Ole Miss baseball vs. South Carolina 2018: TV info, game times, streaming info, and preview

The Ole Miss Rebels rebounded, once again, after losing a tough one in the midweek and the second game to LSU to win yet another humongous SEC series to move into the top five, once again. Now, the No. 4 Rebs (35-11, 12-9) head to Columbia, S.C. to take on the all of a sudden upstart Gamecocks (26-18, 11-10) at Founders Park for a huge posturing opportunity for national seed purposes. After a less-than stellar start, Mark Kingston’s first year at the helm in Cola has now turned promising, sitting third in the East thanks to a 20-8 home record and back-to-back series wins.

This week’s bad guys are coming off a sweep of LSU and a huge road series win in Nashville, improving to No. 50 in the RPI and within striking distance of second place Georgia in the division. Despite the recent surge, the Gamecocks’ lackluster RPI ranking and a record of just 6-13 against the top 50, Kingston’s club has a real shot at snagging an at-large bid with Kentucky, LSU, and Mississippi State scuffling.

The Gamecocks swing it pretty well for a team that is struggling to stay ranked, hitting at a .275 clip, slugging .455, and bashing 57 home runs. Jonah Bride (.329, 9 2B, 23 RBI) and L.T. Tolbert (.310, 5 HR, 35 RBI) lead the way for USC with T.J. Hopkins (.358, .528 slugging), Madison Stokes (.349, 8 HR, 28 RBI), and Justin Row (.336, 4 HR, .523 slugging) recently starting to heat up at the dish.

On the bump, Adam Hill is a known commodity and will present a large challenge for the Rebel bats on Saturday. The rest of the rotation is pretty good (combined 9-3 and 4.61 ERA) and on the back end, Eddy Demurias (4.19 ERA, 3 saves) and Sawyer Bridges (1.25 ERA, 3 saves) will be the names to know in relief. Other than those two, if the Rebel bats can stay hot and get to these USC starters early in the weekend, it could be a long one for Kingston and the rest of his bullpen.

Navigating this weekend is a huge hurdle for Mike Bianco and this team, but winning at least one still goes a long way. Here’s to hoping they snag two and we can feel real nice on Monday.

The numbers

Complete Ole Miss stats | Complete USC stats

How to watch

Friday

First pitch: 6 p.m. CT
TV: NONE
Online streaming: SECN+
Game-time weather: 90°, partly cloudy, 10% chance of rain
Projected pitchers
Ole Miss: LHP Ryan Rolison (6-3, 3.26 ERA)
USC: RHP Logan Chapman (3-0, 4.53 ERA)

Saturday

First pitch: 3 p.m. CT
TV: NONE
Online streaming: SECN+
Game-time weather: 90°, partly cloudy, 10% chance of rain
Projected pitchers
Ole Miss: RHP Brady Feigl (7-3, 3.38 ERA)
USC: RHP Adam Hill (4-5, 4.94 ERA)

Sunday

First pitch: 11 a.m. CT
TV: SEC Network
Online streaming: SECN+
Game-time weather: 90°, partly cloudy, 20% chance of rain
Projected pitchers
Ole Miss: RHP James McArthur (5-0, 3.93 ERA)
USC: RHP Cody Morris (6-3, 4.70 ERA)