May 8, 2008
Columbia, S.C. – Two weekends remain in the SEC schedule as South Carolina (34-15, 13-11 SEC) and Arkansas (28-20, 10-13 SEC) meet in a three-game series in Fayetteville, Ark. beginning on Friday night. First pitch for the opener is 7:35 pm ET with Saturday’s game scheduled for 3:05 pm ET and the Sunday series finale scheduled for 1:05 pm ET. Carolina heads into the weekend tied for third overall and in the SEC Eastern Division.
Friday
SC Will Atwood, Jr. (LHP) 5-2, 4.33 ERA, 62.1 IP, 51 K, 25 BB
ARK Justin Wells, Jr. (RHP) 3-1, 5.52 ERA, 62.0 IP, 57 K, 19 BB
Saturday
SC Nick Godwin, Sr. (RHP) 5-2, 2.48 ERA, 65.1 IP, 61 K, 16 BB
ARK Cliff Springston, Jr. (LHP) 5-2, 4.00 ERA, 69.2 IP, 55 K, 22 BB
Sunday
SC Blake Cooper, So. (RHP) 5-4, 3.72 ERA, 67.2 IP, 34 K, 19 BB
ARK TBA
Series Results
Arkansas leads series history 24-18
Last Year’s Games
5/24/07 Arkansas (6) South Carolina (0) Hoover, Ala.
5/26/07 Arkansas (3) South Carolina (2) Hoover, Ala.
CAROLINA EARNS 10-5 WIN IN MIDWEEK CONTEST VS. WOFFORD
South Carolina scored eight runs in the first three innings on its way to a 10-5 victory over Wofford on Wednesday evening at Russell C. King Field. All nine starters tallied at least one with Whit Merrifield and DeAngelo Mack each tying season-highs with three hits apiece.
The Gamecocks pounded out 16 hits in the game led by Merrifield and Mack. Reese Havens, Justin Smoak and Phil Disher also had two hits apiece. Havens, Mack, James Darnell and Harley Lail drove in two runs apiece as well. Smoak’s two hits moved him up to a tie for eighth on the USC All-Time list as he now has 231 in his career in the Garnet & Black. Carolina starting pitcher Sam Dyson earned the victory and is now 6-0 on the year. Dyson worked five-plus innings and allowed one run on four hits with four strikeouts and two walks. Wofford starting pitcher Jordan Mickleberry lasted only three innings and allowed eight runs on 11 hits as well as four walks allowed to suffer the loss. He is 3-3 this season.
NUMBERS TELL A STORY
South Carolina owns a 28-1 record when scoring six runs or more this season. The Gamecocks are also 28-1 when out-hitting its opponent and 31-0 after leading in eight innings. When the Gamecocks score first, they are 26-8 on the year as well. South Carolina is 13-9 in games decided by three runs or less.
BACK ON THE DOCKET
This weekend’s series with Arkansas is the first series meeting between the two schools since the 2005 season and Carolina’s first trip back to Baum Stadium in Fayetteville since the 2004 season. Carolina last defeated the Hogs in a weekend series in 2001 when the Gamecocks swept Arkansas at Sarge Frye Field in Columbia. Arkansas leads the all-time series history 24-18.
MERRIFIELD HITTING HIS STRIDE
Carolina freshman outfielder Whit Merrifield has been a spark plug in the lineup as of late as he has raised his season average up to .316 with 46 runs scored. Merrifield tallied multi-hit games in all three games at LSU as well as two of three of the games with Florida. He now leads the team in multi-hit games with 22 on the year. He tallied three hits on Wednesday at Wofford.
A LOOK BACK AT SOUTH CAROLINA-FLORIDA SERIES
South Carolina won two of three games this past weekend vs. Florida to take the series. After losing the opener 9-3, Carolina bounced back for a 6-5 win on Saturday and won 9-6 in the rubber game. South Carolina now leads the series history 34-23 vs. the Gators. That includes series victories eight of the last nine seasons (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008).
SMOAK’N
Junior first baseman Justin Smoak has been on a tear at the plate as of late and is among the league leaders in several offensive categories. He is hitting .405 (75-for-185) on the year with 19 HR and 56RBI. His slugging percentage is also at .805 with an on-base percentage of .525.
TRACKING SMOAK IN THE SECOn-Base Pct. .519 1stHome Runs 19 2ndSlugging Pct. .808 2ndTotal Bases 147 2ndWalks 44 2ndBatting Average .401 3rdRuns Batted In 55 3rdDoubles 17 T4thHits 73 5thRuns Scored 48 11th
Smoak reached base nine times in the weekend vs. Florida including a 5-for-10 performance at the plate. He hit a Key two-run homer in Sunday’s 9-6 win to tie the game in the fifth inning. His home run total for the year is 19 and that puts him at 58 for his career, tying him for ninth on the USC All-Time Career List. He also is tied for eighth on the USC All-Time career list for hits with 231 in his career and a tie for fifth on the career list in doubles (51).
Twice this season, Smoak has tied a school record with three home runs in one game. He accomplished the feat in a 10-1 win over Wofford on April 23 as well as on April 14 in a 14-4 victory over USC Upstate.
Four times this season, the Gamecocks have tied the single-game school record for home runs in a game. Both James Darnell and Justin Smoak have each put together a pair of three-homer games this year. Smoak tied two single-game school records with three homers and nine RBI as South Carolina defeated USC Upstate 14-4 on April 15 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. 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.
TRACKING SMOAKHOME RUN CAREER TOP 10 LIST58 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 Chris Boyle (1981-82-83-84)42 Steve Pearce (2004-05)41 Tripp Kelly (1998-99-2000-01)41 Charlie Aldrich (1985-86-87)39 Phil Disher (2005-06-07-08)
RBI CAREER TOP 5 LIST198 Mac White (1991-92-93-94)198 Chris Boyle (1981-82-83-84)193 Landon Powell (2001-02-03-04)191 Justin Smoak (2006-07-08)
DOUBLES CAREER TOP 7 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 Justin Smoak (2006-07-08)51 Mike Curry (1996-97-98)51 Derick Urquhart (1995-96-97-98)
RUNS CAREER TOP 9 LIST223 Derick Urquhart (1995-96-97-98)215 Mike Curry (1996-97-98)212 Drew Meyer (2000-01-02)209 Mac White (1991-92-93-94)182 Jeff Parnell (1990-91-92-93)181 Michael Campbell (2003-04-05-06)176 Landon Powell (2001-02-03-04)174 Garrett Carter (1985-86-87-88)174 Justin Smoak (2006-07-08)
HITS CAREER TOP 9 LIST303 Mac White (1991-92-93-94)299 Michael Campbell (2003-04-05-06)285 Drew Meyer (2000-01-02)265 Landon Powell (2001-02-03-04)265 Derick Urquhart (1995-96-97-98)250 Mike Curry (1996-97-98)245 Hank Small (1972-73-74-75)231 Dave Willman (1989-90-91-92)231 Justin Smoak (2006-07-08)
TRACKING Justin SmoakTHE SEC RECORD BOOKCareer Home Runs1. Eddy Furniss, LSU (265 games) 80 1995-982. Brad Cresse, LSU (236 games) 78 1997-003. Matt LaPorta, FLA (215 games) 74 2004-074. Rafael Palmeiro, MSU (183 games)67 1983-855. Andy Phillips, ALA (244 games) 61 1996-996. Will Clark, MSU (175 games) 61 1983-857. Trey McClure, LSU (234 games) 59 1996-99 Josh Etheredge, AUB (222 games) 59 1995-989. Justin Smoak, SC (177 games) 58 2006-08 Bruce Castoria, MSU (202 games) 58 1979-82
AT THE PLATE, ON THE MOUND & IN THE FIELD
Carolina leads the SEC in home runs on the year with 89 in 49 games. The team is batting .305 (529-for-1732) with 351 runs scored in 49 games. The pitching staff owns a team ERA of 4.06 in 443.1 innings with 386 strikeouts to 167 walks. Carolina is fielding .978 as a team.
THE HOME RUN
The Gamecocks have 45 home runs in the last 21 games as well. Four different Gamecocks have double figure home run totals: James Darnell (15), Phil Disher (16), Reese Havens (13) and Justin Smoak (19).
THE WILL TO WIN
Junior left-hander Will Atwood hurled his first career complete game in Saturday’s win vs. Florida. He holds a 4.33 ERA. He has worked 62.1 innings and has struck out 51 batters with opponents only hitting .246 against him. He has won five of his eight SEC starts with one no-decision.
GODWIN IS GOOD
Senior right-hander Nick Godwin has been out of the bullpen the last two SEC weekends and came up big to earn a win in Sunday’s 9-6 win vs. Florida. Godwin limited the Gators to just three runs and had two pickoffs in five innings of work.
Godwin defeated Clemson twice this year and owns a 5-2 record with a 2.48 ERA. He has 61 strikeouts in 65.1 innings pitched with opponents only batting .198 against him.
HANGIN’ WITH MR. COOPER
South Carolina sophomore right-hander Blake Cooper heads into the weekend with a 5-4 record and a 3.72 ERA. He is fourth in the SEC in innings pitched with 67.2 innings logged. Cooper has 34 strikeouts to 19 walks.
Cooper SEC Pitcher of the Week following his complete game six-hitter in a 4-1 victory over Ole Miss. The complete game victory was the first of Cooper’s career and the first by a Gamecock pitcher this season. It also was 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.
WHAT A CROWD
Gamecock fans have been out and about this season at Sarge Frye Field. The Gamecocks are averaging 4,770 fans per contest and have a total attendance of 147,891 on the year. The season-high for attendance in a game was 5,921 fans on March 1 as Carolina defeated Clemson 10-1. South Carolina has recorded an attendance of 5,000-plus fans in 11 games this year, the last on May 3 vs. Florida.
The Gamecocks set a school record for total attendance last year with 159,545 as a total in 2007 that averaged 4,985 fans per game. It is “Extra Innings” at Sarge Frye Field as the Gamecocks prepare to move into a new baseball stadium in the beginning of the 2009.
A STRONG DISH IN THE CLUTCH
Senior Phil Disher went 4-for-4 in the rubber game vs. Florida to tie a career-high in hits and hit a two-run homer in the victory. Disher is hitting .310 (57-for-184) with 16 HR and 47 RBI as well. With 39 career homers, Disher is 10th on the top 10 list in Carolina history.
He put together his second career multi-homer game in the 8-6 win over Auburn. His two-run homer in that game helped Carolina rally to the victory. Disher went 5-for-12 in the series with three doubles, two homers and four RBI.
Nine of his 16 homers have come in SEC games, that is tied for second highest in the SEC. 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
Junior third baseman James Darnell tallied four RBI in Saturday’s win vs. Florida and leads the SEC with 67 on the year as well as a conference-high 30 in SEC games. Darnell is hitting .308 with 15 HR Eight of Darnell’s 15 homers have come in SEC games.
For the third time this season, James Darnell recorded 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.
COMPLETE PERFORMANCES
South Carolina continues to be impressive in 34 victories this season with a total of 304 runs in those wins. That averages to 8.9 runs per contest. 14 of the 33 wins on the year have featured at least 10 runs scored by the Gamecock offense including Wednesday’s win at Wofford.
HAVENS AT THE FRONT OF THE LINE
Junior shortstop Reese Havens continues to swing a solid bat with a .376 batting average (75-for-187) and also owns 13 HR and 46 RBI. He has scored a team-high 9 runs and just had a 17-game hitting streak snapped. He has spent all 45 games this year at the front of the lineup as the leadoff hitter and is the SEC leader in walks with 47 free passes. Havens is fielding .963 at shortstop.
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.
BANGS BRINGS IT
Freshman RHP/UT Parker Bangs picked up a save with a strikeout recorded as the final out in the 9-6 win vs. Florida. He also struck out both batters he faced in the Wednesday win at Wofford. Out of the pen, Bangs has been solid with a 3-2 record and a 3.09 ERA. He has struck out 32 batters in 23.1 innings and also owns two saves.
He had his biggest week as a member of the Carolina baseball team in Auburn when he 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.
Sam Dyson STEPS UP
Freshman right-handed pitcher Sam Dyson went five-plus innings to record the win at Wofford on Wednesday and now leads the team in victories with a 6-0 record. He struck out four batters in the win and limited the Terriers to two hits.
ENDERS CONTINUES TO CONTRIBUTE
Carolina sophomore catcher Kyle Enders is among the team leaders in multi-hit games as well with 16 on the year. Enders tallied two hits in Saturday’s win vs. Florida.
The sophomore from Riverside HS came up big in the clutch for the Gamecocks in a 7-6 rally over East Carolina as his two-run single with the bases loaded and one out gave Carolina a one-run victory and clinched the series.
D-MACK DELIVERS
Gamecock sophomore outfielder DeAngelo Mack has started the last two games at DH and has been effective with a key RBI base hit in Sunday’s win vs. Florida and a 3-for-4 performance on Wednesday night at Wofford.
He is hitting .282 and has 17 runs scored as well as four homers and 14 RBI. Mack hit a solo home run in the 6-2 win over Kentucky and was 1-for-1 with two runs at The Citadel.
RIDE THE HARLEY
Senior outfielder Harley Lail provides the leadership in the outfield for the Gamecocks and shows his way with the bat as well. Lail has 17 extra base hits (11 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR) with a homer on Wednesday night at Wofford. He is hitting .249 on the year.
MERRIFIELD SHOWS SOME SACRIFICE
Freshman outfielder Whit Merrifield is the SEC leader in sacrifice hits and among the nation’s leaders with 18 on the year.
ON BASE WITH WINGO
Carolina freshman second baseman Scott Wingo owns an on-base percentage of .468 after 40 games played. He has shown power at the plate lately with five homers in the last two weeks. He started it off with a solo homer at Clemson on April 16 as well as a two-run homer on Tuesday night in the win at Furman. Wingo added a solo homer on Wednesday vs. Wofford and Saturday at LSU. Wingo has played in 40 games with 29 starts. He is fielding .982 as well with three errors at second d base.
Wingo reached base 11 times in a weekend series vs. Duquesne with a single, five walks and five hit by pitches. He also tied a school record earlier in the year when he was hit by pitch three times in one game.
Wingo hit his first career home run in the 11-5 win vs. Yale. He also was hit by a pitch for the 11th time in the season, tying him for the USC freshman record previously set by Mac White (11).
THE CISCO KID
Junior right-hander Mike Cisco is 5-3 with a 4.98 ERA. He has logged 65 innings on the year. Cisco’s fifth win of the year came on April 18, a 6-2 win over Ole Miss. He allowed just one run on eight hits in 6.2 innings of work.
