Series Primer: No. 20 South Carolina Vs. No. 2 Arkansas

Author:
Andrew Lyon
Apr 19, 2024

After winning their first road series of the season this past weekend against the then-No. 24 ranked Florida Gators and getting past a historically pesky road game against the Citadel Bulldogs this past Tuesday, Mark Kingston and the South Carolina Gamecocks now set their sights on one of the best programs in the country in the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Hogs have been dominant to this point in the season, losing only one three-game series, which occurred last weekend against then-No. 25 Alabama, and three conference games overall. This series has been unkind to the Gamecocks in recent years, who have dropped three-game sets against the Razorbacks in two of the past three seasons.

Arkansas has four batters with an OPS of .900 or better in SEC play, with Peyton Stovall leading the way, slashing a line of .310/.406/.552. The pitching staff for the Razorbacks is arguably one of the most elite groups in the country, with the staff having compiled a 2.96 ERA through 15 conference games; Hagen Smith spearheads the group with a 5-0 record, 1.20 ERA and 4.90 strikeout-to-walk ratio with SEC opponents batting only .155 against him. South Carolina's pitching staff likely won't be able to match the Hogs, but they'll need one of their better collective performances of the season this weekend. The crowd will also have to get behind the team, as the one blemish on Arkansas' résumé is that they're .500 (3-3) in SEC road games.

Probable Pitching Matchups (Per GamecocksOnline)

Friday
South Carolina Roman Kimball (R-So. RHP) 2-1, 4.71 ERA, 21.0 IP, 22 BB, 28 SO
Arkansas Hagen Smith (Jr. LHP) 7-0, 1.53 ERA, 47.0 IP, 17 BB, 89 SO

Saturday
South Carolina Eli Jones (Jr. RHP) 3-1, 3.57 ERA, 45.1 IP, 12 BB, 38 SO
Arkansas Mason Mollina (Jr. LHP) 3-0, 3.32 ERA, 43.1 IP, 21 BB, 65 SO

Sunday
South Carolina TBA
Arkansas Brady Tygart (Jr. RHP) 3-1, 2.59 ERA, 41.2 IP, 21 BB, 52 SO

How To Watch: No. 20 South Carolina Vs. No. 2 Arkansas

Gamedays: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 19th-21st, 2024
Venue: Founders Park (Columbia, SC)
Game time: 7:00 pm ET for Game 1 | 3:00 pm ET for Game 2 | 1:30 PM ET for Game 3
TV/Streaming: SEC Network Plus
Live stream on fuboTV: Start with a 7-day free trial!
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network

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