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March 15, 2007
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina (15-2) opens up SEC play this weekend hosting LSU (12-7) in a three-game series at Sarge Frye Field. Friday’s opener is set for 7 pm, Saturday’s contest is at 4 pm and Sunday’s series finale will have a first pitch at 12 noon. All three games will be televised live on CSS-TV and the Jumbo Sports Network with Mike Morgan and Ronnie Rantz calling the action. The game can also be heard on the Gamecock Radio Network with Tommy Moody and Trey Dyson on the mic. The Gamecock Radio Network includes the flagship stations in Columbia (103.1 FM, 1320 AM).
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday
SC Harris Honeycutt (Jr.) RHP 4-0, 1.11 ERA, 24.1 IP, 26 K, 9 BB
LSU Charlie Furbush (Jr.) LHP 3-1, 2.61 ERA, 31.0 IP, 28 K, 11 BB
Saturday
SC Mike Cisco (Jr.) RHP 2-0, 2.59 ERA, 31.1 IP, 28 K, 4 BB
LSU Jared Bradford (Jr.) RHP 3-1, 2.51 ERA, 28.2 IP, 28 K, 5 BB
Sunday
SC TBA
LSU T.J. Forrest (Fr.) RHP 1-0, 1.50 ERA, 6.0 IP, 7 K, 1 BB
QUICK RECAP
South Carolina swept a two-game series vs. Appalachian State on Tuesday and Wednesday with wins of 13-5 and 4-1 vs. the Mountaineers. Friday’s win featured a season-high 20 hits for the Gamecocks including a grand slam home run from Justin Smoak and a career-high four hits from Reese Havens. Trent Kline was also 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBI. Saturday’s win featured five scoreless innings of relief from three Gamecock pitchers and the first save of the year from Wynn Pelzer. Harley Lail homered for the first time in his career as well.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Gamecocks currently in the longest homestand of the year, nine straight games beginning last weekend. The homestand still includes the three-game series vs. LSU and a game next Tuesday vs. UNC Asheville.
Sarge Frye Field has been a tough spot for opponents over the last seven years as the Gamecocks have racked up a 227-47 record (.828) in that timespan. The crowds have been incredible for the Gamecocks as well, with USC averaging 4,864 fans in eight dates (one doubleheader).
THE CAROLINA PITCHERS
The Gamecock pitching staff has delivered in the early going with the staff posting a team ERA of 2.22 in 154.1 innings of work. That 2.22 ERA is the best in the SEC heading into this weekend’s games. The staff has 162 strikeouts to just 46 walks and allowed just 114 hits and opponents only batting .206 on the year.
RIDE THE HARLEY
Junior outfielder Harley Lail has made an instant impact on the field for Carolina in the last five games, starting in left field. Lail is 9-for-19 on the year (.474) and tied a USC single-game record for doubles with three vs. Brown last Friday. Lail also homered for the Gamecocks in Wednesday’s win over Appalachian State.
HONEYCUTT RETURNS TO THE MOUND ON FRIDAY
After sitting out last week with a strained bicep in his right arm, junior right-handed pitcher Harris Honeycutt returns to the mound and gets the start in Friday’s series opener. Honeycutt is 4-0 in four starts with a 1.11 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 24.1 innings pitched.
Harris Honeycutt was named SEC Pitcher of the Week following his performance in the 12-0 win at Clemson. Against second ranked and in-state rival Clemson, Honeycutt delivered with a top performance on the mound limiting the Tigers to just two hits in seven innings of work. He combined with three other players for the first shutout of the Tigers since 1986 and the first Gamecock shutout at Doug Kingsmore Stadium since 1974. Honeycutt struck out seven batters in the win, took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and allowed just one Clemson player to reach third base. He also improved his career record to 12-0 with the Gamecocks and has won all four starts this season. Honeycutt lowered his ERA to 1.11 and has pitched 14 consecutive scoreless innings.
Honeycutt’s honor marks the second time a Carolina player has been honored by the SEC office. Lonnie Chisenhall was SEC Freshman of the Week after the first weekend of the year at the Hughes Brothers Challenge hosted by UNC Wilmington.
THE CISCO KID
Sophomore right-hander Mike Cisco has put together five quality starts to open the season and leads the team with 31.1 innings pitched. He has reached at least six innings in all five starts made this year. In the 11-2 win over Brown, he pitched six scoreless innings and allowed just two hits while striking out eight batters. Cisco is now 2-0 this season.
He picked up his first win of year in a 5-1 win over Eastern Michigan. In that start he also worked 6.2 innings and allowed just one run on five hits while striking out nine batters. Cisco owns a 2.59 ERA with 26 strikeouts on the year. He will start on Saturday for Carolina.
CAROLINA TO HONOR COLLEGE WORLD SERIES TEAMS SATURDAY
As part of the season long salute to Sarge Frye Field, the South Carolina Baseball program will be honoring members of all eight College World Series teams before Saturday’s game with LSU. Pre-game ceremonies are scheduled for 3:50 pm with the first pitch set for 4:07 pm. Former head coaches Bobby Richardson and June Raines will throw ceremonial first pitches as well.
South Carolina Baseball features a storied history with eight squads reaching the pinnacle of college baseball, the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. Carolina sent teams in 1975, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1985, 2002, 2003 and 2004. The group of letterwinners attending this Saturday’s game is listed below.
SMOAK’EM
Sophomore first baseman Justin Smoak produced in all three games of the Brown series going 7-for-11 with 11 RBI in the three-game series including two home runs and three doubles. He also had a grand slam home run and three hits in Tuesday’s win over Appalachian State.
A preseason All-American selection, Smoak’s season batting average is .328 and he leads the team with six homers and also 25 RBI. His current on-base percentage is .464.
CHISENHALL MAKES FIRST CAREER START VS. ASU
Lonnie Chisenhall, Baseball America’s top rated freshman in the country recevivedhis first career start as a pitcher on Tuesday vs. Appalachian State. Chisenhall went 4.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits. Chisenhall has been a position starter in 16 of 17 games this year for the Gamecocks and is batting .319 (23-for-72) with five doubles, a triple, two homers and 12 RBI.
After a strong opening weekend in Wilmington, N.C. Chisenhall was named SEC Freshman of the Week. At the season-opening tournament, Chisenhall hit .500 (7-for-14) with three runs, a homer and seven RBI and also tied two single game school records in a win over Western Kentucky with two triples and two sacrifice flies. He became only the 13th player in school history to have two triples in one game and the first since Steven Tolleson did it in 2005.
Although he bats left-handed, Chisenhall is a right-handed pitcher.
THIS WEEK IN THE RANKINGS
South Carolina sits at No. 3 in this week’s Baseball America Top 25 and has been ranked No. 4 in the Collegiate Baseball, Sports Weekly/ESPN and NCBWA polls.
COOPER DELIVERS IN FIRST CAREER START
Freshman right-hander Blake Cooper delivered in his first career start last Friday vs. Brown. Cooper allowed just one run, unearned and struck out six batters in five innings to pick up his first career win in the 13-1 victory over Brown. Cooper is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 9.1 innings of work with 10 strikeouts and just two walks.
IN A PINCH WITH MARTIN
Senior first baseman Drew Martin had a solid final two games of the Brown series. In Saturday’s 11-2 win over Brown, Martin started at DH and went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs and a RBI. Sunday’s 9-4 win featured a two-out bases loaded home run from Martin off the bench to break a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning.
In nine games, he is batting .438 with three homers and seven RBI. Six of his seven hits this season are extra base hits (3 doubles, 3 homers).
PRODUCTION AT THE PLATE
The South Carolina bats continue to be productive with the team batting at a .307 clip with 26 homers in 17 games played. The team owns a .414 on-base percentage to go along with a .524 slugging percentage.
FLASHING THE LEATHER
South Carolina continues to boast one of the top defensive teams in all of college baseball as the Gamecocks lead the SEC in fielding percentage, 17 games into the season. After setting a school record for fielding last year, the Gamecocks are off to another solid start defensively with a .981 percentage and just 12 errors and eight error-less contests.
A QUICK RELIEF WITH ATWOOD
Junior left-hander Will Atwood has been a relief for the Gamecocks out of the bullpen to start the year. Atwood delivered again out of the pen in last Tuesday’s game vs. College of Charleston with 3.1 scoreless innings of work to keep the Cougars at bay.
That performance came off one he had last Sunday when he earned his first win of the year and pitched a scoreless ninth inning in the 3-2 win vs. Clemson. He also had three scoreless innings of work in Carolina’s 8-5 come-from-behind win over Eastern Michigan. Atwood is 0-0 with a 2.35 ERA in 15.1 innings and just four runs allowed.
DISHER GETS OFF TO SOLID START
Coming of a strong end to the 2006 season, junior designated hitter Phil Disher has picked up where he left off with a .339 batting average to start the year. Disher had a three-run homer and four RBI a win at Clemson and added two RBI in another win over the Tigers. He is currently among the SEC leaders in several categories including slugging percentage (.629) and on-base percentage.
His second career grand slam lifted the Gamecocks to an 8-5 win over Eastern Michigan, a game-winning hit with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Disher was 2006 NCAA Regional MVP in Charlottesville, Va.
DEFENSIVE SAVE
Captain Steven Reinhold has been a key ingredient to the Gamecocks success in the early season. Coming off the bench as a defensive replacement, Reinhold has played in 15 games, all at center field and has been a productive pinch hitter and pinch runner as well. This season he is 1-for-4 with two runs scored has been hit by three pitches and owns a sacrifice bunt. The bunt helped the Gamecocks score the winning run in Sunday’s game vs. Clemson.
DARNELL DELIVERS
Sophomore infielder James Darnell has struck with a strong bat this year, as he owns five homers in the first 17 games. He currently owns a .333 batting average and has 14 RBI. His three-run homer helped USC to a 12-0 win over Clemson and he set a career-high with four RBI as well.
COSTNER MAKES AN APPEARANCE
Junior right-handed pitcher Jordan Costner is one of three pitchers with seven appearances on the year. He saw action in a pair of games vs. Brown last week. Costner owns a 0.00 ERA in 7.1 innings of work with no walks and six strikeouts. Costner transferred this past fall from Spartanburg Methodist College.
JONES GETS IT GOING
Whether at the top or bottom of the order, junior second baseman Travis Jones has found his way on base in the early going for Carolina. Jones is batting .281 with a .422 on-base percentage and has scored 10 runs in the first 17 games.
CRISP HITTING
Sophomore Andrew Crisp tallied a career-high five hits including a game-winning RBI single in the 11th inning of a 9-8 win over UNC Wilmington. He homered and doubled as well in this past Tuesday’s win over Appalachian State. He is batting .286 this year with 10 RBI.
KLINE KEEPS IT GOING VS. ASU THIS PAST WEEK
Junior catcher Trent Kline went 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBI in Tuesday’s win over App State. Kline also had a key RBI double in Wednesday’s win. Kline is batting .328 with five doubles, two homer and 15 RBI on the year.
Kline hit a grand slam homer and collected a career-high four RBI in the 9-8 win over UNC Wilmington. Kline went 5-for-9 (.556) in the first weekend with five runs scored and seven RBI as well.
