No. 2 Texas Aims to Keep SEC Momentum Rolling Against South Carolina

For the second week in a row, the No. 2 Texas Longhorns (24-4, 7-2) face a quick turnaround from their midweek game to their conference series. This time they will be hitting the road for a three-game showdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks (14-16, 1-8).

That's not the only difference either. Last week saw the Longhorns enter their series against the No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners having just suffered an ugly loss against the Houston Cougars. Despite that, they were able to turn it around in a hurry and secure a sweep of their bitter rivals.

Now, Texas comes into its clash with the Gamecocks following a midweek win over the Texas State Bobcats. Keeping that momentum rolling will be a key goal in this series, as securing at least two victories will keep the Longhorns firmly in the race for the conference title.

How do the Gamecocks and Longhorns stack up?

Texas Longhorns baseball — The Texas Longhorns line up for the national anthem prior to the first pitch. | University of Texas Athletic

How to watch/listen -

Thursday April 2 - 6 p.m. CT - SEC Network/TexasSports.com/Audio

Friday April 3 - 6 p.m. CT - SEC Network+/TexasSports.com/Audio

Saturday April 4 - 1 p.m. CT - SEC Network+/TexasSports.com/Audio

A look at South Carolina's season so far -

Outside of conference play, the Gamecocks have been a solid team and sport a healthy 13-8 record. In games against the SEC, however, they have struggled through the first three weekends. Taking on conference foes, they are 1-8 and have been swept in two out of their first three SEC series.

South Carolina by the numbers -

Record - 14-16 (1-8)

Runs scored - 164

Runs allowed - 152

Team Avg. - .260

Opponent Avg. - .234

Team ERA - 4.68

Opponent ERA - 5.16

South Carolina wins this series if...

It can do what the Ole Miss Rebels and Auburn Tigers did in their respective openers against the Longhorns. Those two games, the only losses Texas has suffered in conference play so far, saw the bullpen collapse in ugly fashion and squander a pair of ninth inning leads.

Against Oklahoma it was a different story for the Longhorns. They won the first one in run-rule fashion and then secured a pair of walk-off wins for the sweep, with the bullpen thriving. That version of this Texas squad will be tough for any team to beat.

If South Carolina can bring out the version that lost to Ole Miss and Auburn, though, it has a chance to secure a series win and send the Longhorns back to Austin after an upset.

Texas wins this series if...

It can keep doing what it has so far in conference play. Yes, this is a bit of a cliche answer but sometimes the simple ones are the correct ones. Through their first nine SEC games, the Longhorns find themselves tied atop the conference standings at 7-2.

Those wins have come on the back of a dominant starting rotation, a lineup capable of scoring in bunches and scratching across runs as well as a bullpen that has been lights out at times. All of these factors have seen the Longhorns look like one of the best teams both in the SEC and the country.

Maintaining that level of performance is exactly what they need to do in this one. If they can do that it'll look good for them to come back to Austin having won at least two of the three games.

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