South Carolina baseball releases 2020 schedule
South Carolina baseball released its 2020 schedule on Monday, highlighted by the annual rivalry series with Clemson, home sets against Florida and Tennessee and a road challenge against the defending national champion in Vanderbilt.
Opening Day is set for Feb. 14 against Holy Cross, the start of a three-game set against the Crusaders. The Gamecocks also play nonconference series against Northwestern and Cornell.
The Clemson series will take place across the final days of February and the first of March, including the first ever neutral site game at Segra Park, home of the Columbia Fireflies.
USC will also play games in minor league ballparks in Charlotte (BB&T Ballpark) against North Carolina, North Carolina State and Appalachian State, in Greenville (Fluor Field) against Furman, in Charleston (Joe Riley Park) against The Citadel and in North Augusta (SRP Park) against USC Upstate.
Carolina’s conference slate includes home series against Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Missouri and Tennessee, and road sets against Georgia, LSU, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Ole Miss.
The Gamecocks are coming off a disappointing 2019 in which they finished 28-28 and tied the program record for losses in a season. They also missed the NCAA tournament for the third time in five years and struggled as injuries ravaged the pitching staff and the lineup set a program record for strikeouts and hit just .236.
Key returners include starting pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski, who missed most of last year with injury but saw his draft stock explode after an outstanding summer, second baseman Noah Campbell, who entered last year with plenty of hype but disappointed, only to bounce back with a solid summer, and outfielder Andrew Eyster, who led the team with a .309 average last year.
Coach Mark Kingston also brought in a highly-rated recruiting class heavy on junior college transfers — Baseball America rated the newcomers class the 11th best in the nation, and Collegiate Baseball pegged it at No. 3.
Graduate transfers Bryant Bowen (Southern Mississippi) and Dallas Beaver (UCF) will also give Carolina a pair of established Division I hitters — they both enjoyed solid falls and are expected to be regulars in the lineup in some form or fashion.
JUCO All-Americans Noah Myers and Anthony Amicangelo could make an impact in the outfield, and freshman Brennan Milone is expected to lock down the third base position after an impressive fall.
In two scrimmages this fall, the Gamecocks lost to North Carolina State on the road and defeated Georgia Tech at home.
SOUTH CAROLINA BASEBALL 2020 SCHEDULE
Feb. 14 — Holy Cross, 4 p.m.
Feb. 15 — Holy Cross, 2 p.m.
Feb. 16 — Holy Cross, 1:30 p.m.
Feb. 18 — Winthrop, 4 p.m.
Feb. 19 — Presbyterian, 4 p.m.
Feb. 21 — Northwestern, 4 p.m.
Feb. 22 — Northwestern, 2 p.m.
Feb. 23 — Northwestern, 1:30 p.m.
Feb. 28 — North Florida, 4 p.m.
Feb. 28 — Clemson, 7 p.m.
Feb. 29 — Clemson, Segra Park, Columbia, S.C., TBA
March 1 — at Clemson, 2 p.m.
March 3 — at Furman, 6 p.m.
March 4 — Boston College, TBA
March 6 — Cornell, 7 p.m.
March 7 — Cornell, 4 p.m.
March 8 — Cornell, 1:30 p.m.
March 10 — The Citadel, TBA
March 13 — Tennessee, 7 p.m.
March 14 — Tennessee, 4 p.m.
March 15 — Tennessee, 1:30 p.m.
March 18 — North Carolina State, BB&T Ballpark, Charlotte, N.C., 7 p.m.
March 20 — at Georgia, 7 p.m.
March 21 — at Georgia, 2 p.m.
March 22 — at Georgia, 1 p.m.
March 24 — Charleston Southern, TBA
March 27 — Missouri, 7 p.m.
March 28 — Missouri, 4 p.m.
March 29 — Missouri, 1:30 p.m.
March 31 — Appalachian State, BB&T Ballpark, Charlotte, N.C., 7 p.m.
April 3 — at Ole Miss, TBA
April 4 — at Ole Miss, TBA
April 5 — at Ole Miss, TBA
April 7 — North Carolina, BB&T Ballpark, Charlotte, N.C., 7 p.m.
April 10 — at Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m.
April 11 — at Vanderbilt, 3 p.m.
April 12 — at Vanderbilt, 2 p.m.
April 14 — North Carolina A&T, TBA
April 16 — Mississippi State, TBA
April 17 — Mississippi State, TBA
April 18 — Mississippi State, TBA
April 21 — at The Citadel, 7 p.m.
April 24 — at LSU, 8 p.m.
April 25 — at LSU, 7 p.m.
April 26 — at LSU, 3 p.m.
April 28 — Furman, TBA
May 1 — Arkansas, 7 p.m.
May 2 — Arkansas, 4 p.m.
May 3 — Arkansas, 1:30 p.m.
May 8 — at Kentucky, TBA
May 9 — at Kentucky, TBA
May 10 — at Kentucky, TBA
May 12 — USC Upstate, SPR Park, North Augusta, S.C., 7 p.m.
May 14 — Florida, 7 p.m.
May 15 — Florida, 7 p.m.
May 16 — Florida, 4 p.m.
May 19-24 — SEC Tournament, Hoover, Ala., TBA
Home games are in bold
Neutral games are in italics
This story was originally published November 4, 2019 at 2:04 PM with the headline "South Carolina baseball releases 2020 schedule."
