March 15, 2004
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina baseball (17-0) returns to action on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. as the Gamecocks host Davidson at Sarge Frye Field. Ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation, the Gamecocks face the Wildcats in the squad’s final test before conference play begins. South Carolina opens SEC play on Friday hosting No. 1 LSU in a three-game series.
South Carolina will start junior RHP Jason Fletcher (3-0, 0.50 ERA) against Davidson on Tuesday night. Fletcher has worked 18 innings on the year and owns 20 strikeouts and allowed just 14 hits and zero walks on the season.
SOUTH CAROLINA BASEBALL NOTEBOOK
Record: 17-0, 0-0(Southeastern Conference) (2-0 vs. rank Top 25)
16-0 home games … 0-0 neutral site … 1-0 on the road
Last Week: 5-0
Tuesday … 3/9 vs. Yale … W, 6-1
Wednesday … 3/10 vs. Yale … W, 9-2
Friday … 3/12 vs. Delaware State … W, 4-2
Saturday … 3/13 vs. Delaware State … W, 7-0
Sunday … 3/14 vs. Delaware State … W, 16-3
WEEKLY NOTES:
South Carolina extended its winning streak to 17 games with five more wins this weekend vs. Yale and Delaware State … Carolina’s 17-0 beginning is the best start since 2000 when USC won a school record 22 consecutive games.
SOUTH CAROLINA AT THE PLATE
The Gamecocks have hit a home run in 15 of 17 games, 35 on the year and are batting .361 as a team on the year with 14 of 17 games featuring a USC offense with at least 10 hits … South Carolina has outscored opponents 181-32 and outhit opponents 223-80 … Senior catcher Landon Powell owns a 13-game hitting streak and became the 18th player in USC history to collect at least 200 career hits in school history … Powell owns 203 career hits and batted .476 on the week (10-for-21) with four RBI, he is batting .386 on the year and is one of four players at South Carolina to have started and played all 17 games … Powell also owns a team-high 10 multi-hit games … Powell was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List and owns a 1.000 fielding percentage with 168 putouts and 25 assists … Junior INF Steve Pearce leads USC on the season with a .431 batting average, nine HR and 29 RBI.
SOUTH CAROLINA ON THE MOUND
South Carolina’s pitching staff continues to have success on the mound with the team ERA at 1.72 … South Carolina pitchers have 203 strikeouts on the year and just 17 walks in 152 innings pitched … The Gamecock pitching staff has seven games this season that they have not allowed a walk as well 11 games with at least 10 strikeouts … Junior LHP Matt Campbell won two starts this week and is 4-0 on the year with a 0.00 ERA in 27 2/3 innings, 43 strikeouts, two walks and just 10 hits allowed … Campbell defeated Yale on Tuesday striking out 11 in six innings and defeated Delaware State on Sunday going seven innings and striking out 11 as well … Junior RHP Billy Buckner is 4-0 after earning a win on Friday and has pitched 28 innings with 41 strikeouts, three walks and 22 hits allowed in 28 innings pitched as well as a 3.21 ERA … Junior RHP Aaron Rawl is also 4-0 on the year and has 28 strikeouts, three walks and 20 hits allowed in a team-high 30 1/3 innings and owns a 2.08 ERA … Junior RHP Chad Blackwell has made a team-high 10 appearances out of the bullpen and picked up his sixth save of the year in relief in Friday’s 4-2 win vs. Delaware State.
GAMECOCK TIDBITS
South Carolina batted around two more times on the week (Friday vs. Delaware State, Sunday vs. Delaware State) and has now batted around 14 times on the year … South Carolina hit three home runs in the third inning of the Gamecocks’ 4-2 win vs. Delaware State … The USC offense is outscoring opponents 65-3 in the first two innings and 85-5 in the first three innings … USC head coach Ray Tanner reunites with Davidson head coach Dick Cooke and LSU head coach Smoke Laval this weekend … Coach Cooke served as pitching coach for Tanner on the 2003 USA National Team this summer and Coach Laval was a Trials Coach in Tuscon, Arizona with the squad before the team began playing.
