South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt baseball top storylines, key players, streaming info
For the second weekend in a row, the South Carolina baseball team is gearing up for a Top 10 matchup.
Mark Kingston’s No. 6 Gamecocks (29-4, 9-2 SEC) will travel to Nashville and take on No. 4 Vanderbilt (27-6, 11-1) for a three-game series that starts Friday at 7 p.m.
Off to the program’s best start since 1975, USC has shown no signs of letting up during conference play, with the Gamecocks splitting a rain-shortened series against No. 1 LSU last weekend. USC sits at No. 3 in the RPI metric, per D1Baseball.com, and a series win over the Commodores could vault them even higher in D1’s Top 25 rankings.
Here are key storylines for the series.
Will Sanders revitalized, Noah Hall still out
Just like last weekend, the Gamecocks will be without senior starter Noah Hall, who is working his way through a lingering back injury.
As of Wednesday afternoon, USC hadn’t released its probable pitchers, but it’s a safe bet that Will Sanders will start Game 1, Jack Mahoney will start Game 2, and Game 3 will likely go to one of Eli Jones, James Hicks or freshman Eli Jerzembeck — depending on who USC needs to use out of the bullpen throughout the series.
Sanders is making his second start since the Gamecocks rested him for what Kingston called a “reset” both mentally and physically. Though rain cut his start against LSU to just three innings, Sanders looked noticeably sharper and said he thought the 10 days off the mound were beneficial to him. In particular, Sanders has worked to incorporate his sinker more into his arsenal, using it low in the zone to try to generate more ground balls and avoid the home runs that plagued him during his early-season rough stretch on the mound.
“It’s been difficult because I’ve got standards for myself, and I know a lot of people in this city want me to succeed and see me do well,” Sanders said. “A lot of it’s personal. Every time I get the ball I want to go six, seven innings and put our team in a position to win. And I haven’t done that in a lot of my outings, and that’s on me. And I’m kind of taking that accountability and understanding why and what I’m doing to not get me into that position.”
Commodores rolling
Tim Corbin’s Vanderbilt team has motored through SEC play, winning 11 of 12 games against Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Georgia and Missouri.
Facing South Carolina will be a much stiffer test for the Commodores, and the key for Vanderbilt will be trying to limit USC’s powerful offense. The Commodores rank fifth nationally with a 3.18 team ERA and rank first in fewest hits allowed per nine innings.
While the Commodore lineup doesn’t have the same level of power as USC, the Vandy lineup is deep and balanced, with seven starters hitting .280 or higher. Two hitters to watch are R.J. Shreck, who leads the team with eight home runs, and the speedy Enrique Bradfield Jr., who has 25 stolen bases on the year.
“They’re pretty good,” Sanders said. “They like to play small ball, and they like to take advantage of any weaknesses they might see on a different team.”
Reunion for Gavin Casas
Despite drawing MLB Draft buzz out of high school, first baseman Gavin Casas played sparingly during his two-year Vanderbilt career and decided to enter the transfer portal after an injury cut his sophomore season short.
Casas has found a new home in the middle of USC’s lineup and is one of several key additions that Kingston and his staff pulled in through the portal. Though his batting average (.284) has dipped under .300 during conference play, Casas’ raw power is a constant threat every time the 6-foot-4 slugger steps in the box. He’s tied for the team lead with freshman phenom Ethan Petry with 15 home runs.
Going back to Vanderbilt, where his college career started, is sure to add an additional degree of motivation.
“He’ll be going back to Vanderbilt for the first time, and I think everybody handles that differently,” Kingston said. “I think the key for him is to just try to as best he can treat it as baseball, and he’s a Gamecock and he’s going back to play another good team and just try to handle that the best you can.
“But there will be some emotions for him. He’s human.”
USC-Vanderbilt weekend schedule
All three games are available via stream this weekend
Friday: at No. 4 Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Saturday: at No. 4 Vanderbilt, 3 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
Sunday: at No. 4 Vanderbilt, 2 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
This story was originally published April 13, 2023 at 8:00 AM.
