Baseball Hosts ETSU to Wrap Up Homestand – University of South Carolina Athletics

FOR STARTERS

• South Carolina wraps up its seven-game homestand Wednesday night against East Tennessee State with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch.
• Wednesday’s game will be streamed on SEC Network Plus with Dave Weinstein and Grayson Greiner on the call.
• Wednesday’s game also will be on the Gamecock Sports Network presented by Learfield with Derek Scott and Stuart Lake on the call.

SCOUTING ETSU

• The Buccaneers enter Wednesday’s game with a 27-14 overall record and a 9-6 record in the Southern Conference.
• ETSU enters the game with a No. 52 RPI and No. 82 strength of schedule.
• The Bucs are coming off a three-game sweep of The Citadel, outscoring the Bulldogs 32-11. Tommy Barth had two hits and three RBI in the 13-3, 7-inning series finale.
• Jackson Green leads ETSU with a .385 batting average while Cameron Sisneros has 14 doubles, 15 home runs and 59 RBI.
• On the mound, Michael Harpster is 7-1 with 46 strikeouts in 54.2 innings pitched while Owen Kovacs has six saves and a .235 opponent’s batting average.
• Joe Pennucci is in his seventh season in Johnson City. He was the associate head coach at Stony Brook for 12 years before coming to ETSU.

SERIES VS. ETSU

• Carolina has won all eight meetings with ETSU, including a three-game sweep of the Bucs in 2002.
• Yaron Peters had four hits in the series finale, a 14-5 win over the Buccaneers.
• The two teams played in the 1980 Atlantic Region Tournament in Clemson with Carolina picking up an 8-5 win on May 25.

WHERE WE STAND

• Carolina is currently tied with Vanderbilt for third in the SEC East with matching 11-10 records. Overall, Carolina is tied for sixth with the Commodores but holds the tiebreak thanks to a sweep of Vandy in April.
• Carolina has a No. 11 RPI and a No. 4 strength of schedule as of April 30. That is the sixth best RPI in the SEC.
• The Gamecocks are 12-12 against Quad 1 opponents this season. The 24 games against Quad 1 opponents are tied with Alabama for the most Q1 games played in the country.

GAMECOCK DUO ON MIDSEASON WATCH LISTS

• Cole Messina was named to the Buster Posey Award Midseason Watch List.
• The award is given to the best Division I catcher in the country.
• Messina has a team-best 15 doubles to go along with 11 home runs and 39 RBI this season.
• Garrett Gainey was named to the NCBWA Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List.
• The award is handed out to the best relief pitcher in Division I baseball.
• Gainey is tied for second in the SEC with six saves and has 36 strikeouts in 26…