LSU faces South Carolina in the first round of the SEC Tourney

HOOVER, Ala. (WAFB) - No. 5 seed LSU will face No. 12 seed South Carolina in the first round of the SEC Baseball Tournament Tuesday night.

The Tigers (34-22, 17-13) are still fighting to host a regional and a strong showing in the tournament should make that a reality.

South Carolina (28-27, 8-22) has struggled in SEC play this season, but did end the year with a 10-8 victory against Mississippi State.

The Gamecocks won only one SEC series this year, against Kentucky at home, taking two out of three against the Wildcats.

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The Gamecocks average 5.5 runs per game and are hitting .236, with 94 doubles, 14 triples and 75 home runs.

USC’s Leading Hitters:

• Andrew Eyster: .306 batting average, 12 doubles, 1 triple, 10 home runs and 31 RBI
• TJ Hopkins: .286 batting average, 11 doubles, 3 triples, 11 home runs and 41 RBI
• Luke Berryhill: .272 batting average, 15 doubles, 1 triple, 12 home runs and 47 RBI
• Jacob Olson: .258 batting average, 14 doubles, 13 home runs and 37 RBI

LSU is scoring 6.5 runs per game and is batting .271 as a team with 83 doubles, 8 triples and 56 home runs.

LSU’s Top Hitters:

• Josh Smith: .341 batting average, 12 doubles, 1 triple, 7 home runs and 34 RBI
• Antoine Duplantis: .318 batting average, 6 doubles, 2 triples, 11 home runs and 58 RBI
• Zach Watson: .317 batting average, 16 doubles, 5 home runs and 31 RBI
• Daniel Cabrera: .293 batting average, 11 doubles, 2 triples, 12 home runs and 47 RBI
• Giovanni DiGiacomo: .293 batting average, 3 doubles, 1 triple and 12 RBI

Rankings:

• LSU: Collegiate Baseball 21, Perfect Game 18, D1 Baseball 16, Baseball America 16
• USC: Not ranked

Series Record:

• LSU leads the series 38-29-1

If the Tigers beat South Carolina they will advance to play Mississippi State Wednesday at 8 p.m. on the SEC Network.

Tuesday’s SEC Tournament lineup:

• Game 1 - No. 11 seed Florida vs No. 6 seed Texas A&M (9:30 a.m. SEC Network)
• Game 2 - No. 10 seed Missouri vs No. 7 seed Ole Miss (TBD SEC Network)
• Game 3 - No. 9 seed Tennessee vs No. 8 seed Auburn (4:30 p.m. SEC Network)
• Game 4 - No. 12 seed South Carolina vs No. 5 seed LSU (TBD SEC Network)

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