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South Carolina preview: Looking at the USC series with Gamecock Central

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•03/12/22•

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Will Gallagher/Inside Texas

The No.1 Texas Longhorns baseball team begins its first true road series of the 2022 season on Friday when they travel to Columbia, S.C. to face the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Longhorns swept South Carolina in Austin last year, outscoring the SEC East team 15-6 and shutting the Gamecocks out in game two.

To help provide a preview for this weekend’s series, Gamecock Central‘s Collyn Taylor answered a few questions about the team that calls Founder’s Park home.

  1. What’s the strength of this year’s Gamecocks team?

Collyn Taylor: There haven’t been a lot of obvious strengths early on with so many new faces offensively and a bevy of injuries to the pitching staff. The strength right now is probably the defense, which is much more athletic than it was last year. The Gamecock struggled some defensively against Clemson but for the most part it’s been great. The offense has shown signs of life but has struggled against good arms. The pitching is incredibly thin and struggling mightily at the moment.

2. Who is the pitcher to watch on South Carolina?

Collyn Taylor: Will Sanders is by far and away the best pitcher on the roster right now. It’s not particularly close just given the injuries to two starters in Julian Bosnic, James Hicks and other key guys like Jack Mahoney and Jackson Phipps. Sanders is someone who will get his fastball up to an effortless 94 miles per hour with a really good slider that’s developed since last season. He pitched seven innings of one-run ball and struck out 14 against Clemson last weekend.

3. Who is the hitter to watch for the Gamecocks?

Collyn Taylor: They’re few and far between right now but Michael Braswell’s been the most electric hitter in the lineup so far. He’s a freshman playing shortstop and is one of the more dynamic freshmen in the country more than likely. He’s slashing .449/.557/.612 to start his college career with 12 walks and nine strikeouts. He’s got great bat to ball skills and can really put a lot of pressure on a defense both at the plate and on the bases. The only other really impactful bat to be wary of right now is Andrew Eyster, who’s already driven in 18 runs this season. A super senior who’s had hundreds of at-bats at the college level, Eyster’s mature and understands his role on the team. He’s hitting .408/.464/.673 early in the year.

4. What’s something interesting about this year’s team?

Collyn Taylor: The most interesting tidbit is having Scott Wingo back in the fold as a volunteer assistant. Wingo was part of the Gamecocks’ title teams in 2010 and 2011 and is back after a stint at Notre Dame. Reviews on Wingo from the coaching staff and every player have been fantastic and it’s unique to have a legend like Wingo back on the roster and helping the team. His unique, and that’s putting it mildly, personality is infectious.

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