Kentucky vs South Carolina: 2023 SEC Baseball series preview, prediction

A pair of SEC baseball teams coming off series’ losses a week ago meet this weekend in Lexington, as Kentucky hosts South Carolina in an SEC East showdown.

Kentucky vs South Carolina: 2023 SEC Baseball series preview, prediction

When:

• Friday, May 5 at 6:30 PM ET on SEC Network+
• Saturday, May 6 at 2:00 PM ET on SEC Network+
• Sunday, May 7 at 2:00 PM ET on SEC Network+

Where: Kentucky Proud Park, Lexington, KY

Beginning with Kentucky, the Wildcats come into the weekend unranked, and currently sit at 30-13 overall for the year, as well as 11-10 in SEC baseball play. Led by head coach Nick Mingione, Kentucky is also currently on a four-game losing streak, having fallen to Louisville last Tuesday night, as well as being swept at Vanderbilt during the weekend.

Currently hitting for a combined .292 AVG as a team, the Wildcats are led offensively by Hunter Gilliam, who holds a .348 AVG with a team-leading eight HR and 55 RBI this season. Kentucky in all also has a total of three additional .300+ hitters in Jackson Gray, Emilien Pitre, and Jase Felker, while Ryan Waldschmidt is also a noteworthy name to know, owning 27 RBI this season, along with a perfect 11-for-11 on stolen base attempts.

The Wildcats pitching staff holds a combined 4.11 ERA this season, and are led by the rotation trio of Zack Lee, Tyler Bosma, and Travis Smith. Kentucky’s bullpen has also impressed this season, with names such as Mason Moore, Ryan Hagenow, Darren Williams, and Jackson Nove among the names to know.

Led by head coach Mark Kingston, South Carolina comes to Lexington ranked as the No. 3 overall team in the country, sitting at 36-8 overall for the year, as well as 14-6 in SEC baseball play. The Gamecocks are also coming off a 6-1 road win at Winthrop on Wednesday night, while also having dropped two-of-three last weekend against Auburn.

The Gamecocks enter the weekend with a combined .287 AVG as a team, with South Carolina’s lineup led by Ethan Petry, who is one of the SEC’s top hitters owning a .408 AVG with 21 HR and 67 RBI. Joining Petry as South Carolina’s other double-digit HR hitters are Cole Messina, Braylen Wimmer, and Will McGillis, while the Gamecocks also have one additional .300+ hitter in Talmadge LeCroy, who is batting for a .320 AVG this season.

South Carolina’s pitching staff owns a 3.49 ERA, and have had multiple names make starts this season such as Jack Mahoney, Will Sanders, Matthew Becker, and Noah Hall. One of the strengths for the Gamecocks is also their bullpen, where others such as James Hicks, Eli Jerzembeck, and Eli Jones all own ERA’s under 3.00.

As for a prediction, I’ll say that South Carolina takes at-least two games on the road in Lexington this weekend, with the Gamecocks pitching staff potentially playing a difference in this series.

Series Prediction: Kentucky wins one game, South Carolina wins two