April 17, 2008

Game Notes in PDF Format

Columbia, S.C. – Two of the top teams in the SEC and the country face off this weekend at Sarge Frye Field as South Carolina (27-10, 9-6 SEC) and Ole Miss (24-13, 9-6 SEC) meet in a three-game series. First pitch for the opener is scheduled for 6 pm on Friday night. Saturday’s game will be televised live on FSN South with a first pitch at 4 pm with the Sunday series finale set for 12 noon and live on CSS-TV. Live video broadcast will only be available for the Friday game on gamecocksonline.com. Video for Saturday and Sunday’s games will not be available on-line due to the televised contests.

Friday
SC Mike Cisco, Jr. (RHP) 4-1, 4.35 ERA, 49.2 IP, 31 K, 10 BB
UM Lance Lynn, Jr. (RHP) 5-0, 3.21 ERA, 47.2 IP, 65 K, 13 BB

Saturday
SC Will Atwood, Jr. (LHP) 4-1, 4.17 ERA, 41.0 IP, 36 K, 18 BB
UM Drew Pomeranz, Fr. (LHP) 3-1, 1.89 ERA, 38.0 IP, 46 K, 12 BB

Sunday
SC Blake Cooper, So. (RHP) 4-3, 3.42 ERA, 50.0 IP, 26 K, 11 BB
UM Cody Satterwhite, Jr. (RHP) 3-2, 4.67 ERA, 44.1 IP, 31 K, 18 BB

Series Results
South Carolina leads series history 23-15

Last Year’s Series
April 20, 2007 Ole Miss (8) South Carolina (5) Oxford, Miss.
April 21, 2007 Ole Miss (6) South Carolina (0) Oxford, Miss.
April 22, 2007 South Carolina (11) Ole Miss (9) Oxford, Miss.

GAMECOCKS SWEEP CLEMSON FOR 2008
Senior right-hander Nick Godwin hurled 7.2 scoreless innings and back-to-back home runs from freshmen Justin Hopper and Scott Wingo highlighted a five-run fourth inning as South Carolina (27-10) defeated Clemson (18-19) 6-0 on Wednesday evening at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Carolina finishes the 2008 series sweeping the Tigers, the first time the Gamecocks have swept the Tigers in the four-game format that began in the 2001 season.

After earning a win against Clemson last week at home, Godwin continued to be effective on the road as he limited the Tigers to just three hits and three walks while striking out seven batters to earn his second win vs. Clemson this year. Godwin is now 4-2 on the year. Godwin also earned the Tom Price Award given to the Most Valuable Player from South Carolina for the SC-Clemson series. Wilson Boyd earned the Bob Bradley Award for the Tigers. Each MVP award is named after Price and Bradley, who both served as sports information directors at their respective schools. Clemson starting pitcher Justin Sarratt lasted 3.1 innings and allowed five runs on nine hits with three strikeouts and no walks allowed. He is 1-2 on the year.

The Gamecocks finished with a 13-3 advantage in hits with Reese Havens and Whit Merrifield leading the way with three apiece. Justin Hopper and James Darnell each had two as well.

South Carolina has now defeated Clemson in seven of the last eight games with a 21-15 record against the Tigers over the last nine years (2000-08). Carolina has also now won the regular season series two consecutive years (2007, 2008).

QUICK RECAP OF LAST WEEK
South Carolina went 5-0 last week with a pair of non-conference wins vs. Western Carolina (9-6) and Clemson (7-1) as well as a weekend sweep at Auburn (7-6, 8-6, 7-6). The Gamecocks sit at 25-10 and 9-6 in SEC play, halfway through the conference schedule.

SMOAK MAKES HIS WAY INTO THE RECORD BOOK
Junior first baseman Justin Smoak has been making the rounds in the Carolina Record Book over the last week. Along with the two single-game records he set on Tuesday, Smoak made history last week when he set the school record for career home runs. He tied the mark last Wednesday vs. Clemson and hit the record-breaker on Friday night in his first at-bat of the 7-6 win over Auburn.

Smoak has 52 homers in his career at Carolina. The previous record was 48, set by Hank Small (1972-73-74-75).

Smoak is hitting .370 (50-for-135) on the year with 13 HR and 38 RBI. He also has walked 34 times, second highest in the conference behind teammate Reese Havens.. Smoak is also batting .386 (22-for-57) in league games with four HR and 13 RBI.

He also reached another milestone last weekend as he reached the 200 career hit mark at Carolina, one of only 20 players in school history to accomplish the feat. He now owns 207 career hits in the Garnet & Black, 17th on the USC All-Time list. Smoak is also in two other Top 10s in Carolina with 45 doubles, tied with Paul Hollins for ninth on the All-Time list and ninth on the RBI list with 173.

DOUBLES CAREER TOP 10 LIST67  Mac White (1991-92-93-94)61  Landon Powell (2001-02-03-04)54  Michael Campbell (2003-04-05-06)53  Greg Morhardt (1982-83-84)51  Mike Curry (1996-97-98)51  Derick Urquhart (1995-96-97-98)48  Jeff Barns (1985-86-87)47  Jeff Parnell (1990-91-92-93)45  Justin Smoak (2006-07-08)45  Paul Hollins (1978-79-80-81)RBI CAREER TOP 9 LIST198 Mac White (1991-92-93-94)198 Chris Boyle (1981-82-83-84)193 Landon Powell (2001-02-03-04)184 Hank Small (1972-73-74-75)182 Jeff Parnell (1990-91-92-93)180 Derick Urquhart (1995-96-97-98)180 Ryan Bordenick (1995-96-97-98)175 Michael Campbell (2003-04-05-06)173 Justin Smoak (2006-07-08)HOME RUN CAREER TOP 10 LIST52  Justin Smoak (2006-07-08)48  Hank Small (1972-73-74-75)47  Garrett Carter (1985-86-87-88)45  Jeff Parnell (1990-91-92-93)44  Landon Powell (2001-02-03-04)43  Chirs Boyle (1981-82-83-84)42  Steve Pearce (2004-05)41  Tripp Kelly (1998-99-2000-01)41  Charlie Aldrich (1985-86-87)38  Eric Stanton (1996-97-98)

NUMBERS TELL A STORY
South Carolina owns a 23-0 record when scoring six runs or more this season. The Gamecocks are also 23-0 when out-hitting its opponent and 25-0 after leading in eight innings. When the Gamecocks score first, they are 21-5 on the year as well. South Carolina is 9-6 in games decided by three runs or less.

THE HOME RUN
The Carolina offense has been very productive with the home run as of late. Carolina leads the SEC and is second in the nation with 70 homers on the year. The Gamecocks have 26 home runs in the last nine games as well. Four different Gamecocks have double figure home run totals: James Darnell (12), Phil Disher (13), Reese Havens (12), Justin Smoak (13).

AT THE PLATE, ON THE MOUND & IN THE FIELD
Carolina leads the SEC in home runs on the year with 70 in 37 games. The Gamecocks are hitting .308 (403-for-1309) as a team and fielding .977 as a squad. The .977 mark also leads the conference. The Gamecock pitching staff owns a 3.78 ERA as a staff in 336 innings with 309 strikeouts to just 129 walks.

A STRONG DISH IN THE CLUTCH
Senior Phil Disher put together his second career multi-homer game in Saturday’s 8-6 win over Auburn. His two-run homer in Saturday’s game helped Carolina rally to the victory. Disher went 5-for-12 in the series with three doubles, two homers and four RBI. He is hitting .286 (38-for-133) with 13 HR and 37 RBI. Seven of his 13 homers have come in SEC games with his average in conference play at .340 with 22 RBI.

Disher was big in the Kentucky series going 5-for-12 with a home run and team-high seven RBI in the series to earn SEC Player of the Week honors. Disher’s home run came in Saturday’s victory over Kentucky and was his 30th career homer in a Gamecock uniform. The senior came up in the clutch again for Carolina on Sunday with a pair of RBI singles including the game-winning hit in the eighth inning.

DARNELL DRIVES THEM IN
For the third time this season, James Darnell reorded a multi-homer game as he hit a pair of home runs and tallied five RBI in a 7-1 win over Clemson. Earlier this year, Darnell twice tied a USC single-game record for home runs in a game with three in a win vs. Kentucky (3-29) and in a win vs. College of Charleston (3-18).

The three vs. Kentucky marked the 12th time in school history that a Gamecock player has hit three homers in one game and the first time ever that one player has done it twice. All three homers were two-run shots as he set a career-high with six RBI in the contest. That helped Darnell earned National Player of the Week from Collegiate Baseball.

Darnell is hitting .331 on the year with 12 HR and 50 RBI. The RBI total leads the team.

A LITTLE MORE ON DARNELL & DISHER
Disher and Darnell’s home runs several weeks ago put both players at the 30-home run mark in career numbers for the Gamecocks. Disher currently has 36 career homers with Darnell at 34. Both players are two of 23 players in school history to have 30 or more home runs in a Gamecock uniform.

COMPLETE PERFORMANCES
South Carolina continues to be impressive in 27 victories this season with a total of 254 runs in those wins. That averages to 9.4 runs per contest. 12 of the 26 wins on the year have featured at least 10 runs scored by the Gamecock offense.

HAVENS AT THE FRONT OF THE LINE
Junior shortstop Reese Havens continues to lead the team in hitting at a .401 average (59-for-147) for the season. He has 12 HR with 41 RBI and is fielding a superb .964 at his position with just six errors. Havens had three hits on Wednesday at Clemson and reached base in all five plate appearances on Tuesday vs. USC Upstate with three hits, two walks and four runs scored. He also had two hits in both Saturday and Sunday’s wins vs. Auburn including a homer on Saturday. He has spent all 37 games this year at the front of the lineup as the leadoff hitter.

Havens earned SEC Player of the Week honors following his performance on opening weekend vs. East Carolina. Havens was 7-for-14 (.500) for the series with a pair of homers, six RBI and seven runs scored. His five hits in the season opener tied his career-high and he set a career-high as well with five RBI in the 22-5 win over the Pirates.

A LOOK AT THE POLLS
Carolina sits at No. 10 in this week’s USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll as well as No. 12 in the rankings released by Collegiate Baseball and No. 14 in Baseball America.

THE CISCO KID
Despite a no-decision, junior right-hander Mike Cisco had a quality start on Friday night with 5.2 innings of work allowing nine hits and four runs, three earned, in the Gamecock win. Cisco is 4-1 with a 4.35 ERA in 49.2 innings of work.

THE WILL TO WIN
Junior left-hander Will Atwood earned a win on Saturday and is now 4-1 with a 4.17 ERA. He worked seven innings and allowed five runs on six hits with six strikeouts vs. Auburn. He has won four of his five SEC starts.

HANGING WITH MR. COOPER
Sophomore right-hander Blake Cooper would go 6.2 innings and allow three runs on nine hits to pick up his fourth win of the season. Cooper is 4-3 with a 3.42 ERA with a team-high 50 innings pitched.

BT
Senior right-hander Brandon Todd was productive out of the bullpen this week with a pair of saves and a win in five games. Todd earned his first save of the week on Tuesday vs. Western Carolina. He worked 1.1 innings and struck out two to finish the game. “BT” would then pick up a win on Friday night with two innings of work, allowing one run on three hits in the 7-6 victory over Auburn. Todd was summoned for the final two outs in Sunday’s 7-6 win over the Tigers.

He is 2-1 on the year with a 2.51 ERA and four saves. He has 11 appearances and has struck out 19 batters in 14.1 innings, opponents only batting .241 against him.

A CLOSER LOOK AT CAROLINA-AUBURN
South Carolina has now won nine consecutive series vs. Auburn dating back to 1998. South Carolina has won 11 of 15 contests between the two schools in the last five series since 2004 vs. Auburn. The Gamecocks now lead the all-time series history 30-16 vs. the Tigers.

THOMAS MAKES AN APPEARANCE
Junior left-hander Craig Thomas leads the Gamecocks in appearances on the year with 13 this season. He has 19 strikeouts in 20.0 innings and has a 4.05 ERA. Thomas hurled one scoreless inning of relief in the 7-1 win vs. Clemson and 1.2 perfect innings this past Wed. in the 6-0 win at Clemson.

Parker Bangs ENTERS THE MIX
Freshman RHP/UT Parker Bangs had his biggest week as a member of the Carolina baseball team. Bangs made two key relief appearances in a pair of wins vs. Auburn this weekend and picked up his first career save on Saturday. His first relief appearance on Friday night saw him go one inning scoreless with two strikeouts.

He then helped out with both the arm and the bat on Saturday as he got his second career start at designated hitter. Bangs went 2-for-4 with his first career homer in the 8-6 win. He then worked the final two innings of the game to pick up the save. Bangs also started at DH on Sunday and recorded a hit.