Baseball preview: South Carolina at LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. (Interstat) — South Carolina visits LSU on Sunday afternoon at Alex Box Stadium/Skip Bertman Field for the finale of a three-game Southeastern Conference series.

The Gamecocks (22-24, 9-14 SEC) and Tigers (25-21, 8-15) split the first two games of the series. South Carolina shut out LSU on Saturday, while the Tigers took Friday’s opener.

First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. The forecast calls for 72 degrees and cloudy skies.

South Carolina will rely on a deep bullpen, led by right-hander Connor Chicoli. The Gamecocks’ reliever has been effective recently, allowing one earned run over 4⅔ innings in a loss to Citadel on April 28 and tossing four scoreless innings against Presbyterian on April 21. Over his last seven appearances, Chicoli has struck out 15 in 14 innings with a 1.29 ERA.

LSU will counter with an offense keyed by center fielder Derek Curiel. The sophomore is 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs in a win over Southeastern Louisiana on April 28, and he homered against Mississippi on April 12. Curiel is batting .310 in SEC play.

The Tigers’ pitching staff will be tested after using several arms in the series’ first two games. Right-hander Zac Cowan threw four shutout innings against Southeastern Louisiana, striking out seven.

South Carolina’s lineup has struggled recently, scoring three runs or fewer in four of its last five games. The Gamecocks were shut out by Citadel 4-0 on April 28 and managed only three runs in a 4-3 loss to Mississippi State on April 19.

LSU has dropped five of its last six games, including an 8-7 loss in 11 innings to Mississippi State on April 24.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 5-3 South Carolina victory.

After Sunday, South Carolina returns home to face Alabama on May 8-10, followed by a midweek game against Winthrop and a series at Vanderbilt. LSU hosts Tulane on Tuesday before traveling to Georgia for a three-game series next weekend.