May 14, 2008

Columbia, S.C. – Fighting to secure a berth in the SEC Tournament, South Carolina (35-18, 13-14 SEC) begins a three-game homestand on Thursday with Tennessee (26-27, 11-16 SEC). Carolina currently sits in ninth place overall in the conference, one-half game behind Arkansas for eighth place and one game behind four teams (Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama, Kentucky) that are tied for fourth place. This weekend also marks the final regular season home games to be played at Sarge Frye Field. Live video broadcast will be available for Thursday and Friday’s games with all three also available on the Gamecock Radio Network. Mike Morgan and Tommy Moody handle the call.

Heading into the final weekend, the Gamecocks are 9-3 in SEC home games with a 4-11 mark in SEC road contests.

EVENTS AT SARGE FRYE FIELD THIS WEEK
Thursday, May 15th – South Carolina vs. Tennessee at 7 p.m.
* Former head coach June Raines will throw out the ceremonial first pitch

Friday, May 16th – South Carolina vs. Tennessee at 7 p.m * The final night game in Sarge Frye Field history will close with an amazing display of fireworks!

Saturday, May 17th
– South Carolina vs. Tennessee at 4 p.m. * Ride a free shuttle from the Sarge to the construction site of the new baseball stadium to see the progress on the new home of the Gamecocks – Shuttles will pick up in front of the Roost and run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

* The family of Sarge Frye as well as the first Gamecock baseball players to play on Sarge Frye Field will be honored pre-game.

Thursday
SC Will Atwood, Jr. (LHP) 5-2, 4.72 ERA, 68.2 IP, 57 K, 26 BB
UT Nick Hernandez, So. (LHP)1-5, 5.54 ERA, 74.2 IP, 55 K, 8 BB

Friday
SC Nick Godwin, Sr. (RHP) 5-3, 3.00 ERA, 72.0 IP, 64 K, 18 BB
UT Bryan Morgado, Fr. (LHP) 5-4, 4.04 ERA, 75.2 IP, 100 K, 32 BB

Saturday
SC Blake Cooper, So. (RHP) 5-5, 3.84 ERA, 75.0 IP, 37 K, 21 BB
UT TBA

Series Results
South Carolina leads series history 36-31

Last Year’s Games
5/11/07 South Carolina (7), Tennessee (1) Knoxville, Tenn.
5/12/07 Tennessee (4), South Carolina (3) Knoxville, Tenn.
5/13/07 South Carolina (13), Tennessee (7) Knoxville, Tenn.

A LOOK BACK
Whit Merrifield went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and Reese Havens and Justin Smoak added a pair of home runs as South Carolina defeated The Citadel 10-2 on Tuesday evening.

Merrifield’s three hits tied a season-high and led the Gamecocks on the evening. He owns a seven-game hitting streak. Kyle Enders and Phil Disher also had two hits apiece as well. Havens’ home run was his 15th of the year with Justin Smoak hitting his 20th of the season. Smoak’s homer ties him for seventh on the SEC All-Time list with 59 in his three-year career with the Garnet & Black. He also tallied three RBI to move into third on the South Carolina career RBI list with 194 career RBI, moving past Landon Powell (193; 2001-02-03-04).

Carolina freshman right-hander Sam Dyson earned the win and improved to 7-0 on the year. He worked 5.1 innings and allowed two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and three walks. Bulldogs starter Matt Talley lasted only 0.1 innings and suffered the loss. He is 1-4 on the year. Talley allowed five runs on two hits and four walks and faced just seven batters in the game.

NUMBERS TELL A STORY
South Carolina owns a 29-2 record when scoring six runs or more this season. The Gamecocks are also 29-2 when out-hitting its opponent. Last Friday’s loss to Arkansas was the first time this year that Carolina has blown a lead after leading entering the ninth inning. South Carolina is 13-12 in games decided by three runs or less this year.

MERRIFIELD HITTING HIS STRIDE
Freshman outfielder Whit Merrifield continues his case for Freshman All-America honors as he went 3-for-4 with three runs scored in the Tuesday win vs. The Citadel. He raised his batting average to .328 (third highest on the team) and has scored 52 runs. Merrifield is hitting .318 in SEC games and leads the team in multi-hit games with 24 on the year. He owns a seven-game hitting streak.

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 .388 (78-for-201) on the year with 20 HR and 59 RBI. His slugging percentage is also at .771 with an on-base percentage of .508.

His home run total for the year is 20 and that puts him at 59 for his career, tying him for seventh on the SEC All-Time Career List. He is eighth on the USC All-Time career list for hits with 234 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 LIST59  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 3 LIST198 Mac White (1991-92-93-94)198 Chris Boyle (1981-82-83-84)194 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 7 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)177 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)234     Justin Smoak (2006-07-08)
TRACKING Justin Smoak THE 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.  Justin Smoak, SC (185 games) 59  2006-08    Trey McClure, LSU (234 games)   59  1996-99    Josh Etheredge, AUB (222 games) 59  1995-98

AT THE PLATE, ON THE MOUND & IN THE FIELD
Carolina leads the SEC in home runs on the year with 95 in 53 games. The team is batting .303 566-for-1869) with 377 runs scored in 53 games. The pitching staff owns a team ERA of 4.21 in 477.0 innings with 413 strikeouts to 179 walks. Carolina is fielding .979 as a team, also leading the SEC.

THE HOME RUN
The Gamecocks have 51 home runs in the last 25 games as well. Four different Gamecocks have double figure home run totals: James Darnell (16), Phil Disher (16), Reese Havens (15) and Justin Smoak (20). The Gamecocks have homered at least once in 47 of 53 games this year. South Carolina is 32-15 when hitting at least one home run.

THE WILL TO WIN
Junior left-hander Will Atwood hurled his first career complete game in Saturday’s win vs. Florida. He holds a 4.72 ERA. He has worked 68.2 innings and has struck out 57 batters with opponents only hitting .268 against him. He has won five of his nine SEC starts with two no-decisions.

GODWIN IS GOOD
Senior right-hander Nick Godwin has been out of the bullpen in two of the last three 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 5-3 record with a 3.00 ERA. He has 64 strikeouts in 72.0 innings pitched with opponents only batting .202 against him.

HANGIN’ WITH MR. COOPER
South Carolina sophomore right-hander Blake Cooper heads into the weekend with a 5-5 record and a 3.84 ERA. He is fourth in the SEC in innings pitched with 75.0 innings logged. Cooper has 37 strikeouts to 21 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 4,779 fans per contest and have a total attendance of 152,928 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 .312 (62-for-199) with 16 HR and 50 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 70 on the year as well as a conference-high 32 in SEC games. Darnell is hitting .305 with 16 HR Nine of Darnell’s 16 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 35 victories this season with a total of 314 runs in those wins. That averages to 8.9 runs per contest. 15 of the 35 wins on the year have featured at least 10 runs scored by the Gamecock offense including Tuesday’s win vs. The Citadel.

HAVENS AT THE FRONT OF THE LINE
Junior shortstop Reese Havens continues to swing a solid bat with a .363 batting average (77-for-212) and also owns 15 HR and 48 RBI. He has scored a team-high 63 runs and just had a 17-game hitting streak snapped. He has spent all 53 games this year at the front of the lineup as the leadoff hitter and is the SEC leader in walks with 49 free passes. Havens is fielding .957 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 3-3 record and a 4.56 ERA. He has struck out 34 batters in 24.2 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 is the first Gamecock freshman pitcher to register a 7-0 record since Peter Bauer did it in 1998. Dyson went 5.2 innings to earn the victory in Tuesday’s win vs. The Citadel. He owns a 3.86 ERA and has struck out 37 batters in 37.1 innings.