Feb. 14, 2008
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina has been predicted to finish second in the SEC Eastern Division in the 2008 SEC Preseason Coaches Poll. Carolina finished second in the SEC East last year with a 17-13 mark in conference play. The Gamecocks received three first place votes for the Eastern Division and for the SEC championship and finished with a total of 58 points in the poll. Carolina owns two SEC championships (2000, 2002), four SEC Eastern Division titles (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003) and one SEC Tournament crown (2004). The Gamecocks open up the 2008 season next Friday, Feb. 22 with a three-game series vs. 24th ranked East Carolina.
Carolina returns six position starters from last year’s NCAA Super Regional team including All-America junior first baseman Justin Smoak (.315-22-72) and All-America senior catcher Phil Disher (.328-15-63). The lineup also features junior third baseman James Darnell (.331-19-63, who earned second team All-SEC accolades, junior shortstop Reese Havens (.274-5-43), who was an All-Star in the Cape Cod League this past summer as well as junior infielder Andrew Crisp (.283-8-28) and senior outfielder Harley Lail (.291-4-25). The Gamecock offense returns 74 home runs from last year’s squad that led the nation with a total of 113 on the year.
Starting pitchers back on the mound for the Gamecocks this year are junior right-handed pitcher Mike Cisco (6-2, 3.84 ERA) and sophomore Blake Cooper (7-2, 4.48 ERA). Cooper was a freshman All-America selection last season by Collegiate Baseball. Junior left-handed pitchers Will Atwood (2-2, 4.91 ERA) and Alex Farotto (1-0, 4.06 ERA, 45 K, 31.0IP) are also back on the hill for the Gamecocks as well as senior right-handed pitcher Curtis Johnson (1-3, 3.38 ERA, 54 K, 42.2 IP), a NCAA All-Regional Team selection.
Points were compiled on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for each division. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team. Each coach also voted for one team as an overall conference champion. The 2008 season gets underway February 22. The conference schedule is set to begin the weekend of March 14-16. The 2008 SEC Tournament will be held May 21-25 at the newly refurbished Regions Park in Hoover, Ala. The SEC Tournament has drawn over 100,000 fans four of the last six years. Nearly 1.7 million fans attended games in the SEC last season, an all-time NCAA record and the sixth year in a row the SEC has topped the one million mark in attendance, leading the nation once again in that category.
South Carolina is one of only two schools in the nation to reach the NCAA Super Regionals in seven of the last eight years (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007). Since the 2000 season, the Gamecocks are the only SEC squad to reach the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament each year and have compiled eight consecutive 40-plus win seasons. The Gamecocks have also put together a 388-155 record in that span, the fourth highest win total in Division I baseball as well as an SEC-best 147-92 in conference match-ups. That list also includes three trips to the College World Series (2002, 2003, 2004), two SEC Championships (2000, 2002) and one SEC Tournament title (2004).
Eastern Division
Team Pts. ’07 SEC Rec/Finish
1) Vanderbilt (7) 62 22-8 / 1st
2) S.Carolina (3) 58 17-13 / 2nd
3) Kentucky (1) 42 13-16-1 / 5th
4) Georgia (1) 38 11-19 / 6th
5) Florida 29 15-15 / 3rd
6) Tennessee 18 13-15 / 4th
Western Division
Team Pts. ’07 SEC Rec/Finish
1) OIe Miss (10) 65 16-14 / 3rd
2) Mississippi State 47 15-13 / 2nd
3) Arkansas (2) 39 18-12 / 1st
4) Auburn 34 10-20 / 6th
5) LSU 33 12-17-1 / 5th
6) Alabama 29 15-15 / 4th
( ) – First Place Votes
SEC CHAMPION: Vanderbilt (5), Ole Miss (4), South Carolina (3)
CAROLINA BASEBALLSEC HISTORY
YEAR RECORD DIV. FINISH1992 13-11 2nd1993 15-10-1 2nd1994 11-15 4th1995 12-14 3rd1996 13-17 5th
UNDER COACH Ray Tanner1997 13-17 4th1998 19-10 2nd1999 15-15 1st2000 25-5 1st2001 17-13 3rd2002 21-8 1st2003 19-11 1st2004 17-13 2nd2005 16-14 2nd2006 15-15 4th2007 17-13 2nd
Overall Record: 258-201-1 (.562)Under Tanner: 194-134 (.591)
SEC EAST TITLES (4)1999, 2000, 2002, 2003
SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS (2)2000, 2002
SEC TOURNAMENT TITLE (1)2004
EASTERN DIVISION FINISHES Total Tanner Years1st Place 4 42nd Place 6 43rd Place 2 14th Place 3 25th Place 1 06th Place 0 0
