Feb. 16, 2004

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina junior infielder Steve Pearce has been named SEC Player of the Week following his weekend performance in the Gamecocks’ sweep of Charleston Southern. In his first three games as a member of the South Carolina baseball team, Pearce batted .800 (8-for-10) with three home runs, six runs scored and eight RBI.

Pearce went 5-for-6 in Saturday’s 38-0 win vs. the Bucs with two homers, including a grand slam and seven RBI. In Sunday’s 3-0 win vs. the Bucs, Pearce was 3-for-3 with a game-winning homer. The five hits collected on Saturday are the most hits in a game by a USC player this year and the most hits since Landon Powell had five vs. Georgia on May 17, 2003.

South Carolina (3-0) remains ranked seventh in the nation by Baseball America and jumped to eighth in the latest Collegiate Baseball poll. The Gamecocks return to the field on Friday at 3 p.m. in a weekend series vs. UNC-Wilmington at Sarge Frye Field.