May 4, 2009

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina went 3-0 on the week with a series sweep of Vanderbilt at Carolina Stadium. The three wins vs. the Commodores marked the first SEC series sweep for Carolina this season. Carolina last swept Vanderbilt in 2003 in three games at Sarge Frye Field and this weekend’s series victory also marked the first time since 2004 that Carolina has earned a series win over Vanderbilt. South Carolina is now 30-18 on the year and 12-12 in the SEC. Carolina sits in sole possession of the third place in the SEC Eastern Division and seventh place overall. The Gamecocks are back in action on Wednesday night at Wofford with first pitch at Russell C. King Field set for 7 p.m.. Carolina is also on the road this weekend with a three-game series at Tennessee.

Record: 30-18
SEC: 12-12
Home: 21-9
Away: 9-9

This Week: 3-0
5/1/09 – vs. Vanderbilt (W, 8-5)
5/2/09 – vs. Vanderbilt (W, 14-5)
5/3/09 – vs. Vanderbilt (W, 11-3)

NOTES:
Carolina had its top weekend of the year at the plate vs. Vanderbilt with the team batting .385 (42-for-109) … Its previous best weekend series was .371 at Kentucky … Included in that .385 average was 20 extra base hits (10 HR, 1 3B, 9 2B) and 32 RBI … It was also the team’s best pitching ERA in SEC games with the squad finishing at 4.33 on the weekend, tying it with the Auburn series … Carolina allowed just 13 runs on 29 hits in 27 innings.

This weekend’s leading hitter for South Carolina was freshman outfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. … Making his case for Freshman All-America honors, he 9-for-14 at the plate for a .643 average … All three wins vs. Vanderbilt he tallied three hits in those victories and he factored in nine runs scored this weekend with five runs scored and four RBI … It was his best weekend series of his young SEC career in hits and average … His two-run homer in bottom of first inning of first win over Vanderbilt (8-5 win), set the tone for the weekend as he gave Carolina its first lead of the series … Bradley, Jr. on the year is hitting .338 (67-for-198), third best on the squad, with eight HR and 33 RBI … He is also batting .347 (34-for-98) in SEC games with five HR and 17 RBI as well … In SEC games, Bradley, Jr. is fifth in runs scored (26) as well as ninth in hits (34).

Junior outfielder DeAngelo Mack continues to be solid on the offensive side with a productive weekend vs. the Commodores … Mack was 7-for-12 (.583) vs. Vandy including three home runs … Saturday’s win saw Mack register a career-high in hits with a 4-for-5 day at the plate including a pair of home runs and three runs scored … He also was 2-for-3 with three RBI and a homer in the 11-3 win on Sunday … Mack is all over the SEC batting leaders list … His .377 average (72-for-191) on the year puts him at third in the league … He is also eighth in slugging percentage (.665), ninth in on-base percentage (.467), 10th in RBI (50) and tied for 11th in home runs (14) … Mack has been productive in the SEC as well with a .344 batting clip (33-for-96) in conference play as well as five HR and 17 RBI.

Junior third baseman Nick Ebert is right up with Mack in several categories as well … Ebert had a 6-for-11 (.545) weekend at the plate vs. Vanderbilt and homered in all three games … He reached base nine times with six hits and three walks to raise his on-base percentage to .480 on the year, fourth best in the SEC (was eighth in SEC heading into weekend overall) … Tallied three multi-hit games this weekend vs. Vanderbilt with two hits apiece in each win … Also tallied three multi-RBI games with two RBI on Friday, four on Saturday and two on Sunday … Now leads South Carolina and is tied for third in the SEC with 18 home runs.

Junior right-hander Blake Cooper registered complete game victory in 11-3 win over Vanderbilt to help Gamecocks sweep the Commodores … It was his second complete game victory of the season and third of his career … He limited Vanderbilt to three runs on 12 hits, did not walk a batter and struck out six in the win … Cooper is now 6-4 with a 5.14 ERA and has 46 strikeouts in 61.1 innings pitched.

Sophomore right-hander Sam Dyson almost notched a complete game himself as he went 8.2 innings in the 8-5 win over Vanderbilt on Friday night … Dyson allowed five runs on nine hits and struck out seven to pick up the win … He is now 7-3 on the year with a 5.05 ERA an has struck out 65 batters in a team-high 73 innings pitched … Opponents are hitting only .233 against him, that is seventh best in the SEC by a pitcher … His seven-win total ties him for third in the conference as well.

Freshman left-hander Nolan Belcher also gave the Gamecocks a quality start with 7.1 innings of work in Saturday’s 14-5 victory over Vanderbilt … Belcher allowed five runs on six hits in 7.1 innings … He improved to 3-3 on the year with a 4.40 ERA … Opponents are hitting just .258 against him, 11th in the SEC.

Senior left-hander Alex Farotto closed Friday’s game out with a strikeout to earn a save … He is 3-2 with six saves in 15 relief appearances … Farotto has 34 strikeouts in 26.1 innings, opponents only batting .213 against him.

Senior third baseman Andrew Crisp continues to climb the charts at Carolina … Crisp had three hits in the weekend series and is now tied for eighth on the all-time list with 245 with Hank Small and one shy of Justin Smoak for seventh (246) … Crisp also moved past Trey Dyson and is now tied for fourth on the all-time games played list with Jeff Parnell with 223 career games … Crisp is hitting .328 (65-for-198) with eight HR and 35 RBI on the year … He also leads the team with 16 doubles this season, that is tied for fourth best in the SEC.

Sophomore outfielder Whit Merrifield continues his consistent play at the top of the batting order as he collected two hits in both Saturday’s and Sunday’s wins … Merrifield hit his ninth home run in the 14-5 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday … He is up to .332 (65-for-196) in batting average with 11 doubles and three triples as well … He has 37 RBI and is at .404 in on-base percentage.

By the numbers, South Carolina is hitting .307 as a team on the year (514-for-1674) with 82 HR and 333 RBI … At this point last season (48 games), South Carolina was hitting .304 (513-for-1690) and had 88 HR.

The team is fielding .973 (1273 putouts, 485 assists, 48 errors) … The pitching staff owns a 5.15 team ERA … 378 strikeouts in 424.1 innings … Opponents are only batting .261 against the squad, second lowest opponents average in the SEC.

Carolina continues to be strong in the early innings, outscoring opponents 110-48 in the first two innings on the year … South Carolina is 28-3 in games when it out-hits the opponent … Carolina is also 27-10 when hitting at least one home run … The Gamecocks also have a record of 19-6 when scoring in the first inning.

NEXT WEEK
5/6 – at Wofford (7 pm)
5/8 – at Tennessee (7 pm)
5/9 – at Tennessee (4 pm)
5/10 – at Tennessee (1 pm)

All Times Eastern