March 14, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina went 5-0 last week with midweek wins vs. Wofford and Furman and a three-game series sweep vs. Charleston Southern. The Gamecocks are 15-2 on the year after four weeks of action.

Record: 15-2
SEC: 0-0
Home: 14-0
Neutral: 0-1
Away: 1-1

Last Week: 5-0
3/8/16 ââ’¬” Wofford ââ’¬” W, 7-1
3/9/16 ââ’¬” Furman ââ’¬” W, 5-4
3/11/16 ââ’¬” Charleston Southern ââ’¬” W, 9-0
3/12/16 ââ’¬” Charleston Southern ââ’¬” W, 5-4
3/13/16 ââ’¬” Charleston Southern ââ’¬” W, 2-0

NOTES:
Sophomore right-hander Clarke Schmidt extended his scoreless inning streak to 24.0 innings in Friday’s 9-0 win over Charleston Southern. Schmidt allowed just four hits in 7.1 innings to improve to 4-0 on the year. He struck out nine and walked none. Schmidt is 4-0 with a 0.32 ERA and has allowed just one run on 13 hits in 28.1 innings. He has struck out 32 to five walks. Opponents are batting .141 against him. Schmidt leads the SEC in earned run average and is second in the SEC in opposing batting average.

Freshman right-hander Adam Hill won a pair of games this past week to improve to 4-0 on the year. In a predetermined split on Tuesday night, Hill went three innings and allowed one run on three hits with no walks and five strikeouts in a 7-1 win over Wofford. He followed that up with 5.1 scoreless innings in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Charleston Southern. Hill allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out eight in the victory over CSU. Along with a 4-0 record, Hill owns a 0.47 ERA in four starts with 32 strikeouts to just three walks in 19.1 innings. Opponents are batting .185 against him. Hill’s ERA is second-best in the league.

Schmidt and Hill are two of eight pitchers in the SEC tied for the most wins on the season with both sporting 4-0 records.

Junior outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams was South Carolina’s top hitter in last week’s five games. Thompson-Williams hit .526 (10-for-19) with six runs scored, two doubles, three homers and nine RBI. He opened the week 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBI in Tuesday’s 7-1 win over Wofford. He followed that up with two hits in the 5-4 win over Furman. He would go 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and a career-high four RBI in Friday’s 9-0 win over Charleston Southern He went 2-for-4 with a two-rum homer as well in Saturday’s 5-4 win over Charleston Southern. His double on Sunday led to the first run in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Charleston Southern. Thompson-Williams has reached base in all 17 games this year and is on a six-game hitting streak. He is hitting .391 (25-for-64) with a team-high 19 runs scored, six doubles, four homers and 14 RBI. He has a .487 on-base percentage and is tied for the team lead with a .672 slugging mark. Thompson-Williams ranks tied for sixth in the SEC in slugging percentage, tied for seventh in hits and tied for eighth in runs scored. He has a team-high nine multi-hit games.

Sophomore Alex Destino homered twice this week and is tied with Thompson-Williams and John Jones for the team lead with four on the year. Destino owns a nine-game hitting streak. He is batting .348 (24-for-69) with 20 RBI as well. He has a .408 on-base percentage and a .551 slugging percentage.

John Jones homered for the fourth time this season, a two-run shot, in the 5-4 win over Furman on Wednesday night. Jones leads the Gamecocks and the SEC with a .426 batting average (26-for-61). He has 17 runs scored and 21 RBI. His .539 on-base percentage is third-highest in the league with his .672 slugging tied for the team-highest and sixth-best in the SEC.

Destino, Jones and Thompson-Williams are tied for second in the SEC in home runs with four apiece.

Junior left-hander Josh Reagan picked up three saves this past week and leads the SEC with six on the year. Reagan has not allowed a run in eight relief appearances. He has limited opponents to just six hits and two walks while striking out 12 in 13.2 innings of work. Opponents are hitting just .130 against him. He pitched a perfect inning in Wednesday’s 5-4 victory over Furman, 1.1 scoreless innings in Saturday’s 5-4 win over Charleston Southern and two scoreless in Sunday’s 2-0 victory over the Bucs.

Freshman right-hander Braden Webb pitched 5.2 scoreless innings to earn his third win of the year in the 5-4 win over Charleston Southern. Webb allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out four batters. He is 3-1 on the year with a 1.80 ERA. He has allowed eight runs, four earned, on 11 hits in 20.0 innings. He has struck out 21 and walked 13 with opponents batting .151 against him. Webb’s opponents batting average is tied for sixth-best in the SEC.

South Carolina’s pitching staff put together a pair of shutouts vs. Charleston Southern and have three on the year. The Gamecocks have allowed just five runs or less in all 17 games this year. Carolina owns a 1.85 team ERA with 38 runs allowed, 31 earned, on 104 hits in 151.0 innings. The staff has 168 strikeouts to 50 walks. Opponents are batting .194 against the Gamecocks. The Gamecocks rank second in the SEC in both earned run average and opponents batting average as well as fourth in strikeouts.

Sophomore right-hander Tyler Johnson pitched a career-high four innings and struck out a career-high seven batters in Tuesday’s 7-1 win over Wofford. Johnson added 1.2 scoreless innings in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Charleston Southern. Johnson has 14 strikeouts in 8.1 innings and has made six relief appearances.

Freshman left-hander Kyle Anderson made his first appearance as a Gamecock in a 9-0 win over Charleston Southern. He pitched 1.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts.

In his first start of the season, sophomore infielder Matt Williams hit a solo home run in Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Charleston Southern.

South Carolina is hitting .308 as a team (176-for-572) with a .404 on-base percentage as a team and a .425 slugging mark.

South Carolina did not commit an error the entire week and have played six consecutive games without an error as well as eight of the last nine contests. The Gamecocks are fielding .984 as a team with just 10 errors.

South Carolina struck out a season-high 17 batters in the 7-1 win over Wofford. That total was also one shy of the school record. Hill struck out five with Johnson tallying his career-highs seven, Brandon Murray picking up two and Matt Vogel with three in the ninth inning.

South Carolina’s six stolen bases in the 5-4 win over Furman were the most by a team in a single game in Founders Park history.

NEXT WEEK
3/15/16 ââ’¬” at USC Upstate (Greenville, S.C./Fluor Field) ââ’¬” 7 p.m.
3/16/16 ââ’¬” Davidson ââ’¬” 7 p.m.
3/18/16 ââ’¬” Arkansas ââ’¬” 7:30 p.m.
3/19/16 ââ’¬” Arkansas ââ’¬” 4 p.m.
3/20/16 ââ’¬” Arkansas ââ’¬” 1:30 p.m.