Feb. 14, 2005

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina senior Aaron Rawl has been named the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced Monday. Rawl turned in a strong performance on the mound in the Gamecocks’ season-opener, a 5-1 victory over Longwood University last Friday.

Rawl set the tone for the weekend for South Carolina as he pitched seven innings and allowed just four Longwood hits and one earned run. The Lexington, S.C., product struck out five and did not issue a single walk on the way to his 27th career win. He faced the minimum number of batters over the first five innings.

Rawl has pitched in the College World Series in each of the last three years and earned third-team All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association in 2004. He compiled a 13-4 record and a 4.22 ERA in 122 innings of work and finished with 98 strikeouts and just 17 walks as a junior. This is the first time in his career that he has earned SEC weekly honors.

Arkansas second baseman Scott Bridges is this week’s SEC Player of the Week.

The Gamecocks (3-0) are back in action this weekend as they play host to Radford. The three-game series openson Friday, Feb. 18, at 3 p.m. at Sarge Frye Field.