March 17, 2011

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina (12-3) begins SEC play on Friday night as the Gamecocks welcome Georgia (8-9) for a three-game series at Carolina Stadium. First pitch for the opener on Friday is 7 p.m. with Saturday’s first pitch at 4 p.m. and Sunday’s series finale at 1:30 p.m. All three games can be heard on the Gamecock Radio Network with live video broadcast available at GamecocksOnline.com.

Probable Starting Pitchers

Friday
South Carolina Michael Roth (Jr. LHP) 4-0, 0.99 ERA, 27.1 IP, 7 BB, 30 SO
Georgia Alex Wood (So. LHP) 1-2, 4.32 ERA, 16.2 IP, 3 BB, 21 SO

Saturday
South Carolina Steven Neff (Jr. LHP) 2-0, 3.07 ERA, 14.2 IP, 5 BB, 14 SO
Georgia Michael Palazzone (Jr. RHP) 2-1, 3.13 ERA, 23.0 IP, 3 BB, 21 SO

Sunday
South Carolina TBA
Georgia Craig Gullickson (Jr. LHP) 1-1, 4.50 ERA, 12.0 IP, 4 BB, 8 SO

South Carolina-Georgia Series SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: South Carolina leads 55-46
Series Began/Last Meeting: 1896/2010
Last Score: SC (8) GA (7) (7 inn.)
SC Current Streak: W6

ROTH PICKS UP ANOTHER WIN
Junior left-hander Michael Roth improved to 4-0 on the year earning a victory in the 5-1 win over Cal State Bakersfield. Roth worked a season-high eight innings and tied a career-high with nine strikeouts and allowed just one walk and one unearned run in the victory. Roth is currently one of six pitchers in the SEC with four victories and is second in the conference with a 0.99 ERA. He is also tied for fourth in strikeouts (30) and tied for fourth innings pitched (27.1).

WALKER DRIVES THEM IN
Sophomore first baseman Christian Walker was 2-for-4 with two doubles in Sunday’s 8-3 loss to Cal State Bakersfield. He is third in the SEC in slugging percentage (.722), is ninth in on-base percentage (492) and tied for second in home runs (4). He has a team-high nine multi-hit games in 13 games for the season.

JUNIOR
Junior outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. was stellar in the CSU Bakersfield series hitting .556 (5-for-9) in three games with a .615 on-base percentage. Bradley went 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBI in the 5-1 victory over the Roadrunners. He also had a pair of hits in Tuesday’s 5-4 win over Clemson.

With five hits last weekend, Bradley has 197 career hits now and is three hits away from becoming the 24th player in school history to record 200 or more hits.

For the season, Bradley is batting .345 (19-for-55) with four HR and 15 RBI as well as six doubles. He has a .433 on-base percentage and a .709 slugging percentage. His slugging percentage is fifth best in the SEC; he is tied for second in home runs and tied for seventh in total bases (39).

NEFF MAKES A CASE
Junior left-hander Steven Neff earned his second win of the season in Saturday’s 5-2 win over Cal State Bakersfield. In his second start of the season, Neff went 5.1 innings and allowed one run on four hits with two strikeouts and two hit by pitches. For the season, he is 2-0 with a 3.07 ERA in 14.2 innings with 14 strikeouts.

WILLIAMS FINDS HIS WAY INTO THE LINEUP
Junior outfielder Jake Williams was 3-for-5 with a career-high four RBI and his third triple of the year in the 8-4 win over Wofford. Williams also had a pinch-hit three-run homer as Carolina defeated Clemson 5-4 to clinch the season series vs. the Tigers. He also had two hits in the 5-2 win over Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday. For the season, he is hitting .385 (15-for-39) with five runs scored, 12 RBI, a double, three triples and a home run.

MORALES GETS ON BASE
Senior infielder Adrian Morales continues to find his way on base and leads the team with a .408 on-base percentage, fifth best in the SEC. He is hitting .370 (17-for-46) and leads the team with 10 walks and five hit by pitches as well. Morales was 3-for-3 with three runs scored and a homer in the 8-4 win over Wofford.

BEARY TAKES ON UTILITY ROLE
Senior utility player Robert Beary got the start behind the plate both Tuesday and Wednesday vs. Furman and Wofford. Beary is hitting .231 for the season in nine starts. He also started at designated hitter and seen action in the outfield.

TAYLOR – A RELIEF
Senior right-hander John Taylor had two scoreless appearances in the weekend series vs. CSU Bakersfield. He worked one scoreless inning in Friday’s 5-1 win with a pair of strikeouts and also had a scoreless inning with a strikeout in the 5-2 win on Saturday. Taylor has a 0.00 ERA in eight relief appearances with just three hits allowed as well as 12 strikeouts in eight innings pitched.

FROM THE LEFT WITH HARPER
Junior left-hander Bryan Harper tied a season-high with 2.1 innings pitched in the 5-2 win over CSUB. Harper has a 4.26 ERA in seven relief appearances with nine strikeouts in 6.1 innings.

KOUMAS EARNS FIRST CAREER WIN
Freshman right-hander Forrest Koumas won his first career game last Tuesday vs. Clemson. Koumas went 2.1 innings and allowed three runs on three hits with three strikeouts.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Sophomore right-hander Matt Price had a pair of scoreless outings in the Tuesday 5-4 win over Clemson and Saturday’s 5-2 win over CSU Bakersfield. Price hurled one scoreless inning to pick up his fourth save of the year in the win vs. the Tigers and retired both batters he faced in the win vs. the Roadrunners. Price has 14 career saves in a Gamecock uniform that is 10th best in school history.

Top 10 Saves All-Time30  Rob Mosser (1990-93)28  Brian Beatson (1987-90)22  Blake Taylor (2001-02)22  Lee Gronkiewicz (1999-2001)20  Chad Blackwell (2004)19  Jason Pomar (1996-99)18  Scott Barber (1998-2000)15  Bobby Kish (1979-81)15  Craig Ross (1993-95)14  Matt Price (2009-11)

WINGO & RECORDS
South Carolina senior infielder Scott Wingo holds several career records that he continues to add to in his final season with the Gamecocks. Wingo is the 15th player in school history to play 200 or more games. Wingo played in his 200th in the 8-4 win over Wofford.

Wingo holds the school records for putouts (318), assists (552) for a second baseman. He has fielded .972 in his career with just 25 errors. Wingo also holds the school career record for hit by pitches with 49 so far in his career.

PACK THE HOUSE
There have been great crowds at Carolina Stadium this year including three sellouts already on the year. The Gamecocks had sellouts of 8,242 in the first two games vs. Santa Clara as well as the Friday victory over Clemson. For the season, the Gamecocks have a total attendance of 87,072 for an average of 7,256.

PITCHING STAFF
South Carolina’s pitching staff ranks fourth in the SEC with a 2.84 earned run average. The staff has allowed just 113 hits in 133.0 innings pitched with 128 strikeouts to 49 walks. Opponents are hitting just .232 against the staff.

ON THE FIELD
South Carolina is hitting .289 (139-for-481) as a team. The Gamecocks lead the SEC with 15 home runs. Carolina also is third in the SEC with a .464 slugging percentage. South Carolina is fielding .974 as a team.