Resume Check: Looking ahead to South Carolina baseball's next opponent, the Auburn Tigers

South Carolina baseball has hit a low point in 2025. An embarrassing sweep at home against Florida saw the Gamecocks outscored 39-8. A mostly empty and quiet Founders Park didn’t have much to be excited about, especially during the final nine innings on Sunday, as they were outscored 24-0.

USC has a short break without a mid-week contest, perhaps providing a bit of a reset for the team. However, they have another tough test coming with a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series showdown on the road against a top 10-ranked Auburn Tigers team.

Resume Check: Auburn Tigers

Record: 33-15 (13-11 in SEC play)
D1Baseball Ranking: 8th
Last Week: 2-1 series win over No. 7 Tennessee in Knoxville

Auburn baseball is hot. Winners of 9-of-14 against ranked opponents since the start of April, the Tigers just beat a top-10 Tennessee team on the road last weekend. They will return home to meet a reeling Gamecock team.

This preseason, the SEC coaches voted Auburn 12th in the league. The results so far this year have proven that to be a gross underestimation. If the Tigers take care of the Gamecocks this weekend as expected, they will be within striking distance of a top three finish in the conference. However, if South Carolina can pull the upset, they can knock Auburn down into the bottom-half of the SEC.

With the low preseason prediction, Auburn also placed just two on the preseason All-SEC squad. Catcher Ike Irish (first team) and first baseman Cooper McMurray (second team) earned the honors. The duo has lived up to those offseason expectations as they both hold OPS numbers over 1.000 and have combined for 22 home runs and 23 doubles.

Along with Irish and McMurray, four other Tigers have registered on-base percentages over .400 this season. Though they are a middle-of-the-pack team in most offensive categories, Auburn leads the SEC in fewest strikeouts on offense.

Defensively, Butch Thompson’s team has been one of the best teams in the Southeastern Conference. They make all the routine plays and are one of four teams in the league with a .980 fielding percentage or better.

On the mound, Auburn has been solid but unremarkable. Senior starter Samuel Dutton has been the best of the bunch, logging an impressive 2.37 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with 81 punch-outs in just 68.1 innings. Christian Chatterton has also done a good job as a starter. Freshman Alex Petrovic was good before an injury, too. Relievers Carson Myers and Parker Carlson lead the bullpen and are two of a long list of major strikeout threats.

South Carolina baseball coach Paul Mainieri hasn’t announced his starting rotation yet. The Gamecocks trotted out Brandon Stone, Jake McCoy, and Ashton Crowther as starters last weekend. Dylan Eskew was the first guy on the mound when play resumed for the weather-suspended game two. However, with no mid-week contest, all healthy arms should be available this weekend.

The South Carolina Gamecocks and Auburn Tigers will begin their series with an 8:00 p.m. tilt on Thursday night that will be broadcast on ESPNU. Then, game two will start at 7:00 p.m. Friday and will stream on SEC Network+. First pitch for the SEC Network-aired Saturday finale will be at 3:30 p.m.

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