April 21, 2008
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina (29-11) heads back on the road Tuesday evening with a non-conference tilt in Greenville, S.C. vs. Furman (23-14) to be played at Fluor Field at the West End, home of the Greenville Drive, a class A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox organization. First pitch is scheduled for 7 pm with live audio broadcast available at gamecocksonline.com and on 107.5 FM “The Game.” Carolina heads into the week ranked No. 9 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll as well as No. 12 by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball.
Pitching Matchup
South Carolina: Nick Godwin, Sr. RHP, 4-2, 2.16 ERA, 50.0 IP, 49 K, 12 BB
Furman: Mason Smith, Sr. RHP, 3-3, 4.40 ERA, 45.0 IP, 37 K, 16 BB
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Record: 29-11 (11-7 SEC)
21-6 in home games
8-5 in road games
0-0 in neutral games
9-5 vs. top 25 teams
Last Week: 4-1
Tuesday, April 15 – W, 14-4 vs. USC Upstate
Wednesday, April 16 – W, 6-0 at Clemson
Friday, April 18 – W, 6-2 vs. Ole Miss
Saturday, April 19 – L, 5-2 vs. Ole Miss
Sunday, April 20 – W, 4-1 vs. Ole Miss
NOTEBOOK
South Carolina went 4-1 on the week with a pair of non-conference wins vs. USC Upstate (14-4) and at Clemson (6-0) as well as a pair of wins to take the SEC series vs. Ole Miss … The Gamecocks sit at 29-11 and 11-7 in SEC play … Carolina second both overall in the SEC and in the Eastern Division … South Carolina has won nine of the last 10 contests.
South Carolina owns a 24-0 record when scoring six runs or more this season … The Gamecocks are also 25-0 when out-hitting its opponent and 27-0 after leading in eight innings … When the Gamecocks score first, they are 23-5 on the year as well … South Carolina is 10-7 in games decided by three runs or less.
The home team continues to have success in the series between Ole Miss and South Carolina. Dating back to 1999, the home team has won every series between the two schools. South Carolina has won six straight series in Columbia vs. the Rebels dating back to the 1997 season (1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008). Carolina leads the all-time series 25-16 vs. Ole Miss.
South Carolina sophomore right-hander Blake Cooper threw a complete game six-hitter in Sunday’s 4-1 win over Ole Miss … The complete game was the first of Cooper’s career and the first complete game win by a Gamecock pitcher since Wynn Pelzer’s CG in a win over Evansville to capture the 2006 NCAA Regional in Charlottesville, Va. Cooper allowed just one run on six hits while striking out two and walking two to pick up the victory. He is 5-3 on the year with a 3.05 ERA in 59 innings pitched … His 59 innings, leads the team.
Junior first baseman Justin Smoak currently owns a season-high 14-game hitting streak … Smoak is hitting .382 (58-for-152) on the year and leads the team in doubles (14) and is tied for the team lead with 13 homers … He also has 40 RBI … He tied two single-game school records with three homers and nine RBI as South Carolina defeated USC Upstate 14-4 on Tuesday evening at Sarge Frye Field … Smoak finished 3-for-5 on the evening as he became the 12th player in school history to record three homers in one game. It was the third time it has happened this season, with James Darnell twice achieving the feat earlier in the year. His RBI total of nine marked only the fifth time in school history that the feat had been achieved and the first time since April 23, 1997 when Ryan Bordenick drove in nine runs vs. Clemson … Smoak currently owns the school record in home runs with 52 in the Garnet & Black … He is also tied for seventh in school history with 48 career doubles (school record 67-Mac White) and tied for eighth in school history with 175 career RBIs (school record 198 – Mac White) … He hit .583 (7-for-12) in the Ole Miss series, best average on the weekend for the squad … He had a 4-for-4 performance in Friday’s win as well as two hits in Sunday’s victory … He also is batting .420 (29-for-69) in SEC games.
Junior right-hander Mike Cisco improved to 5-1 with the win in Friday’s 6-2 win over Ole Miss … He allowed just one run on eight hits in 6.2 innings of work … Cisco owns a 3.99 ERA after 56.1 innings of work and has struck out 34 to 12 walks.
Junior third baseman James Darnell hit his second grand slam of the season, the key hit for Carolina in the 6-2 victory over the Rebels … Darnell is hitting .326 with 13 HR and a team-high 56 RBI … He had five RBI in the Friday win as well … Six of Darnell’s 13 homers have come in SEC games.
Junior shortstop Reese Havens continues to lead the team in hitting with a .395 batting average (62-for-157) and also owns 12 HR and 41 RBI … He has scored a team-high 48 runs … Havens has hit safely in 10 straight games … 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.
Senior right-hander Nick Godwin continues to be effective in a midweek starting role as he hurled 7.2 scoreless innings in Wednesday’s 6-0 win at Clemson … Godwin defeated Clemson two straight weeks and earned the Tom Price Award as the MVP of this year’s Carolina-Clemson series on the Gamecock side … He is 4-2 on the year with a 2.16 ERA … Godwin has 49 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched with opponents only batting .177 against him.
Freshman right-hander Sam Dyson went five innings to earn the win on Tuesday vs. USC Upstate … He allowed just two runs in five innings of work and is now 4-0 on the year with a 5.57 ERA.
Carolina leads the SEC in home runs on the year with 71 in 40 games … The team is batting .305 (428-for-1405) with 292 runs scored in 40 games … The pitching staff owns a team ERA of 3.69 in 363 innings with 320 strikeouts to 136 walks … Carolina is fielding .978 as a team.
The Gamecocks have 27 home runs in the last 12 games as well … Four different Gamecocks have double figure home run totals: James Darnell (13), Phil Disher (13), Reese Havens (12) and Justin Smoak (13).
With the 6-0 win at Clemson on Wednesday, Carolina finishes the 2008 series sweeping the Tigers, the first time the Gamecocks have swept the Tigers in the four-game format that began the 2001 season … 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 won the regular season series two consecutive years (2007, 2008).
NEXT WEEK
Tuesday, April 22 – at Furman (Fluor Field at the West End, Greenville, S.C.) – 7 pm
Wednesday, April 23 – vs. Wofford – 7 pm
Friday, April 25 – at LSU – 8 pm ET
Saturday, April 26 – at LSU – 4 pm ET
Sunday, April 27 – at LSU – 2 pm ET
