May 9, 2011
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina (37-10, 18-6 SEC) returns to action on the baseball diamond on Tuesday night hosting Presbyterian (20-28, 5-16 Big South) with first pitch at 7 p.m. at Carolina Stadium. Live video broadcast is available at GamecocksOnline.com with the game also available on the Gamecock Radio Network. South Carolina is ranked No. 3 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll as well as No. 4 in Baseball America Top 25 and the Collegiate Baseball Top 30.
Probable Starting Pitchers
South Carolina Patrick Sullivan (Fr. RHP) 1-0, 1.46 ERA, 12.1 IP, 8 BB, 12 SO
Presbyterian Bud Jeter (Fr. RHP) 5-5, 5.83 ERA, 63.1 IP, 26 BB, 36 SO
Last week, South Carolina continued the 2011 season with a non-conference win at Wofford and winning one of three games in a series at Ole Miss this past weekend. The series loss at Ole Miss was the first three-game series the Gamecocks have lost this year after having won 11 straight to start the season. South Carolina is 37-10 overall and 18-6 in the SEC. South Carolina is tied for second place in the SEC Eastern Division, one game behind SEC leader Vanderbilt.
Junior left-hander Michael Roth became a 10-game winner for the season with his victory on Friday night in the 6-1 win over Ole Miss. Roth allowed one run on six hits in eight innings with six strikeouts and a walk. Roth is one of just two pitchers in the SEC with 10 wins on the year (Grayson Garvin, Vanderbilt has 10). Roth’s ERA of 1.23 is second best in the league with his .206 opposing batting average third best in the league as well. He is tied for the SEC lead with 87.2 innings pitched and has struck out 78 batters, third highest in the SEC. He is one of 25 pitchers in the country named a quarterfinalist for the National Pitcher of the Year Award selected by the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Senior outfielder/catcher Robert Beary was the Gamecocks’ top hitter in the Ole Miss series going 5-for-11 (.455) with a run scored and a RBI. Beary has raised his batting average for the season to .298 (39-for-131) with eight doubles, a pair of homers and 25 RBI for the season. His batting average is fourth highest on the team. Beary was 3-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored in the 6-1 win over Ole Miss on Friday.
The 6-1 win over Ole Miss also saw Scott Wingo go 3-for-4 with two runs and a RBI. Wingo is hitting .318 (50-for-157) for the season, third best on the team and he has a .452 on-base percentage. That on-base percentage is second best on the team and seventh best in the SEC. Wingo has now played in 232 career games and is four short of Mac White (1991-94) at 236 for fourth highest in school history.
Sophomore first baseman Christian Walker had his 32-game reaching base streak snapped in Sunday’s 7-6 loss at Ole Miss. Despite the streak being snapped, Walker is having a heck of a season leading the team with a .372 batting average (68-for-183), third best in the conference. He also leads the team with 12 multi-RBI games and 20 multi-hit games. His slugging percentage (.612) is fourth best in the league with his on-base percentage sixth best (.453). He has nine HR and 46 RBI on the year. Walker’s 46 RBI are tied for second highest in the league as well.
Senior catcher Brady Thomas was 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored and two RBI in the 7-6 loss at Ole Miss. Thomas had four hits in the series and currently owns a six-game hitting streak. His 11 multi-RBI games are second highest on the team. Thomas is hitting .325 (51-for-157), second best on the team with a .471 slugging percentage as well.
Junior outfielder Jake Williams tallied his fifth triple in the 7-6 loss at Ole Miss. Williams is now one short of the school record of six set by current Gamecock student assistant coach Brian Buscher in 2002. Williams also had two RBI in the 9-3 win at Wofford. For the season, Williams is hitting .277 (38-for-137) with five doubles, two hr and 25 RBI as well.
Senior right-handed reliever John Taylor leads the SEC with a 0.96 ERA. Taylor made relief appearances on Friday and Sunday vs. Ole Miss. Taylor had a perfect inning of relief in the 6-1 win over Ole Miss. He is 4-1 for the season in 47 innings pitched with 48 strikeouts to just 16 walks. Opponents are hitting only .165 against him.
Evan Marzilli tied a career-high with three hits in Wednesday’s 9-3 win over Wofford. He was 3-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored. Marzilli has come on as of late with a .283 average (39-for-138) for the season. He is also hitting .306 in SEC games.
Despite a loss on Sunday at Ole Miss, sophomore right-hander Matt Price is one of the top relievers in college of baseball. He has not allowed a run in 21 of 24 relief appearances this year. Price has 13 saves and a 2.06 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 35 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting only .192 against him.
Sophomore left-hander Adam Westmoreland picked up his first win of the season in Wednesday’s 9-3 win over Wofford. Westmoreland allowed two runs on six hits in 5.1 innings with five strikeouts and four walks.
South Carolina is 30-0 on the year when leading after six innings and 34-0 on the year when leading after eight innings. Carolina is 34-5 when limiting teams to just five runs or less. Also in superlatives, Carolina owns a 29-3 record when out-hitting the opponent. South Carolina is 12-7 in games decided by two runs or less.
South Carolina’s pitching staff owns a 2.76 ERA, third best in the league. Opponents are hitting just .224 against the team and the team has 376 strikeouts; both marks are second best in the SEC as well. The Gamecocks lead the SEC in SEC games with a 2.44 ERA in 24 conference contests. Opponents are hitting just .217 in conference games as well.
For the season, South Carolina is hitting .295 on the year as a team (466-for-1578) fourth best in the conference. Carolina’s .390 on-base percentage is third best in the conference as is the team’s .438 slugging percentage.
South Carolina leads the SEC with a .976 fielding percentage. Carolina’s .979 fielding mark in SEC games is also tops in the conference.
South Carolina junior left-handed pitcher Michael Roth has been named to the Capital One Academic All-District 3 First Team as selected by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America). An international business major, Roth now moves on to the national ballot with results announced on May 24 for the Academic All-America team. To be nominated for the team, a student-athlete must have a 3.3 or better cumulative GPA and be in their second year of competition and academically at a school.
