As South Carolina fights for positioning in the Southeastern Conference race and looks to shore up and strengthen its postseason bid, the Gamecocks have released their starting pitching rotation ahead of a weekend series at Missouri.
The Gamecocks will start sophomore right-hander Roman Kimball on Friday night, followed by junior right-hander Eli Jones on Saturday. Sunday’s pitcher is still to be determined.
That’ll get two of South Carolina’s best arms out there against Missouri early on.
Kimball currently sports a 2-1 record with a 4.10 ERA. He has made 12 appearances, with five starts on the mound. In 26.1 innings pitched he has struck out 36, but control has been an issue at times with 26 walks. Still, opponents are hitting just .167 off him.
Jones, meanwhile, has been a full-time starter in the pitching rotation this season.
The junior has logged 11 starts and posted a 3-2 record with a 3.91 ERA. He has struck out 44 in 53.0 innings of action, allowing only 14 walks. Opponents, though, are hitting .278 off Jones.
South Carolina leads the all-time series against Missouri 20-13, which includes a sweep of the Tigers just last year. However, the Gamecocks are just 5-10 all-time against the Tigers on the road in Columbia, Mo.
That should make for an interesting backdrop this weekend, especially with South Carolina sitting tied with Vanderbilt for third in the SEC East standings. That equates to sixth overall in the SEC standings.
However, when it comes to postseason play, South Carolina is in a pretty comfortable position. The Gamecocks boast the nation’s No. 10 RPI and No. 4 strength of schedule as of May 2.
South Carolina is 12-12 against Quad 1 opponents, with the 24 Quad 1 games tied for the most in the nation (along with Alabama).
Friday’s game, with the pitching rotation now locked in, is set to start at 7 p.m. ET, Saturday’s game at 4 p.m. ET and Sunday’s game at 2 p.m. ET. All three games will be streamed on SEC Network+.
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