April 11, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina went 4-0 last week with a victory over Coastal Carolina and a three-game series sweep of Tennessee. The Gamecocks are 28-5 and 10-2 in the SEC and are two games ahead of three schools for first place in the league. South Carolina’s 10-2 SEC start is the best start in the first 12 games by a Gamecock team since joining the SEC in 1992.

Record: 28-5
SEC: 10-2
Home: 22-1
Neutral: 0-1
Away: 6-3

Last Week: 4-0
4/5/16 ââ’¬” Coastal Carolina ââ’¬” W, 4-2
4/8/16 ââ’¬” Tennessee ââ’¬” W, 7-6
4/9/16 ââ’¬” Tennessee ââ’¬” W, 7-4
4/10/16 ââ’¬” Tennessee ââ’¬” W, 4-3

NOTES:
Sophomore right-hander Clarke Schmidt earned the win in Friday’s 7-6 victory over Tennessee allowing two runs, one earned, on nine hits in six innings of work with three walks and 10 strikeouts. Schmidt is tied with teammate Braden Webb for the league lead in victories. Schmidt is 7-1 with a 1.77 ERA, the third-best ERA among SEC pitchers. He has allowed 14 runs, 11 earned, on 48 hits in 56.0 innings with 10 walks and a SEC-best 70 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .231 against him.

Sophomore infielder Jonah Bride was the leading hitter for the Gamecocks in the Tennessee series going 5-for-10 (.500) with a RBI and two runs scored as well as two walks and a hit by pitch. Bride raised his season average to .261 (30-for-115) with 16 RBI and 29 runs scored. He also owns a .408 on-base percentage with 16 walks and 14 hit by pitches. The 14 hit by pitches leads the SEC as well.

Freshman right-hander Braden Webb earned the win in Saturday’s 7-4 win vs. Tennessee. Webb allowed four runs on seven hits in 7.1 innings with two walks and 10 strikeouts. Webb has reached double-digits in strikeouts in three consecutive SEC contests with 11 last week at Vanderbilt and 14 as well at Ole Miss on March 25. Webb is the only pitcher in the SEC to win all four of his starts to open league play. For the season, Webb is 7-1 with a 2.17 ERA tied with teammate Clarke Schmidt for the league lead in victories. He has allowed 17 runs, 12 earned, on 27 hits in 49.2 innings. Webb has 63 strikeouts to 24 walks and teams are hitting .157 against him, second-best among SEC pitchers. Webb has 42 strikeouts in his four SEC starts in 29.2 innings pitched. SEC teams are hitting .162 against him.

Junior outfielder Gene Cone has been South Carolina’s top hitter in league play. Cone has hit .370 (17-for-46) in 12 SEC games with a team-high 15 runs scored and a .491 on-base percentage. Cone is on a 19-game hitting streak and hitting .323 (32-for-99) for the season with 24 runs scored and nine RBI to go along with a .430 on-base percentage. He was 1-for-4 with two runs in Friday’s 7-6 win over Tennessee.

Junior left-hander Josh Reagan earned three saves this past week with one against Coastal Carolina and a pair against the Volunteers. Reagan pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts in the 4-2 win over Coastal. He added two scoreless innings in the 7-6 win over Tennessee and pitched out of a bases loaded, no outs jam vs. Tennessee in Sunday’s 4-3 victory. Reagan is 1-0 with a SEC-best 10 saves and a 0.31 ERA in 18 relief appearances. He has allowed only one run this year on 13 hits with 25 strikeouts in 29.0 innings and opponents batting .134 against him.

Freshman infielder LT Tolbert hit a two-run homer and tied a career-high with three RBI In Friday’s 7-6 win over Tennessee. Tolbert drove in a team-high four runs over the weekend vs. the Volunteers. Tolbert is hitting .231 (28-for-121) with 19 RBI and 19 runs scored and a .309 on-base percentage.

Freshman right-hander Adam Hill was effective despite a no-decision in Sunday’s 4-3 win over Tennessee. Hill allowed three runs on five hits in 5.1 innings with a walk and a strikeout. He is 5-0 with a 2.87 ERA in eight starts. Hill has 47 strikeouts in 37.2 innings and opponents are hitting .214 against him.

Senior infielder Marcus Mooney had a key two-run double in the 4-3 win over Tennessee on Sunday and was also 2-for-4 with a RBI single in Saturday’s 7-4 win. Mooney is hitting .305 (32-for-105) with 18 RBI and 20 runs scored. Mooney has a .398 on-base percentage and is fielding .954 with just six errors at shortstop.

Sophomore right-hander Tyler Johnson earned his first win of the season with two scoreless innings of relief in the 4-3 win over Tennessee. Johnson is 1-1 with a 3.97 ERA and a pair of saves. He has 25 strikeouts in 22.2 innings pitched.

Junior outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams stole second base and scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning in the 4-3 win over Tennessee. He was also 2-for-3 with a team-leading eight double and a run scored in Saturday’s 7-4 win. He was 2-for-4 with a RBI double in the 4-2 win over Coastal Carolina. Thompson-Williams is hitting .347 (43-for-124) with 28 RBI and 32 runs scored and a .446 on-base percentage. He ranks tied for eighth in the SEC with 32 runs scored and tied for 14th with 43 hits on the year.

Junior right-hander Reed Scott pitched 1.2 scoreless innings of relief for his first save of the year in the 7-4 win over Tennessee. Scott has a 3.48 ERA in 14 relief appearances and has allowed just eight runs on 23 hits in 20.2 innings pitched.

Sophomore catcher John Jones doubled and scored a run in Sunday’s 4-3 win over Tennessee. Jones is hitting .339 (43-for-127) with 30 runs scored and 34 RBI. He has a .441 on-base percentage. Jones’ 34 RBI is tied for seventh-best in the SEC as is his six homers on the year. He has 69 total bases, tied for 11th best in the league and 43 hits, which ties him with teammate Dom Thompson-Williams for 14th best in the SEC.

Junior right-hander Taylor Widener won his first game of the season in Tuesday’s 4-2 win over Coastal Carolina. Widener allowed two runs on two hits in five-plus innings with a walk and five strikeouts. Widener has struck out 21 batters in 21.1 innings with opponents hitting .241 against him this year.

Sophomore outfielder Alex Destino had a game-winning RBI pinch-hit single in the bottom of the eighth inning in Sunday’s 4-3 win over Tennessee. With the base hit, Destino extended his hitting streak to 21 games. Destino leads the Gamecocks with a .365 batting average (42-for-115) with 21 runs scored and 27 RBI. He has a .407 on-base percentage and a .530 slugging percentage.

Freshman outfielder TJ Hopkins was 2-for-3 with a RBI and two runs scored in the 7-4 win over Tennessee and had a key two-run double in the 7-6 win the night before vs. the Volunteers. Hopkins is hitting .310 (18-for-58) with 12 runs scored and 14 RBI and a .391 on-base percentage in 21 games played with 17 starts.

Freshman catcher Chris Cullen went 1-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI in the 7-4 win over Tennessee. Cullen is hitting .262 (22-for-84) with 10 runs scored and 18 RBI in 25 games played with 22 starts behind the plate.

Sophomore infielder Madison Stokes made his first start of the season in Tuesday’s 4-2 win over Coastal Carolina and had three for the week. Stokes is hitting .273 (3-for-11) in his first four games played this year after recovering from a Jones fracture in his foot.

South Carolina leads the SEC with a 2.61 team ERA and a .217 opponents batting average. The Gamecocks have allowed 103 runs, 86 earned, on 235 hits in 297.0 innings. The Gamecocks have compiled 319 strikeouts to 105 walks.

South Carolina is hitting .299 (340-for-1138) as a team with a .389 on-base percentage and a .420 slugging percentage. The Gamecocks have hit 23 homers. Carolina is fielding .979 as a team with just 25 errors on the year.

South Carolina has outscored its opponents this year 224-103 including 58-22 in the first two innings of play. The Gamecocks are 22-1 on the year when scoring first and 14-1 when scoring in the first inning. South Carolina is 21-0 when out-hitting its opponent and 16-1 when hitting at least one home run. The Gamecocks are 26-0 when leading after the sixth inning. South Carolina is 10-3 in games decided by three runs or less. Carolina has reached double-digits in hits in 15 games this year with a 15-0 record with 10 hits or more.

NEXT WEEK
4/12/16 ââ’¬” vs. North Carolina (Charlotte, N.C./BB&T Ballpark) ââ’¬” 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
4/15/16 ââ’¬” at Georgia ââ’¬” 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
4/16/16 ââ’¬” at Georgia ââ’¬” 6 p.m.
4/17/16 ââ’¬” at Georgia ââ’¬” 1 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)