The Florida Gators are playing their best baseball to date having won 10 of their last 12 games including three consecutive SEC series. After a marquee series win over No.11 Arkansas last weekend, the Gators travel to Columbia to take on South Carolina in a three-game set from May 2-4th.
SEC Network+ will air all three games of the series beginning with Friday night’s 7 p.m. opener. Game two is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday followed by Sunday’s 1:30 p.m. finale.
Kevin O’Sullivan’s squad seems to have turned their season around after a dreadful 1-11 start to conference play. However, sitting at 8-13 in the SEC, Florida still has work to do if they want to land an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, but they can inch closer to making that a reality with another series win over the Gamecocks.
This is a big weekend for a number of reasons. For starters, the Gators have a chance to improve their conference record against a South Carolina team that in all likelihood is already out of the postseason picture, holding just a 26-20 (5-16 SEC) record on the 2025 season. After Florida plays South Carolina, they’ll take on No.1 Texas on the road and No.18 Alabama at home. With two difficult match ups to end the regular season, it’s imperative Florida can beat South Carolina to take at least some pressure off the Gators. A series sweep would go a long way this weekend.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: RHP Liam Peterson (7-2, 3.83 ERA) vs RHP Brandon Stone (2-5, 4.96 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Aidan King (4-2, 3.47 ERA) vs LHP Jake McCoy (4-3, 6.38 ERA)
Sunday: TBA vs TBA
Scouting the Gamecocks
South Carolina’s lone series win this season came against Ole Miss, a team Florida lost two of three games to earlier in the season. The Gamecocks have been swept by Clemson, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Texas A&M.
The Gamecocks are one of the worst offensive teams in country, posting a team batting average of .286, which ranks 203rd in the country and 15th out of 16 SEC teams. Despite having a dangerous hitter in Ethan Petry, South Carolina has not been a major threat to hit the home run ball this year, launching just 47 big flies which ranks T-117th in the country. As previously mentioned, Petry is a talented player, sporting a .329 batting average with a team high 10 home runs on the season. However, this is considered a down year for him after putting combining for 44 home runs in his first two seasons. Outfielder Nathan Hall leads South Carolina with a .345 batting average while displaying some pop with seven home runs. Hall is also the only player Florida needs to worry about on the base paths having swiped 12 bags in 14 attempts. The production drop-off after those two is fairly significant as South Carolina has struggled to find success at the bottom of their lineup. In an effort to make up for their lack of production offensively, the Gamecocks will try to play small ball as highlighted by their 21 sac bunts this season, the third most in the SEC.
On the mound, South Carolina holds a team ERA of 5.40, just behind the 5.31 ERA of Florida’s pitching staff. One issue the Gamecocks have on the mound is command. They’ve walked 203 batters this season which equates to 4.66 walks per nine innings. The scariest statistic is the 59 hit batters by South Carolina’s pitching staff. Some of their most used arms have had the biggest struggles. For example, their Saturday starter, Jake McCoy, has walked 30 batters and hit an additional 15 in 48 innings pitched. South Carolina has also struggled to keep the ball in the ballpark, allowing 62 home runs this season. For comparison, Florida pitching has allowed 54.
As you’ve seen in recent weeks, a good Friday night start can go a long way in deciding a series. Florida’s bullpen isn’t very deep, so it’s imperative that the Gators can get six strong innings from Liam Peterson in game one. Florida’s bats have been consistent as of late, coming off one of their better performances vs Arkansas in game three where they scored at least one run in seven of eight trips to the plate. Florida will look to continue their offensive success against a pitching staff they can certainly take advantage of.
It’s essentially another must win series for the Gators, who look to avoid missing the postseason for the first time under Kevin O’Sullivan. A series sweep would be massive but even taking two games this weekend keeps their head above the water.