Resume Check: Looking ahead to South Carolina baseball's next opponent, the Georgia State Panthers

South Carolina baseball got back to its winning ways last week. Following a perfect mid-week and a series sweep over Morehead State this weekend, the Gamecocks sit at 14-3 overall.

This week, USC has just one mid-week game before entering SEC play with a three-game weekend series against Oklahoma. On Wednesday, South Carolina will host the Georgia State Panthers at Founders Park.

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Resume Check: Georgia State Panthers

Record: 12-4
AP Ranking: N/A
Last Week: 2-1 series win over Western Carolina last weekend; will play Georgia Tech on Tuesday night
Previous Meeting: South Carolina won 4-3 in neutral-site North Augusta during 2024 season

Georgia State is a solid mid-major baseball team. The Panthers are 12-4, but they haven’t lost a series, and two defeats have come against power conference opponents. They will play the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Tuesday night before meeting South Carolina on Wednesday.

Brad Stromdahl is in his sixth season as the Georgia State Panthers head coach. His team seems poised to outperform their preseason 11th-place projection in the Sun Belt.

On offense, Georgia State can really swing the bats. As of Tuesday morning, the Panthers rank 15th nationally in home runs with 28 in 16 games. Auburn transfer Kaleb Freeman leads the way with 16 total extra-base hits and 28 walks so far this season. First baseman William Maginnis has real pop with four long balls, as well. The duo is also a big reason that GSU is second in the country in walks. The team’s ten most-used position players all hold on-base percentages above .370, and five have an OPS over 1.000.

From a pitching perspective, Georgia State has struggled a bit. Cole Roberts has been the team’s best starter with a WHIP under 1.000, but he just moved into the rotation recently. The bullpen has three relievers with ERAs under 4.00, but only one of them (big right-hander Jacob Crews) has swing-and-miss stuff. Fellow reliever Quin McManmon can miss bats at times, too, and all three primary starters generate whiffs. Walks have been a major problem for the bullpen, though, and for starter Ross Norman.

Georgia State is an average team in the field and on the base paths. However, the Panthers can be aggressive in attempting to steal bases (37 total attempts and five players with at least three successful steals), and John Beverley covers a lot of ground in the outfield with his speed. Beverley also ties for the team lead in steals (five) but might have more had he not hit two triples.

South Carolina baseball’s matchup with the Georgia State Panthers will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. It will not be on traditional television but will stream on SEC Network+.

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