May 20, 2009
Hoover, Ala. – South Carolina is in Hoover, Ala. for the 2009 SEC Baseball Tournament. The Gamecocks are the No. 5 seed in this year’s conference tourney and will face the No. 4 seed Alabama Crimson Tide at 8:30 pm CT (9:30 pm ET) on Wednesday May 20 at Regions Park. The game can be heard live on GamecocksOnline.com and on the Gamecock Radio Network with Derek Scott and Tommy Moody calling the action. It will also be televised live on CSS-TV with Tom Hart and Rusty Ensor on the call.
Carolina heads into the weekend tournament with a 37-19 mark and after finishing in second place in the Eastern Division with a 17-13 conference record. South Carolina and Alabama did not meet in the 2009 regular season. Alabama leads the all-time series history 23-21. The two teams last met in 2007 when Alabama took two of three games in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
PITCHING ROTATION
South Carolina – Blake Cooper (RHP, Jr.) – 8-4, 4.61 ERA
Alabama – Del Howell (LHP, Jr.) – 5-3, 6.11 ERA
2009 SEC Tournament • May 20-24 • Regions Park • Hoover, Ala.
Wednesday, May 20Game 1 10:00 a.m. #7 Arkansas vs. #2 Florida [CSS HD] (XM 199)Game 2 1:30 p.m. #6 Georgia vs. #3 Ole Miss [CSS HD] (XM 199)Game 3 5:00 p.m. #8 Vanderbilt vs. #1 LSU [CSS HD] (XM 199)Game 4 8:30 p.m. #5 South Carolina vs. #4 Alabama [CSS HD] (XM 199)All times Central
ALL-SEC
South Carolina baseball had four players earn second-team All-SEC honors in addition to two honorees on this year’s All-Freshman team and two players selected to the All-Defensive squad. Junior catcher Justin Dalles, junior first baseman Nick Ebert, junior shortstop Bobby Haney and junior outfielder DeAngelo Mack were named to the all-conference team announced by the league on Tuesday morning. Outfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. and left-handed pitcher Nolan Belcher received All-Freshman team recognition with Haney and sophomore outfielder Whit Merrifield named to the All-Defensive team. The conference office also recognized senior pitcher Jay Brown on the 2009 SEC Baseball Community Service team.
Nick Ebert, who just yesterday earned National Player of the Week honors for his performance in the Georgia series, is among the league leaders in several categories. Ebert is second in the league in slugging percentage (.777), on-base percentage (.488) and walks (47), tied for second in home runs (22) and fifth in RBI (70). He his hitting .341 on the year as well. 12 of Ebert’s 22 HR have come in SEC contests with 38 RBI as well. Ebert’s honor gives Carolina’s its third consecutive year with an All-SEC player at first base. Justin Smoak earned All-SEC at first base in 2007 and 2008 for the Gamecocks.
Justin Dalles also put up big numbers for Carolina this year with a .301 average (47-for-156) to go along with 12 HR and 35 RBI in 48 games played. Dalles also hit .320 (32-for-100) in SEC games with eight HR and 22 RBI. Dalles is the first Gamecock catcher since Landon Powell in 2004 to be recognized on the all-conference team.
Bobby Haney has filled in nicely at the shortstop position following in the footsteps of last year’s second-team All-SEC shortstop Reese Havens. Haney has started all 56 games at shortstop and is batting .273 (54-for-198) with four HR, 27 RBI as well as 11 doubles. He is also fielding a crisp .953 with just 10 errors that led to his All-Defensive team recognition. Haney saved some of his best hitting for the conference season with a .307 average (31-for-101) in league games.
DeAngelo Mack currently owns a 17-game hitting streak and leads the SEC in hits with 83 on the year. Mack is batting .374 (83-for-222) for the season, third best in conference and has hit 14 HR with 56 RBI. Mack owns a .468 on-base percentage as well as a .640 slugging percentage. Mack has hit at a .336 clip in conference games. Mack leads the team with 26 multi-hit games. He also has 15 multi-RBI games.
In his first season in right field, Jackie Bradley, Jr. has been a consistent performer with 54 starts in 56 games played. Bradley is batting .338 (76-for-225) with nine HR and 41 RBI. Bradley is also hitting .328 in SEC games with six HR and 22 RBI in 30 conference games played. Bradley earned SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors following his performance in the Gamecocks’ weekend sweep vs. Vanderbilt. Bradley, Jr. was stellar at the plate as he hit .643 (9-for-14) in the series with five runs scored, a homer and four RBI. He recorded three hits apiece in all three Carolina victories over the Commodores. Bradley also is the 2008-09 University of South Carolina Male New Student-Athlete of the Year.
Nolan Belcher has been a key component of the weekend rotation for Carolina this year. Belcher struck out a career-high 11 batters in the 7-4 win over the Georgia Bulldogs last Friday night. With the win, Belcher improved to 4-3 on the year with a 4.99 ERA. He has hurled 70.1 innings, opponents batting just .261 against him, 12th best in the conference. All four of his wins have come in conference play (Arkansas, at Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Georgia). Belcher hurled first career complete game in series-clinching victory over No. 14 Ole Miss. He limited the Rebels to just one run on nine hits in 8-1 win. He allowed just two runs in victories over nationally ranked Arkansas and nationally ranked Ole Miss.
Whit Merrifield has been as consistent as any player on this year’s team. Merrifield has been sharp in center field the entire season with a .969 fielding percentage with just five errors. Merrifield had a 1.000 fielding percentage in this year’s 30 conference games.
Jay Brown was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and worked with the Midlands Reading Consortium as well as the Harvest Hope/SEC Food Drive and relief efforts in Louisiana for Hurricane Katrina Victims. Brown also attended the Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Event where he helped to coordinate the all day event. A team Captain for the baseball team Brown was the Brad Davis SEC Male Community Service Scholarship representative for South Carolina and received the President’s Award for South Carolina, which is the most prestigious award given out by the Athletic Department for a senior student-athlete who displays extraordinary talents in the areas of athletics, scholarship, leadership, and service.
GAMECOCKS FINISH SECOND IN THE SEC EASTERN DIVISION
South Carolina closed out the back stretch of the 2009 conference season five of its last six SEC series to finish 17-13 in conference play and second in the SEC Eastern Division. South Carolina also won eight of its last nine conference games played including sweeps of Vanderbilt and Georgia. The finish by Carolina was two spots higher than predicted in this year’s SEC Preseason Coaches Poll in which Carolina was predicted fourth.
Carolina has finished in the upper half of the SEC Eastern Division 13 of 18 seasons since joining the league including 10 of 13 years under head coach Ray Tanner.
QUICK RECAP
South Carolina went 5-0 on the week with a doubleheader victory vs. USC Upstate and a series sweep of Georgia to close out the regular season. South Carolina is now 37-19 overall and 17-13 in the SEC. Carolina finishes second in the SEC Eastern Division and will be the fifth seed at the SEC Tournament beginning on Wednesday. Carolina is set to face fourth seed Alabama at 9:30 p.m. ET. This is the Gamecocks’ 13th straight season in the conference tournament, the longest current streak among the 12 SEC schools.
THE PITCHING STAFF
South Carolina’s pitching staff had its top weekend of the season finishing with a 2.00 ERA in 27 innings pitched. The staff allowed just seven runs, six earned on 16 hits and struck out 34 batters.
SOUTH CAROLINA IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT
South Carolina has reached the SEC Tournament for the 13th consecutive season under head coach Ray Tanner. Carolina’s 13 straight appearances is the longest current streak among the 12 SEC schools. Carolina won the SEC Tournament in 2004 defeating Vanderbilt in the championship game and also finished second in 2002 to Alabama.
DYSON CATCHING ATTENTION
South Carolina sophomore right-hander Sam Dyson is catching the attention of several college baseball media outlets. Dyson has been tabbed by Baseball America in their midseason draft update as the No. 36 best draft prospect in the nation. Dyson hurled his second career complete game and struck out a career-high 13 batters in the 7-2 series opener vs. Georgia. Dyson allowed just two runs on four hits to pick up the win and improve to 8-4 on the year. He has 81 strikeouts in 88 innings pitched. His innings pitched is fifth highest in the SEC with his 81 strikeouts, ninth highest in the league. Opponents are batting just .229 against him, also fifth best in the league.
He pitched his first career complete game in a 8-3 win over Auburn that helped Carolina to series victory over the Tigers. He retired the last nine batters he faced from the seventh to the ninth inning with five retired by strikeout. He also tied a career-high and set a season-high with eight strikeouts in the win.
BELCHER SHINES ON THE MOUND
Freshman left-hander Nolan Belcher also struck out a career-high 11 batters in the 7-4 win over the Bulldogs on Friday night. Belcher improved to 4-3 on the year with a 4.99 ERA. He has hurled 70.1 innings, opponents batting just .261 against him, 12th best in the conference. All four of his wins have come in conference play (Arkansas, at Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Georgia).
Belcher hurled first career complete game in series-clinching victory over No. 14 Ole Miss. He limited the Rebels to just one run on nine hits in 8-1 win. He allowed just two runs in victories over nationally-ranked Arkansas and nationally-ranked Ole Miss.
EBERT SHOWS STRENGTH
Junior first baseman Nick Ebert had an impressive weekend series vs. Georgia. Ebert finished 5-for-8 (.625) with four HR and 10 RBI vs. the Bulldogs. His 10 RBI accounted for half of the runs that Carolina scored on the weekend. His two-homer game including a grand slam helped Carolina to a 7-2 win on Thursday. He also homered and drove in two runs on both Friday and Saturday in victories over the Bulldogs.
Ebert is second in the league in slugging percentage (.777), on-base percentage (.488) and walks (47), tied for second in home runs (22) and fifth in RBI (70). He his hitting .341 on the year as well. 12 of Ebert’s 22 HR have come in SEC contests with 38 RBI as well.
MR. COOPER
Junior right-hander Blake Cooper earned a win in a predetermined split in the 6-1 win over Georgia on Saturday. With the victory, Cooper improves to 8-4 and moves into the 20-win club at Carolina. He is now the 18th pitcher in school history to record 20 or more wins in the garnet and black. Cooper has a 4.61 ERA on the year in 70.1 innings.
Cooper registered a 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.
MERRIFIELD KEEPS PRODUCING
South Carolina sophomore Whit Merrifield has been on a tear at the plate as of late. Sophomore outfielder Whit Merrifield has a seven-game hitting streak and is hitting .335 (78-for-233) with 11 HR and 45 RBI. He is among SEC leaders with 62 runs scored. He has a .318 average in SEC games.
He was a combined 7-for-11 (.636) in Carolina’s two victories at Tennessee over the weekend. He tied a career-high for hits with a 5-for-6 day at the plate in the Gamecocks 15-12 comeback win over the Volunteers. His one-out RBI double in the ninth inning tied the game and helped propel Carolina to eventual win. He finished with four RBI in the game and came back on Sunday and helped Carolina clinch the series with 2-for-5 day at the plate. He homered for second consecutive day, an inside the park home run, the first of his career, also drove in three runs.
Merrifield hit his first career grand slam in the 14-6 win over USC Upstate and set a career-high with five RBI.
Merrifield was key in the leadoff role the weekend at Ole Miss with a 5-for-6 day at the plate in the series opener, a 12-10 win over the Rebels. Merrifield’s five hits were a season-high by a Gamecock player and the most since James Darnell tallied five on March, 18, 2008 at College of Charleston. He was just one shy of the cycle with three singles, a double and a triple.
D-MACK DELIVERS
Junior outfielder DeAngelo Mack currently owns a 17-game hitting streak and leads the SEC in hits with 83 on the year. Mack is batting .374 for the season, third best in conference and has hit 14 HR with 56 RBI. Mack owns a .468 on-base percentage as well as a .640 slugging percentage. Mack has hit at a .336 clip in conference games. Mack leads the team with 26 multi-hit games. He also has 15 multi-RBI games.
Mack picked up the Tom Price Award as Most Valuable Player for Carolina in the four-game Carolina-Clemson series. He hit a two-run homer and also had a RBI single in the 10-4 win over the Auburn Tigers. Mack was 2-for-5 with a homer and four RBI in the 7-6 win vs. Clemson including a game-winning two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning.
He tallied his first multi-homer game of his career in the Saturday win vs. Long Beach State. Mack also hit a game-winning solo homer in the 3-1 victory at Clemson on February 28. In addition, he hit a pair of three-run homers in the opening series vs. Duquesne.
Mack started the season in left field for the Gamecocks. He had a strong end to the 2008 season and made his way into the starting lineup late in the year. Mack blasted seven homers including a pair at the 2008 NCAA Raleigh Regional that put him also on the All-Tournament team. Mack joined Whit Merrifield on the Cape this summer with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.
BRADLEY, JR. MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF
Freshman outfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. is batting .338 (76-for-225) with nine HR and 41 RBI. Bradley is also hitting .328 in SEC games with six HR and 22 RBI in 30 conference games played.
Bradley earned SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors following his performance in the Gamecocks’ weekend sweep vs. Vanderbilt. Bradley, Jr. was stellar at the plate as he hit .643 (9-for-14) in the series with five runs scored, a homer and four RBI. He recorded three hits apiece in all three Carolina victories over the Commodores.
Bradley also is the 2008-09 South Carolina Male New Student-Athlete of the Year.
BANGS BRINGS IT ON THE MOUND AND & AT THE PLATE
Carolina has received a boost recently with the bat and arm of Parker Bangs. The Gamecock sophomore hurled 4.2 innings in the 6-3 win over USC Upstate and did now all an earned run. He is 3-2 with a 5.76 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 29.2 innings pitched. Bangs also doubled in two runs in the 9-2 win over USC Upstate in the nightcap. He is now hitting .306 on the year with four HR and 32 RBI.
The 15-12 comeback win over Tennessee had several heroes including sophomore Parker Bangs. The Gamecock utility player hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning, came on in relief in the bottom half of that frame and hurled two perfect innings of relief and struck out all six batters he faced and got the Gamecocks started off on the right foot in the ninth inning of the comeback with a leadoff single.
CRISP CLIMBS THE LADDER
Senior third baseman Andrew Crisp continues to climb the charts in South Carolina history. Crisp is currently batting .326 with 10 HR and 41 RBI and leads the SEC with 21 doubles. Crisp is fourth in school history in games played (231) five shy of Mac White (236) and is 10 hits shy of Landon Powell (265) and Derick Urquhart on the hits list.
SC All-Time Singles List1) 209 Drew Meyer 2000-01-022) 201 Michael Campbell2003-04-05-063) 198 Mac White 1991-92-93-944) 187 Andrew Crisp 2005-06-07-08-09
SC All-Time Games Played List1) 255 Michael Campbell2003-04-05-062) 251 Landon Powell 2001-02-03-043) 236 Mac White 1991-92-93-944) 231 Andrew Crisp 2005-06-07-08-09
SC All-Time At Bats List1) 950 Michael Campbell2003-04-05-062) 903 Mac White 1991-92-93-943) 866 Landon Powell 2001-02-03-044) 864 Drew Meyer 2000-01-025) 824 Andrew Crisp 2005-06-07-08
SC All-Time Hits List1) 303 Mac White 1991-92-93-942) 299 Michael Campbell2003-04-05-063) 285 Drew Meyer 2000-01-024) 265 Landon Powell 2001-02-03-04 265 Derick Urquhart 1995-96-97-986) 255 Andrew Crisp 2005-06-07-08-09
NUMBERS TELL A STORY
On the year, Carolina is hitting .307 (595-for-1935) with 97 HR as well as 402 RBI. Carolina is also second overall in the SEC in slugging percentage (.530), tied for third in home runs (97), fourth in runs scored (427) and second in doubles (117). The team’s .307 average is fifth best in the SEC with its .297 average in conference games also seventh best in the league.
The team is fielding .974 (1474 putouts, 550 assists, 55 errors) second best in the SEC. Carolina’s pitching staff is allowing just a .259 batting average by opponents that is the lowest average in the SEC overall. Carolina continues to be strong in the early innings, outscoring opponents 125-55 in the first two innings on the year. South Carolina is 35-4 in games when it out-hits the opponent. Carolina is also 37-10 when hitting at least one home run. South Carolina has a record of 29-2 when allowing five runs or less in a game
