The South Carolina and Florida baseball teams have jockeyed back and forth for the top spot in the SEC East all season, and right now, they are dead even.
But when the two teams play each other this weekend, something’s got to give, and one team will emerge from the series with the lead.
“It’s obviously a big weekend for them, being 7-5, as it is for us,” head coach Chad Holbrook said. “We’re sitting here tied atop the SEC East, and it ought to be a great series.”
A series win would be massive for either team, with just five SEC series remaining on the schedule before the conference tournament.
With No. 4 South Carolina’s pitching staff establishing itself as one of the most dominant in the country and the catalyst for the team as a whole, the perception has been that the Gamecock offense is suffering. South Carolina made strides toward shaking off that label in Tuesday’s tilt against Furman with a 9-2 win over the Paladins.
But Holbrook said his team must be careful not to get comfortable with that level of production.
“Hopefully Tuesday will give them a little bit of confidence,” he said. “But hitting well on Tuesday is a lot different than hitting well Friday night in the SEC. The opponent, the arm you’re going to be facing, is going to be extremely difficult to handle.”
In a South Carolina lineup that has, at times, had trouble getting on base, one constant has been Joey Pankake.
The junior has bounced around both the batting order and the field this year, and he has taken it in stride, even reeling off a 16-game hitting streak that only ended last weekend in Arkansas.
After spending all of last season at shortstop and moonlighting as a pitcher in the offseason, Pankake made the transition to third base this year, and he has seen time in left field as well.
“I’m just settling in,” he said. “I feel pretty good, and I think our team’s going to do pretty well with any lineup coach puts out there right now.”
On a roster that features Team USA alumnus Grayson Greiner and 2013 Toronto Blue Jays draft pick Brison Celek, talk of Pankake’s future in the pros has been quiet. But Holbrook sees Pankake’s open mind as his ticket to the bigs.
“I’ve talked to a number of people in professional baseball, and I think they all differ,” Holbrook said. “His versatility is a great trait for him, and I think it’s going to allow him to stay in the game for a long time.”
Before coming to South Carolina as a freshman, Pankake was selected in the 42nd round by the Texas Rangers in the 2011 draft.
In Tuesday’s win over Furman, Pankake occupied the lead-off role in the order for the first time since the 2012 College World Series. A number of factors will go into Holbrook’s decision on where to put the junior this weekend, but Pankake said that he’s up for anything.
“The most comfortable I’d probably be is the three-hole. I mean, that’s where I’ve been all year, so I’ve kind of settled down there,” Pankake said. “But I’ll make an adjustment wherever he puts me in the lineup.”
With the SEC East lead on the line, Pankake will lead the Gamecocks into the series with No. 24 Florida starting Friday at 7 p.m. and culminating in a 1:30 p.m. matchup on Sunday.
“We have our hands full this weekend with Florida, obviously a very hot team,” Holbrook said. “They’re a young team — very, very talented, very athletic.”