 in SEC play, while only four pitchers have pitched six or more innings and have compiled an ERA lower than 5.12. The point is that this is a gettable series for the Gamecocks, but with their proven issues winning close games away from their home ballpark and Florida likely coming in highly motivated after being embarrassed by their archrivals, it will still be a challenging task.

Probable Pitching Matchups (Per GamecocksOnline)

Friday
South Carolina Eli Jones (Jr. RHP) 2-1, 3.89 ERA, 39.1 IP, 10 BB, 32 K
Florida Brandon Neely (Jr. RHP) 1-0, 5.18 ERA, 24.1 IP, 13 BB, 34 K

Saturday
South Carolina Ty Good (5th Year RHP) 4-0, 1.93 ERA, 28.0 IP, 11 BB, 35 K
Florida TBA

Sunday
South Carolina Matthew Becker (Jr. LHP) 4-1, 3.38 ERA, 26.2 IP, 6 BB, 37 K
Florida Jac Caglianone (Jr. LHP) 3-0, 3.67 ERA, 34.1 IP, 25 BB, 44 K

How To Watch: South Carolina at No. 24 Florida

Gamedays: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 12th-14th, 2024
Venue: Condron Family Park (Gainesville, FL)
Game time: 6:30 pm ET for Game 1 | 4:00 pm ET for Game 2 | 12:00 PM ET for Game 3
TV/Streaming: SEC Network Plus Games 1 & 2, and SEC Network for Game 3
Live stream on fuboTV: Start with a 7-day free trial!
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network

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