Resume Check: Looking ahead to South Carolina baseball's next opponent, the USC-Upstate Spartans

South Carolina baseball lost their fourth SEC series in a row this weekend as USC fell to the Mississippi State Bulldogs two games to one, including a rough 2-hit shutout on Sunday. The Gamecocks now own a 2-10 record in conference play, putting them 14th in the SEC standings.

Following another disappointing weekend, Carolina will face off against an in-state opponent in the mid-week. The Gamecocks will face the USC-Upstate Spartans on Tuesday at Founders Park.

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Resume Check: USC-Upstate Spartans

Record: 16-16 (5-4 in Big South)
D1Baseball Ranking: N/A
Last Week: 2-5 mid-week loss to Wofford in Spartanburg (neutral site), 4-8 mid-week loss to Charlotte in Charlotte, 2-1 weekend series win over High Point in High Point

An intriguing USC-Upstate team will present a tough test for South Carolina during the mid-week. First-year head coach Kane Sweeney has fielded a team that can score runs in bunches. On days in which their pitching is performing well, the Spartans are tough to beat.

This preseason, Upstate earned the second-place spot in the preseason Big South rankings and a pair of first-place votes. Infielder Vance Sheahan and pitchers Cooper Ellingworth and Braden Consaul, Jr. picked up preseason All-Big South honors.

So far this season, Sheahan has been a good piece in a really good offense. However, Johnny Sweeney and Scott Newman have been raking all year, combining for 23 home runs. Scott Campbell hasn’t hit for quite that level of power but currently holds a batting average over .400.

As a team, Upstate is one of the top offensive groups in the Big South. Collectively, the Spartans hold a team batting average over .300, a team on-base percentage north of .400, and a team slugging percentage above .500. Most of the lineup has extra-base hit power. Sheahan also is the leader of an aggressive (albeit not overly efficient) group of base stealers.

On the mound, Sweeney’s team hasn’t been great, but they still lead the Big South in ERA. Their preseason all-conference arms haven’t had great years, but Ellingworth is one of several pitchers (including Chris Torres, Amp Phillips, Darin Kuskie, and Max Kaplan) who are major strikeout threats.

The Spartans do not utilize a traditional rotation. Instead, Torres is the only full-time starter, though he doesn’t always pitch on the same day. Several other names have bounced between starting roles and bullpen gigs. Upstate has struggled on defense this year, making their pitchers’ jobs that much more difficult.

South Carolina baseball coach Paul Mainieri hasn’t shared his pitching plan for the week. Jake McCoy, Brandon Stone, Matthew Becker, Jarvis Evans, Cooper Parks, Jake McCoy, and Brendan Sweeney all threw a lot of pitches this weekend. Tyler Pitzer and Jackson Soucie have thrown the most in the mid-week since Jarvis Evans moved to the weekend rotation.

The South Carolina Gamecocks and USC-Upstate Spartans will play at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday night at Founders Park. SEC Network+ will stream the contest, but it will not broadcast on traditional television.

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