May 7, 2007
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina sits at No. 7 in the ESPN/Sports Weekly coaches’ poll and also ranks No. 12 in this week’s Baseball America Top 25 and No. 14 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 released on Monday afternoon. The Gamecocks return to action on Wednesday night hosting The Citadel. First pitch at Sarge Frye Field is set for 8 pm. Carolina travels to Tennessee this weekend for a three-game series beginning on Friday night. Saturday’s game will be televised on CSS-TV. Game tiems this weekend are 7 pm, 7 pm and 2 pm.
SOUTH CAROLINA AT A GLANCE
Record: 35-14 (13-11 in the SEC)
21-5 in home games
10-9 in road games
4-0 in neutral games
7-6 vs. top 25 teams
Last Week: 2-1
Friday 5/4- Kentucky – W, 8-1
Saturday 5/5 – Kentucky – L, 8-4
Sunday 5/6 – Kentucky – W, 13-6
QUICK RECAP
South Carolina went 2-1 on the week winning a home SEC series against Kentucky … Carolina defeated the Wildcats 8-1 on Friday, fell 8-4 on Saturday and won the series with a 13-6 win in Sunday’s finale … South Carolina is now 35-14 and 13-11 in the SEC … Carolina sits in second place in the Eastern Division and tied for fourth place overall.
JONES
Junior second baseman Travis Jones has been on a tear at the plate as of late for the Gamecocks … In his last 24 games, Jones has batted .400 (38-for-95) with 14 HR and 42 RBI … Eleven of his 15 home runs have come in SEC games this year … He batted .571 (8-for-14) in the Kentucky series with five runs, two homers and seven RBI … On the year, Jones is batting .330 with 15 HR and 53 RBI as well as 12 doubles … He also leads the team with 12 stolen bases … Jones and first baseman Justin Smoak have started all 49 games this season.
HOME RUNS
The Gamecocks knocked out six home runs in the Kentucky series and now have 86 on the year … The 86 homers is currently the 10th highest by a Carolina team in school history … South Carolina is batting .302 as a team (529-for-1752) on the season … Four Gamecocks have 10 or more home runs (James Darnell (16), Travis Jones (15), Justin Smoak (15) and Phil Disher (10)) … Cheyne Hurst had his first homer of the season, a three-run shot in Sunday’s win over Kentucky … The Gamecocks went back-to-back for the second time on the year when Jones and Darnell hit consecutive home runs on Sunday as well.
HEMPY
Junior left-hander Arik Hempy continues to impress on the mound since returning from Tommy John surgery … Hempy struck out a season-high 10 batters in six innings of Friday’s 8-1 win over the Wildcats … He is now 5-1 on the year with a 1.59 ERA in 39.2 innings with 42 strikeouts and 14 walks and just 26 hits allowed … Hempy has three of five of his wins in SEC contests … He is 3-1 with a 1.00 ERA in 27 innings and SEC teams batting just .180 against him.
COOPER
Freshman right-hander Blake Cooper retired the first 11 batters and did not allow a run until the sixth inning of Sunday’s 13-6 win over Kentucky … Cooper is now 6-1 on the year with a 2.76 ERA in 45.2 innings.
JEFFORDS
Senior right-hander Jeff Jeffords factored in both Friday’s and Sunday’s wins over Kentucky … He is 4-1 with a 2.04 ERA in 35.1 innings with 43 strikeouts to just seven walks along with three saves … He worked 3.1 innings in Sunday’s win to earn a save against the Wildcats.
SOME MORE TIDBITS
South Carolina’s pitching staff owns a team ERA of 3.65 in 444.1 innings with 461 strikeouts and 166 walks allowed … Carolina has now won four straight series against Kentucky at home (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007) and leads the all-time series now 33-25.
NEXT WEEK
Wednesday 5/9 – The Citadel – 8 pm
Friday 5/11 – at Tennessee – 7 pm
Saturday 5/12 – at Tennessee – 7 pm (CSS-TV)
Sunday 5/13 – at Tennessee – 2 pm
