April 22, 2013

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina won all four games this past week with a non-conference win vs. the College of Charleston and a weekend sweep of Kentucky. The Gamecocks are 31-10 on the year with an 11-7 record in the SEC. South Carolina is in second place in the SEC Eastern Division and tied for third place overall in the conference standings.

Record: 31-10
SEC: 11-7
Home: 23-4
Away: 8-5
Neutral: 0-1

This Past Week: 4-0
4/16/13 – vs. College of Charleston (W, 10-6)
4/20/13 – vs. Kentucky (W, 5-2)
4/20/13 – vs. Kentucky (W, 7-6, 11 inn.)
4/21/13 – vs. Kentucky (W, 3-1)

NOTES:
South Carolina won all four games this past week with a non-conference win vs. the College of Charleston and a weekend sweep of Kentucky. The Gamecocks are 31-10 on the year with an 11-7 record in the SEC. South Carolina is in second place in the SEC Eastern Division and tied for third place overall in the conference standings.

The Gamecocks had a balanced attack on the offensive side in the Kentucky series with seven different Gamecock players driving in at least one run as well as seven different players scoring at least one run. South Carolina hit .318 (35-for-110) for the weekend with a .372 on-base percentage. On the mound, the Gamecocks were solid as well with a 2.17 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched.

Sophomore shortstop Joey Pankake hit .500 (7-for-14) against Kentucky with a homer, a pair of RBI and three runs scored. He went 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored in the 3-1 win in the series finale. The day before he had three hits in the 7-6 win and opened the series with a homer and two hits in the 5-2 win over the Wildcats. He also went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI in the 10-6 win over College of Charleston. Pankake is up to a .311 average (47-for-151) for the season eight homers and 30 RBI as well.

Pankake and freshman second baseman Max Schrock are tied for the team lead with 13 multi-hit games. Schrock also hit .500 for the weekend (5-for-10) with three runs scored and a pair of RBI. Schrock went 2-for-5 with a homer and two runs scored in the 7-6 win over the Wildcats. Schrock is hitting .277 (39-for-141) for the season with 30 runs scored and 30 RBI. He has seven doubles, two triples and four homers. Schrock leads the team with 12 stolen bases.

Senior left-hander Tyler Webb returned to the mound after resting last week with a tender arm. Webb factored in two of the wins over Kentucky as he picked up the victory in the 7-6 win and followed that up with a save in the 3-1 series finale. Webb worked three scoreless innings with just one hit allowed and four strikeouts in the 7-6 win. He followed that up with a shutout inning on Sunday. Webb is 2-1 on the year with a 0.64 ERA as well as 12 saves in 19 relief appearances. He has 42 strikeouts to just seven walks in 28.0 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .165 against him. Webb is up to 97 career appearances and is five short of the school record of 102 set by Matt Price (2009-12).

Senior first baseman LB Dantzler homered in both the 5-2 and 3-1 victories against Kentucky. He is the team’s leading hitter with a .331 average (48-for-145) with 12 homers and 42 RBI. Dantzler ranks among the league leaders in the SEC in many categories including third in home runs (12), third in slugging percentage (.669), fourth in walks (28), fourth in total bases (97), tied for fourth in runs batted in (42), tied for fifth in doubles (11), and ninth in on-base percentage (.444).

Senior left-hander Nolan Belcher improved to 6-3 with a win in the 5-2 victory over Kentucky. Belcher allowed two runs on six hits in 7.2 innings with no walks and six strikeouts. He has a 1.70 ERA in 74.0 innings with 61 strikeouts and just five walks. Opponents are hitting only .218 against him. Belcher is second in the league in innings pitched (74.0), fifth in earned run average (1.70), sixth in strikeouts (61), tied for eighth in wins (6) and 11th in opposing batting average (.218).

Junior designated hitter Brison Celek is riding a nine-game hitting streak, the longest of his career. Celek had the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning in the 7-6 win over the Wildcats. He is hitting .308 (16-for-52) with nine runs scored and 11 RBI. His on-base percentage is .446 as well.

Senior left-hander Adam Westmoreland tallied his third save of the year with 1.1 scoreless innings in the 5-2 win over UK. Westmoreland yielded just one hit and struck out two batters. He is 4-1 with a 1.81 ERA in 44.2 innings with 44 strikeouts to six walks. Opponents are hitting .200 against him.

Sophomore catcher Grayson Greiner caught all 29 innings this past weekend and was instrumental in all three victories with his top play behind the plate. Greiner was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a RBI in the 7-6 win. He is hitting .301 (37-for-123) with 18 runs scored and 26 RBI. Greiner leads the Gamecocks in SEC play with a .339 average (20-for-59)

Sophomore left-hander Jordan Montgomery made his first start at Carolina Stadium in the 7-6 win over Kentucky in almost two months. His last start at home previously was February 22 vs. Albany. Montgomery allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits in 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts in a no-decision vs. the Wildcats. Montgomery is 3-0 with a 1.14 ERA in 31.2 innings. He has 30 strikeouts.

Junior outfielder Graham Saiko had a career-high four hits including his first career homer, drove in two runs and added three runs scored in the 10-6 win over College of Charleston. Saiko owns a .280 average (35-for-125) with 24 runs scored. He has a .394 on-base percentage with a great walk-to-strikeout ratio (26 walks to 11 strikeouts).

Freshman left-hander Jack Wynkoop hurled a career-high eight innings to pick up his fifth win of the season in the 3-1 win over Kentucky on Sunday. He scattered nine hits and allowed just one unearned run while not walking a batter and striking out three. Wynkoop is 5-2 with a 3.12 ERA in 12 appearances.

Senior third baseman Chase Vergason continues to be steady in the lineup with a .282 average (40-for-142) with 28 runs scored and a .391 on-base percentage. Vergason had at least one hit in all three games vs. Kentucky. Another steady performer is sophomore outfielder Tanner English, who is hitting .299 (29-for-97) with a .430 on-base percentage. English doubled and tripled in the 7-6 win over Kentucky. Sophomore outfielder Connor Bright went 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI and a homer in the 10-6 win over College of Charleston. Bright has a .325 average (39-for-120) for the season.

South Carolina is 27-1 this season when leading after six innings and 22-3 on the year when out-hitting the opponent. Carolina has allowed five runs or less in 33 of 40 games played this season. The Gamecocks are 27-6 when allowing five runs or less. South Carolina is 17-7 in games decided by three runs or less.

The Gamecock pitching staff currently owns a 3.12 ERA in 366.0 innings pitched. Carolina has allowed 155 runs, 127 earned, on 338 hits with 101 walks to 342 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .243 against the squad.

South Carolina is hitting .290 (396-for-1366) as a team, fourth best in the league. The Gamecocks lead the SEC with 39 homers. Carolina is fielding .974 with 40 errors for the season. South Carolina’s slugging percentage of .436 is third best in the SEC with on-base percentage of .386 fourth best in the conference also.

Next Week:
4/23/13 – vs. Gardner-Webb (at Shelby, N.C. at Keeter Stadium) (6 p.m.)
4/26/13 – at LSU (8 p.m.) (Cox Sports Television)
4/27/13 – at LSU (7:30 p.m.) (Cox Sports Television)
4/28/13 – at LSU (3 p.m.) (ESPN)
All times are Eastern