Baseball Preview: Winthrop at South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Interstat) — A midweek nonconference baseball game Tuesday night will pit the Winthrop Eagles against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Carolina Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. under clear skies with a temperature of 73 degrees.

Winthrop (30-21) enters the matchup having lost four of its last five games, including a 11-3 defeat at High Point on Sunday. The Eagles are coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of the Panthers. South Carolina (22-30) has dropped six of its last seven contests, most recently an 7-6 loss to Alabama on Sunday, and the Gamecocks have lost seven of their last eight.

A player to watch for Winthrop is right-handed pitcher Garrett Byrd. Byrd has struggled recently, allowing four earned runs in four innings of work in Sunday’s loss to High Point. Over his last five appearances, he has surrendered seven earned runs in 12 1/3 innings, posting a 5.11 ERA with nine strikeouts. He last recorded a scoreless outing on May 3, when he threw 2 1/3 innings against UNC Asheville.

For South Carolina, right-hander Alex Philpott is a key arm out of the bullpen. Philpott threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings Sunday against Alabama, allowing no hits and striking out two. He has been effective of late, yielding three earned runs over his last 8 2/3 innings, though he has been prone to allowing runs in bunches, including a three-run outing against Kentucky on April 24.

In Sunday’s loss, Winthrop’s most productive players were Byrd, second baseman Gabe Natividad (1 for 4, two RBIs) and pitcher Dylan Hansen (one scoreless inning). For South Carolina, shortstop KJ Scobey went 2 for 5 with a home run and two RBIs, and pitcher Alex Valentin allowed four earned runs over 4 2/3 innings.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 3-2 Winthrop victory.

Following Tuesday’s game, Winthrop returns home to host Longwood for a three-game series beginning Thursday. South Carolina travels to face Vanderbilt for a three-game series starting the same day.