Resume Check: Looking ahead to South Carolina baseball's mid-week opponents

South Carolina baseball coach Paul Mainieri is off to a hot start so far in his Gamecock tenure. The 2025 Yardcocks are undefeated following a weekend sweep of the Sacred Heart Pioneers at Founders Park.

Moving into week two of the season, the Gamecocks will have to hit the road and navigate the mid-week both for the first time. First, Carolina will make the drive up I-77 to take on the in-state Winthrop Eagles on Tuesday, Then, on Wednesday, USC will welcome the Queens Royals to Columbia.

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Resume Check: Winthrop Eagles

Record: 3-0; 19-29-1 (8-15) in 2024
AP Ranking: N/A
Last Week: 3-0 sweep of Merrimack College in Rock Hill
Previous Meeting: South Carolina beat Winthrop in two mid-week games in 2024–12-2 (7 innings) in Columbia and 15-3 (7 innings) in Rock Hill

Winthrop struggled a bit in 2024, and they finished second-to-last in the Big South. However, new coach Mike McGuire moved over from USC-Upstate and has fans in Rock Hill hopeful for a better season. The league’s coaches voted Winthrop sixth in the preseason conference poll, including giving the Eagles a first-place vote.

The Eagles’ offense was anemic last season, but 32 runs in three games against Merrimack is a much better start; it took Winthrop until its ninth game a year ago to reach the same amount of runs scored.

Outfielder Koby Kropf is the Big South Preseason Player of the Year. Right-handed pitcher Owen Sarna joins him on the preseason all-conference squad. Kropf was a monster for USC-Upstate in 2024, logging 20 home runs and 21 doubles. Sarna was a Big South All-Freshman selection last year who pitched one-hit ball against Merrimack over the weekend.

The Gamecocks and Eagles will play at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The game will not be on traditional television, but it can be streamed on ESPN+. Mainieri said on Sunday that he expects Jarvis Evans to start on the mound.

Resume Check: Queens Royals

Record: 2-1; 14-41 (10-20) in 2024
AP Ranking: N/A
Last Week: 2-1 series win over Appalachian State at two neutral site venues
Previous Meeting: South Carolina beat Queens 13-3 in a mid-week game in 2024 (7 innings) in Columbia

Queens had a bad showing in 2024. However, it was the first year at the helm for head coach Jake Hendrick and just the third for the program at the Division-1 level. Things appear to be on the come-up a bit in Charlotte, though. The Atlantic Sun Conference coaches voted Queens to finish 9th in the league in 2025. The Royals do not have any preseason all-conference players this spring.

In the team’s neutral site series win over App State this weekend, Queens scored 30 runs in three games. It took seven games last season for the Royals to plate 30 runs. Big Justin Hudson was a big reason for the scoring output against the Mountaineers. The junior blasted three home runs over the weekend. The overall pitching wasn’t great for Queens against App State, but Landry Jurecka was. The right-hander fanned eight batters in just 3.2 innings.

The Gamecocks and Royals will play at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The game will not be on television but will stream on SEC Network+.

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