South Carolina baseball loses catcher for the season

South Carolina catcher Chris Cullen will miss the remainder of the season, USC announced Tuesday morning.

Cullen has been battling a knee injury all season and had surgery Tuesday to remove cartilage in his knee.

The sophomore played in 34 games this season with 31 starts and hit .276 with five homers and 18 RBIs. He had a .273 average in SEC play.

Cullen was identified by Gamecocks coach Chad Holbrook in the preseason as a player expected to have a big year, and while he was solid, injuries kept him from reaching his potential in 2017.

As a freshman Cullen hit .238 while playing in 50 games with 41 starts. He hit 11 doubles, a homer and 23 RBIs.

Without Cullen the Gamecocks will rely on Hunter Taylor and John Jones down the stretch.

Taylor had a solid weekend against Missouri and is hitting .228 on the year with five RBIs. Jones has an .063 average with a home run and two RBIs.

This story was originally published May 16, 2017 at 10:55 AM with the headline "South Carolina baseball loses catcher for the season."