Feb. 18, 2008
Columbia, S.C. – LET’S GET IT STARTED
South Carolina opens up the 2008 season on February 22 vs. the 24th ranked East Carolina Pirates. Game times at Sarge Frye Field for the first weekend are 3 pm, 1:30 pm and 1:30 pm.
Friday afternoon’s season opener will be available on 107.5 FM “The Game” with Mike Morgan and Tommy Moody calling the action. Live audio and video broadcast for all three games will be available on gamecocksonline.com as well as live gametracker stats.
A LOOK AT THE POLLS
The Gamecocks are ranked among the top teams in the nation coming in at No. 2 (Collegiate Baseball) No. 3 (ESPN/USA Today Coaches’) and No. 12 (Baseball America) in the three major collegiate polls.
OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN
South Carolina has announced its captains for the 2008 season as voted on by the team. Junior infielder Reese Havens hase been named captain for a second straight season and he will be joined by senior catcher Phil Disher and junior pitcher Mike Cisco.
Havens has started 130 games at shortstop the past two years and earned All-Star honors this summer for Cotuit in the Cape Cod Baseball League. He is ranked the No. 24 junior in the nation by Perfect Game Cross Checker and the No. 37 college prospect for the 2008 MLB Draft by Baseball America.
Phil Disher returns for his senior season after a strong 2007 season that saw him earn All-America honors from the NCBWA at designated hitter after hitting .328 with 15 HR and 63 RBI. Disher was named Player of the Fall by the team and is the No. 17 senior in the nation according to Perfect Game Cross Checker.
Mike Cisco is in his junior season and will get the start on Opening Day for the Gamecocks vs. the Pirates. Cisco has recorded 13 wins in his first two seasons with 175.1 innings logged and a cumulative ERA of 3.90. Cisco also competed in the Cape Cod Baseball League this past summer with Cotuit.
LAST TIME AGAINST EAST CAROLINA
South Carolina’s last two meetings vs. the East Carolina Pirates came in the postseason in the 2003 NCAA Regional in Atlanta, Ga. and the 2004 NCAA Super Regional in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks came away with victories in all three games played vs. the Pirates in these two postseason appearances.
The 2004 NCAA Super Regional saw South Carolina come away with victories of 4-2 and 5-3 to advance to Omaha and the College World Series for a third straight appearance. The 4-2 win featured a solid start by left-hander Matt Campbell and a home run from Steve Pearce. The 5-3 win that clinched a spot in the CWS saw the Gamecocks score three runs in the eighth inning including a game-winning two-run RBI double from Steve Tolleson. All-America closer Chad Blackwell came away with a pair of saves in both games as well.
In the 2003 Regional in Atlanta, the Gamecocks received a five-hit complete game shutout by senior right-hander Chris Hernandez as Carolina defeated the Pirates 4-0. Kevin Melillo also homered in the victory. South Carolina leads the all-time series history 13-4.
FEBRUARY AND THE GAMECOCKS
Carolina has a near perfect record over the last eight seasons in the month of February. Dating back to the 2000 season, Carolina is 75-3 (.962) in games played in the month of February. The three losses came against Charleston Southern in 2003 , vs. Elon in 2006 and The Citadel in 2007.
SOUTH CAROLINA VS. NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS
South Carolina fared well last year in home games vs. non-conference teams with a perfect 18-0 mark in the 2007 season. The Gamecocks were 29-7 (.805) overall against a non-conference opponent. South Carolina has a 224-49 record (.824) as well over the last eight years.
SOUTH CAROLINA PICKED SECOND IN THE EASTERN DIVISION
The SEC Coaches have weighed in and the Gamecocks are slotted second in the Eastern Division in the 2008 SEC Preseason Coaches Poll announced on Thursday morning (Februrary 14). Carolina finished in second place in the East last year. The Gamecocks received three first place votes for the East as well as three first place votes for the overall championship.
THREE GAMECOCKS NAMED TO GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD WATCH LIST
Three South Carolina baseball players have been named to the 2008 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Watch List, as announced on Friday afternoon (February 15). James Darnell, Phil Disher and Justin Smoak are three of the 75 collegiate baseball players to be named to the list. South Carolina is one of only five schools to have three representatives nominated.
Smoak was a semi-finalist for the Golden Spikes Award as a sophomore last season. He is a preseason All-America choice by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball and hit 22 HR with 72 RBI and a .315 batting average last year. Darnell is also a preseason All-America selection by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball and is the team’s leading returning hitter after hitting .331 as a sophomore with 19 HR and 63 RBI. Disher earned All-America honors last year by the NCBWA and returns for his senior season at the catcher/designated hitter spot after hitting .328 with 15 HR and 63 RBI in the 2007 campaign.
The initial list – the first ever of its kind for the Golden Spikes Award, was nominated by baseball sports information directors across the country. The watch list will also be “rolling” to ensure that athletes who play themselves into consideration by USA Baseball for the Golden Spikes Award are not ignored. The Golden Spikes Award is sponsored by Major League Baseball, and 2008 marks the 31st installment of the award.
On May 20, USA Baseball officials will cut the watch list of players to 50 names. The final list of 50 will then be sent to a voting body consisting of select professional baseball personnel, past USA Baseball National Team coaches, select members of the media, former USA Baseball sports information directors, and current USA Baseball staff – close to 150 voters in total.
Additionally, for the first time ever, fan voting will be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2008. May 20 will also mark the day when college baseball fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player for the Golden Spikes Award on www.usabaseball.com. As part of this May selection process all voters will be asked to choose five players from the list of 50 names. On June 3, USA Baseball will announce the five finalists, and voting will once again commence that same day. The 2008 Golden Spikes Award will be presented on July 16.
South Carolina has one past Golden Spikes Award Winner, former pitcher Kip Bouknight, who earned the award after compiling a 17-1 record for the Gamecocks in the 2000 season.
THE 2008 SCHEDULE
The 2008 season features 23 games against 2007 NCAA Tournament teams as well as 35 home games. South Carolina opens its season on Friday, Feb. 22 hosting a three-game series against East Carolina.
South Carolina and Clemson will again meet four times next season beginning with a home and home series on Mar. 1 and Mar. 2. The first game is scheduled in Columbia at Sarge Frye Field with the return game at Clemson. Both teams will also meet twice in April with Carolina hosting on Wednesday, April 9 and Clemson hosting the final game on Wednesday, April 16. Other in-state contests for the Gamecocks include College of Charleston (March 18, March 26), USC-Upstate (March 19), Furman (March 25, April 22), The Citadel (April 1, May 13) and Wofford (April 23, May 7).
This year’s 30-game SEC schedule begins on Friday, Mar. 14 with South Carolina traveling to Nashville, Tenn. for a three-game series with defending SEC champion Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks will return home the next weekend on Friday, Mar. 21 the SEC home opener, a three-game series vs. 2007 CWS participant Mississippi State. The Gamecocks will also host Kentucky, Ole Miss, Florida and Tennessee. Other SEC road contests include Georgia, Auburn, LSU and Arkansas. The Saturday, April 19 home game between South Carolina and Ole Miss will be televised on SEC-TV.
The SEC Tournament is scheduled for May 21-25 in Hoover, Ala. with the NCAA Regionals and NCAA Super Regionals the following two weeks. The College World Series in Omaha, Neb. is slated from June 14-24/25.
SOME TIDBITS
South Carolina enters the year as 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).
DARNELL & SMOAK EARN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA HONORS
South Carolina junior third baseman James Darnell and junior first baseman Justin Smoak each were All-America selections on the 2008 Louisville Slugger Preseason All-America team announced by Collegiate Baseball and the 2008 Baseball America Preseason All-America team.
Both players are also listed among the top 30 college prospects for the 2008 MLB Draft as compiled by Baseball America through discussions with scouts. Smoak is listed as the No. 3 top college prospect in the nation with Darnell coming in at No. 25 on the list.
40 WINS AND COUNTING
The South Carolina Gamecocks have put together a 40-plus win season for eight straight years. South Carolina is the only SEC team to accomplish that feat from 2000-present, and also the only conference school in that timespan to have reached both the NCAA and the SEC Tournament all eight times.
South Carolina has reached the SEC Tournament 11 straight years (1997-2007) and has been in 15 of 16 SEC tournaments since joining in 1992 (1996 only year missed).
