March 2, 2009
Columbia, S.C. – The South Carolina baseball team has returned to the Top 25 as the Gamecocks come in at No. 18 in this week’s latest NCAA Division I poll by Collegiate Baseball. Carolina is 4-0 on the year after earning a 3-1 victory at Clemson on Saturday afternoon.
South Carolina (4-0) kicks off a seven-game homestand on Tuesday afternoon with a non-conference tilt vs. Georgia State (6-1). First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Caroilna Stadium. The Gamecocks will also host Charleston Southern in midweek action on Wednesday night with that contest scheduled for 7 p.m.
Carolina has not met Georgia State in baseball since the 1998 season when the Gamecocks swept the Panthers in a two-game series. South Carolina defeated the Panthers 12-6 on Mar. 24 and 15-0 on Mar. 25. Game time was changed for Tuesday’s conteset due to forecasted cold temperatures in the evening in Columbia, S.C.
South Carolina’s Wednesday night game with Charleston Southern will reunite head coach Ray Tanner with one of his former assistants. Charleston Southern head coach Stuart Lake served as an assistant for Tanner from 1999-02 at Carolina. He is in his first year as head coach for the Buccaneers. Carolina is 65-11 all-time vs. the Buccaneers with a 6-3 win on Mar. 21, 2006, the last contest vs. CSU.
Midweek Pitching Rotations
Game 1 – Pitcher – 09 Stats
SC Blake Cooper (RHP, So.) 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 0 BB, 7 K
GSU Will Palmer (LHP, Sr.) 1-1, 3.72 ERA, 9.2 IP, 2 BB, 4 K
Game 2 – Pitcher – 09 Stats
SC Jay Brown (RHP, Sr.) First appearance of the season
CSU TBA
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'sNCAA Div. I Poll(As of March 2, 2009)Rank School (Record) Points Previous1. Louisiana St. (7-0) 496 12. Georgia (8-0) 494 33. North Carolina (7-1) 493 24. Texas (9-0) 490 85. Arizona St. (8-1) 484 46. Florida St. (6-1) 481 57. Rice (5-2) 478 108. Texas A&M (7-2) 477 69. Georgia Tech. (6-1) 475 910. Miami, Fla. (6-1) 473 14
11. Texas Christian (5-1) 469 1612. Cal. St. Fullerton (5-2) 466 1713. Oklahoma St. (6-1) 465 1114. Baylor (6-2) 462 1315. U.C. Irvine (5-2) 459 1516. Coastal Carolina (6-1) 455 1817. Cal Poly SLO (6-1) 452 -18. South Carolina (4-0) 449 -19. Clemson (4-1) 448 2520. Florida (5-3) 445 12
21. Mississippi (3-3) 437 2222. Pepperdine (5-2) 435 2323. Lamar (9-1) 432 -24. East Carolina (5-1) 431 -25. Ohio St. (7-0) 430 3026. Mississippi St. (8-1) 428 -27. Oklahoma (7-3) 427 2028. Michigan (7-2) 426 2829. Kentucky (4-2) 425 2930. San Diego (6-3) 420 27
