March 19, 2007
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina (17-3) continues action with a pair of non-conference midweek games. The Gamecocks will host UNC-Asheville on Tuesday night at 7 pm at Sarge Frye Field and travel to Spartanburg, SC. to face Wofford on Wednesday evening with first pitch at King Field also set for 7 pm. Carolina ranks No. 2 in the nation in the Baseball America Top 25, No. 3 in the nation in the Sports Weekly/ESPN coaches’ poll and No. 5 by Collegiate Baseball newspaper as released this Monday afternoon. Live audio broadcast for both games is available at uscsports.com.
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Tuesday
SC Sean Wideberg (Jr.) RHP 0-0, 1.80 ERA, 5.0 IP, 6 K, 4 BB
UNCA TBA
Wednesday
SC Arik Hempy (Jr.) LHP 0-0, 3.38 ERA, 2.2 IP, 4 K, 2 BB
WOFFORD Jesse Cole (Sr. RHP 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 1.0 IP, 1 K, 2 BB
Record: 17-3 (2-1 in the SEC)
11-1 in home games
2-2 in road games
4-0 in neutral games
2-0 vs. top 25 teams
Last Week: 4-1
Tuesday 3/13 – vs. Appalachian State – W, 13-5
Wednesday 3/14 – vs. Appalachian State – W, 4-1
Friday 3/16 – vs. LSU – W, 5-0
Saturday 3/17 – vs. LSU – L, 6-5
Sunday 3/18 – vs. LSU – W, 9-5
QUICK RECAP
South Carolina won four of five games this week with wins of 13-5 and 4-1 over Appalachian State and victories in two of three games vs. LSU … Carolina defeated the Tigers 5-0 on Friday, fell 6-5 on Saturday and won the rubber game of the series, 9-5 on Sunday … The Gamecocks have played well at home at Sarge Frye Field with a 11-1 record.
HONEYCUTT
Friday’s victory over LSU featured a strong performance from starting pitcher Harris Honeycutt … With seven shutout innings in the 5-0 win, Honeycutt extended his scoreless inning streak to 21 innings … He allowed just three hits and walked only two batters while tying a season-high with nine strikeouts … Honeycutt is now 5-0 on the year with a 0.86 ERA in 31.1 innings as well as 35 strikeouts and has combined for three shutouts in his five starts made this year … The junior right-hander is now 13-0 in his career with the Gamecock.
COOPER
Another Carolina pitcher with a streak is freshman right-hander Blake Cooper, who started Sunday’s 9-5 win over LSU and worked 5.2 scoreless innings allowing just two hits while striking out four batters … Cooper is 3-0 in six appearances this year and has a 0.00 ERA in 15 innings with 14 strikeouts and just three walks.
CAROLINA PITCHERS
Through 20 games of the year, the Carolina pitching staff is among the nation’s best with a 2.33 ERA in 181.1 innings with 188 strikeouts to 56 walks as well … Opponents are batting just .206 on the year vs. the Gamecock pitchers.
KLINE
Sunday’s 9-5 win vs. the Tigers featured a 4-for-5 performance from Trent Kline … Kline set a career-high with his four hits and also tied career marks in runs (3) and RBI (4) as he tallied two doubles, a single and a homer in the victory … The junior catcher leads the Gamecocks with a .380 batting average (27-for-71) and has 18 runs scored, a team-high eight doubles, three homers and 20 RBI on the year … Kline batted 8-for-13 in the series vs. LSU (three doubles, homer, five RBI) and 12-for-20 (.600) vs. App State and LSU … He also leads the team with nine multi-hit games on the year.
LAIL
Junior outfielder Harley Lail has been impressive in the last two weeks since taking over left field and leadoff duties for the Gamecocks … Lail homered in Friday’s 5-0 win over LSU and is batting .375 on the year (12-for-32) with three doubles, two homers and six RBI in eight starts for the Gamecocks.
SOME MORE TIDBITS
Tuesday’s 13-5 win over Appalachian State featured a season-high 20 hits … South Carolina has outscored opponents 166-58 this season and have lost only three games, each just by one run … With two of three wins vs. LSU this weekend, head coach Ray Tanner is now 19-14 in his 11-year career as head coach with the Gamecocks vs. the Tigers … South Carolina has won three straight series vs. LSU and own nine wins in the last 10 games played dating back to the 2004 College World Series.
NEXT WEEK
Tuesday 3/20 – vs. UNC Asheville – 7 pm
Wednesday 3/21 – at Wofford – 7 pm
Friday 3/23 – at Mississippi State – 6:30 pm CT (SportsSouth)
Saturday 3/24 – at Mississippi State – 2 pm CT (SportsSouth)
Sunday 3/25 – at Mississippi State- 1:30 pm CT (SportsSouth)
