March 17, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina defeated Furman 5-0 in midweek action and followed that up with a pair of wins in a weekend series vs. 12th ranked Ole Miss to open SEC play. The Gamecocks are 18-1 on the year with a 2-1 record in league action.

Record: 18-1
SEC: 2-1
Home: 16-1
Neutral: 1-0
Away: 1-0

This Week: 3-1
3/11/14 – Furman (W, 5-0)
3/14/14 – Ole Miss (L, 6-4)
3/15/14 – Ole Miss (W, 5-4 (10 inn.)
3/15/14 – Ole Miss (W, 3-1)

NOTES: The South Carolina bullpen continues to impress with a scoreless inning streak of 61.1 innings without allowing a run; the last run given up by the pen was Opening Day vs. Bucknell on Feb. 15, 2014.

Leading the way in the bullpen efforts is junior right-hander Joel Seddon. Seddon worked a scoreless inning of relief in the 10th inning of a 5-4 win over Ole Miss in game one of a doubleheader and followed that up with 0.2 scoreless in the nightcap for his sixth save of the season. Seddon is 1-0 on the year with just two hits allowed in 11.1 innings as well as 16 strikeouts to just two walks. He has made 10 relief appearances. His six saves is tied for the highest in the league.

Also with 10 relief appearances is junior right-hander Cody Mincey. Mincey pitched three scoreless innings of relief in the 3-1 win over Ole Miss in the rubber game with just one hit allowed and four strikeouts. Mincey has 22 strikeouts to just four walks in 14.0 innings pitched. He has yielded only five hits on the year.

Sophomore infielder Max Schrock had a flair for the dramatic this weekend. Despite a sprained ankle, Schrock came on in a pinch-hit role and without taking batting practice before the game, launched a two-out two-run homer to right field in the bottom of the 9th to help the Gamecocks rally to a 5-4 10-inning win over the Rebels. The previous day, Schrock tied a career-high with four hits including a homer as well as two RBI and two runs scored in the 6-4 loss. Schrock is hitting .354 (17-for-48) on the year with a team-high four homers and 10 RBI. He has a .467 on-base percentage and a .625 slugging mark. His four homers is tied for third-highest in the SEC.

Freshman right-hander Wil Crowe improved to 4-0 on the year with a win in the 3-1 rubber game victory over Ole Miss. Crowe limited the Rebels to just one run on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Crowe owns a 1.10 ERA in 32.2 innings with 23 strikeouts to four walks. Opponents are hitting .196 against him.

Junior outfielder Connor Bright leads the Gamecocks and is tied for the SEC lead in hitting with a .417 average (30-for-72). He has 17 runs scored and 18 RBI and leads the team with 10 doubles. Bright also has a .458 on-base percentage. He was 2-for-4 with a run scored in the 3-1 win over Ole Miss as well as 2-for-5 with a RBI and a run scored in the 5-4 win.

Freshman right-hander Reed Scott was key in the 5-4 win over Ole Miss. With the Gamecocks trailing 4-0 entering the top of the fourth, Scott kept the Rebels at bay as he pitched a career-high six scoreless innings of relief with just three hits allowed and no walks while striking out a career-high six batters to help Carolina to the 5-4 rally. Scott also had a scoreless inning of relief with a strikeout in the 5-0 win over Furman last Tuesday.

Junior catcher Grayson Greiner is hitting .354 (23-for-65) with a team-high 20 runs scored and a team-high 20 RBI as well as three homers and four doubles. He ranks fourth in the SEC in runs and fifth in RBI. Greiner also had a team-high 11 walks. Greiner scored the game-winning run in the 5-4 win over Ole Miss and followed that up with a RBI in the 3-1 win.

Freshman right-hander Taylor Widener won his first collegiate start in a predetermined split as he pitched 3.1 scoreless innings in the 5-0 win over Furman. Widener had allowed just five hits and two walks in 7.2 innings with six strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .179 against him.

Junior outfielder Elliott Caldwell came up big in left field in both games of the doubleheader vs. Ole Miss. Caldwell threw out two runners at home plate in the 5-4 win and followed that up with another outfield assist in the nightcap. Caldwell had two hits in the 5-4 win and had three hits in the 5-0 win over Furman. Caldwell is hitting .288 (15-for-52) on the year.

Sophomore left-hander Vince Fiori was stellar in relief in Friday’s loss. Fiori pitched 2.2 scoreless innings with just two hits allowed and one walk while striking out two batters. Fiori has pitched 8.1 scoreless innings of relief with nine strikeouts in six relief appearances.

Senior Brison Celek tallied another big hit as his game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted South Carolina to a 5-4 win over Ole Miss.

Freshman left-hander Josh Reagan was effective in relief of Widener on Tuesday. Reagan pitched 2.2 scoreless with a pair of strikeouts in the 5-0 win. He is 2-0 on the year with a 0.00 ERA in five appearances. Reagan has 11 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched.

Junior outfielder Tanner English’s numbers continue to rise with a .339 batting average (21-for-62) and a .431 on-base percentage. He was 1-for-2 with a RBI and a run scored in the 5-0 win over Furman, 2-for-4 with a run scored in the 5-4 win over Ole Miss and a perfect RBI bunt with two outs to score the go-ahead run in the 3-1 win over Ole Miss.

Junior infielder Joey Pankake owns a seven-game hitting streak. Pankake is up to a .286 (18-for-63) batting average. He went 2-for-4 with a RBI in the 3-1 win over Ole Miss and was 2-for-5 with a run scored in the 5-4 victory over the Rebels. Pankake has a .403 on-base percentage with nine walks and four hit by pitches to just six strikeouts. He has scored 19 runs this year.

Junior first baseman Kyle Martin continues to be among the team’s leaders in hitting with a .343 average (24-for-70). Sophomore infielder Marcus Mooney is also doing well at the plate with a .304 average (21-for-69) and a .400 on-base percentage.

The Gamecocks are 17-0 on the year when allowing five runs or less in a game. Additionally, South Carolina is 9-0 when scoring six or more runs. South Carolina is 7-1 in games decided by three runs or less.

South Carolina is hitting .315 (203-for-645) as a team with a .396 on-base percentage and a .442 slugging percentage. All three of those marks are second highest in the SEC. The pitching staff leads the league with a 1.36 ERA. The Gamecocks have 167 strikeouts in 172.0 innings. Opponents are hitting .206 against the Gamecocks. South Carolina has fielded .980 as a team with only 14 errors.

NEXT WEEK
3/18 – at The Citadel (7 p.m.)
3/21 – at Kentucky (6:30 p.m.)
3/22 – at Kentucky (2 p.m.) (FSN)
3/23 – at Kentucky (1 p.m.)