April 5, 2009
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina went 2-3 on the week with a midweek win vs. Furman, loss at The Citadel and one of three wins in a weekend series with nationally ranked Arkansas. Carolina is now 20-10 on the year and 5-7 in the SEC, tied for eighth place overall and tied for third place in the Eastern Division. South Carolina meets Clemson in a home and home series this week, hosting the Tigers on Tuesday and traveling to Clemson on Wednesday. South Carolina returns to SEC action this weekend with a three-game series at Ole Miss.
South Carolina Baseball Notebook
Record: 20-10
SEC: 5-7
Home: 14-6
Away: 6-4
This Week: 2-3
3/31/09 – at The Citadel (L, 12-5)
4/1/09 – vs. Furman (W, 10-0)
4/3/09 – vs. Arkansas (L, 6-4)
4/4/09 – vs. Arkansas (W, 9-1)
4/5/09 – vs. Arkansas (L, 7-4)
NOTES:
Freshman left-handed pitcher Nolan Belcher turned in this best appearance of his young career this weekend in the 9-1 victory over Arkansas … Belcher allowed just one run on four hits in a career-high 8.1 innings and struck out a career-high nine batters and walked just three … He did not allow a hit until the sixth inning in the game … He earned his first victory and improved to 1-1 on the year. He owns a 4.50 ERA and has struck out 31 batters in 32 innings pitched with opponents only batting .250 against him … Belcher sports a 3.33 ERA as well in four SEC games, that is ninth best in the league.
Another quality start and win came from senior right-hander Jay Brown in Wednesday’s 10-0 win over Furman … Brown pitched 6.2 scoreless innings and allowed just four hits to pick up a victory … He is 2-0 on the year with a 1.96 ERA in 18.1 innings … He has struck out 13 and walked nine.
Sophomore outfielder Whit Merrifield was 7-for-20 (.35) in the five games last week with six runs scored, a homer and five RBI … He also stole three bases … Merrifield had four hits and four runs scored vs. Arkansas … He is hitting .303 on the year with a team-high 10 doubles, 30 runs scored, five HR and 22 RBI … He also leads the team with 10 stolen bases.
Junior first baseman Nick Ebert tallied his first multi-homer game of his career at Carolina and the third by a Gamecock player this season in the 9-1 win over Arkansas … Ebert leads the squad with a .361 average (30-for-83) and has 11 HR and 32 RBI … He has a team-high 10 multi-RBI games … His slugging percentage of .843 is third best in the SEC with his on-base percentage of .509 fifth best in the conference … He has also walked a team-high 24 times, tied for third highest in the conference … He also owns a .350 average (14-for-40) in SEC games.
Freshman outfielder Adam Matthews hit the first Gamecock inside the park home run in eight years in the 9-1 win on Saturday … The last time a Gamecock hit and inside the park home run was Garris Gonce on May 19, 2001 in South Carolina’s 7-6 win over Mississippi State at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala … Matthews finished 2-for-2 with two RBI in the victory, his first multi-hit game of the season.
Junior catcher Justin Dalles hit .444 (4-for-9) in the Arkansas series and had three walks as well for a .583 on-base percentage … Dalles jumped to .318 (27-for-85) on the year with five HR and 16 RBI … He is also hitting .343 in SEC games (12-for-35).
Senior third baseman Andrew Crisp currently owns an eight-game hitting streak … He is hitting .314 (38-for-121) on the year with eight HR and 23 RBI … He also has a .327 average (16-for-49) in SEC games… He has 10 multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI games … He is up to 218 career hits, 14th on South Carolina’s all-time list and has now played in 205 career games, 10th highest in school history.
Junior shortstop Bobby Haney set a career-high with three RBI in the 10-0 win vs. Furman and went 2-for-4 in the contest … Haney hit 6-for-15 (.400) in five games last week.
South Carolina has been getting off to the quick start this year outscoring its opponent 72-23 in the first two innings … South Carolina is 12-5 on the year when scoring first in a game including a 12-4 mark when scoring in the first inning.
The Gamecocks sport an 18-2 record when out-hitting its opponent
The Gamecocks continue to lead the SEC in fielding with a .977 fielding percentage and just 26 errors on the year … South Carolina also leads the SEC in the opposing batting average category as Gamecock pitchers have limited opponents to a .243 batting average on the year.
The team is hitting .303 (311-for-1028) on the year with 52 HR and 201 RBI … The team is pitching with a 5.02 ERA in 265.1 innings with 252 strikeouts to 142 walks.
South Carolina’s 10-0 shutout of Furman on Wednesday night marked Carolina’s sixth shutout of the year.
Feb. 21, 2009 13-0 vs. Duquesne
Feb. 23, 2009 6-0 vs. Duquesne
Mar. 3, 2009 2-0 vs. Georgia State
Mar. 17, 2009 6-0 vs. Davidson
Mar. 18, 2009 15-0 at Furman
April 1, 2009 10-0 vs. Furman
NEXT WEEK
4/7/09 – vs. Clemson – 7 pm
4/8/09 – at Clemson – 7 pm
4/10 – at Ole Miss – 7:30 pm
4/11 – at Ole Miss – 5 pm
4/12 – at Ole Miss – 2:30 pm
All Times Eastern
