June 2, 2011
NCAA Regional Practice & Press Conference Photo Gallery
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 2011 NCAA Baseball Regional in Columbia, S.C. at Carolina Stadium begins on Friday. South Carolina (45-14) is the No. 1 seed and No. 4 national seed and will face the No. 4 seed Georgia Southern (36-24) at 7 p.m. The No. 2 seed Stetson (41-18) will face No. 3 seed NC State (34-25) in the first game of the day at 1 p.m.. The NCAA Regional will run from Friday, June 3 to Monday, June 6. Please stay with GamecocksOnline.com for the latest updates.
2011 NCAA BASEBALL REGIONAL MEDIA INFORMATION
June 3-6, 2011 – Columbia, S.C.
DATES/TIMES/FORMAT
Friday, June 3
Game 1 – No. 2 Stetson vs. No. 3 NC State – 1 p.m.
Game 2 – No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 4 Georgia Southern – 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 4
Game 3 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – 1 p.m.
Game 4 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 5
Game 5 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 – 1 p.m.
Game 6 – Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 4 – 7 p.m.
Monday, June 6
Game 7 – If Necessary – 7 p.m.
This is South Carolina’s 27th overall appearance in the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. South Carolina is the defending national champion after winning the title in the 2010 CWS. Carolina has reached nine College World Series as well as eight NCAA Super Regionals.
The Gamecocks are one of seven teams from the SEC to make the 2011 NCAA Tournament. South Carolina’s 12 consecutive trips to the NCAA Baseball Tournament (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) is the longest current streak of the 12 SEC schools. Carolina is one of only eight schools in the nation that has reached the NCAA Regional in the last 12 consecutive years.
NCAA DIVISION I SCHOOLS TO REACH NCAA REGIONALS IN LAST 12 CONSECUTIVE SEASONS(2000-11)1) SOUTH CAROLINA2) Arizona State3) Cal State Fullerton4) Florida State5) Miami (Fla.)6) Oral Roberts7) Rice8) Texas
NCAA REGIONAL APPEARANCES FROM 2000-11 IN THE SEC1 South Carolina 12 2000-01-02-03-04-05-06-07-08-09-10-112. Arkansas 10 2002-03-04-05-06-07-08-09-10-11 Florida 10 2000-01-02-03-04-05-08-09-10-114. Alabama 9 2000-02-03-05-06-08-09-10-11 LSU 9 2000-01-02-03-04-05-08-09-10 Ole Miss 9 2001-03-04-05-06-07-08-09-107. Mississippi State 8 2000-01-03-04-05-06-07-118. Georgia 7 2001-02-04-06-08-09-11 Vanderbilt 7 2004-06-07-08-09-10-1110. Auburn 6 2000-01-02-03-05-1011. Tennessee 3 2001-04-0512. Kentucky 2 2006-08
ALL-SEC GAMECOCKS
South Carolina senior second baseman Scott Wingo, junior left-hander Michael Roth and sophomore right-handed reliever Matt Price earned first-team All-SEC honors with head coach Ray Tanner also picking up Coach of the Year accolades as the Southeastern Conference announced its award winners for the 2011 season. Sophomore first baseman Christian Walker was also a second-team All-SEC choice and right-hander Forrest Koumas was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. Walker, Wingo and junior outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. picked up All-SEC Defensive honors as well.
Roth and Price add all-conference honors to an already impressive list of accolades that the duo has received during the 2011 campaign. Roth, a quarterfinalist for the Pitcher of the Year award and a semifinalist for the Howser Award, is 11-3 with a 1.17 ERA on the year with six of his wins coming in league play. His 1.17 ERA is the best mark in the SEC as well. Price, also a semifinalist for the Howser Award, owns a 5-3 record and 15 saves for the 2011 season. This is the second straight year Price has earned all-conference accolades, as he was a second-team choice as a freshman in 2010. Price has struck out 58 batters in 43.2 innings and opponents are hitting only .209 against him. Nine of his 15 saves came in the SEC as well.
Wingo’s picks up his first All-SEC honor as the senior captain led the team in hitting in SEC games with a .380 clip in 30 conference games. Wingo is hitting .327 (66-for-202) for the year and has a .459 on-base percentage that is among the best in the SEC. It is also the second consecutive year he earned All-SEC Defensive honors.
Walker, just named to USA Baseball’s Collegiate National team on Sunday, is in the midst of a strong sophomore campaign as he leads the Gamecocks with a .357 batting average (82-for-230) as well as a team-high nine HR and 57 RBI. His .561 slugging percentage also tops the squad. Walker is one of two Gamecocks this year to start all 59 games. His 57 RBI are second highest in the SEC. In addition, Walker hit .316 (37-for-117) in 30 SEC games and had eight doubles, a pair of homers and 24 RBI vs. conference teams.
Koumas has quietly put together a 6-1 season in his first year with the Garnet and Black to go along with a 3.13 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 63.1 innings pitched. Five of Koumas’ six wins also came in the SEC along with a SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honor after a quality start in a win over Kentucky.
Bradley started 37 games for Carolina being injured at Mississippi State. He was stellar patrolling center field and making catch after catch for the Gamecock defense.
Head coach Ray Tanner picks up SEC Coach of the Year honors for the third time in his career. The league also honored Tanner in 1998 and 2000. He is the second winningest coach in SEC history by winning percentage at .696. Coach Tanner is also a two-time national coach of the year (2000, 2010). The Gamecocks have won one national championship (2010), three SEC championships (2000, 2002, 2011), five SEC Eastern Division titles (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2011) and one SEC Tournament title (2004) under Tanner’s direction. In addition, this season is the Gamecocks’ 12th straight year with 40 or more victories.
SEC CHAMPIONS
SEC CHAMPS!!! South Carolina broke out of the gates with an early two-run lead and behind solid work from starter Colby Holmes and three relievers the Gamecocks defeated Alabama 3-2 on the final day of the regular season to claim at a share of the SEC Championship. It is the school’s third SEC Championship in baseball and the first since the 2002 regular season. Carolina also claims a share of the SEC Eastern Division title, the school’s fifth (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2011).
MARZILLI ON THE MOVE
Sophomore outfielder Evan Marzilli has had the hot bat of late. Marzilli tied a school record with nine consecutive hits with three vs. Alabama on May 20, four vs. Alabama on May 21 and two hits to start of the game on May 25 vs. Auburn.
Marzilli raised his batting average for the season to .307 (55-for-179) with 10 doubles, two triples, a pair of homers and 28 RBI. In SEC games, Marzilli hit .349 (29-for-83), second best on the team with 13 RBI and 16 runs scored.
WINGO & RECORDS
Senior second baseman Scott Wingo continues to lead on the field. For the season, Wingo is hitting .327 (66-for-202) with four homers, 25 RBI a .431 slugging percentage and a .459 on-base percentage. Wingo has also walked a team-high 42 times. He led Carolina in SEC games hitting at a .380 clip, among the league leaders in conference play. Wingo is now third on the all-time games played list at Carolina with 244 games with the Garnet & Black, seven behind Landon Powell for second. Wingo also holds the school career record for hit by pitches with 56 so far in his career.
All-Time Games Played List255 Michael Campbell 2003-04-05-06251 Landon Powell 2001-02-03-04244 Scott Wingo 2008-09-10-11
His leadoff solo home run in the bottom of the ninth gave South Carolina a thrilling 6-5 victory over Arkansas on Saturday at Carolina Stadium. He had three hits in the victory. It was Wingo’s third walk-off hit of the year along with a game-winning RBI single in a 2-1 win over Auburn on April 29 and also drove in the winning run in the ninth in a 2-1 win over Georgia.
WALKER NAMED TO TEAM USA
South Carolina sophomore first baseman Christian Walker has been selected to the 22-man roster for the 2011 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, it was announced on May 22. It is the 11th time in school history for a Gamecock player to be selected to the collegiate team and it is the second straight season a Gamecock has been on the team as Jackie Bradley Jr. played for the Red, White & Blue last year.
Walker is in the midst of a strong sophomore campaign as he leads the Gamecocks with a .357 batting average (82-for-230) as well as a team-high nine HR and 57 RBI. His .561 slugging percentage also tops the squad. Walker is one of two Gamecocks this year to start all 59 games. His 57 RBI are second highest in the SEC. In addition, Walker hit .316 (37-for-117) in 30 SEC games and had eight doubles, a pair of homers and 24 RBI vs. conference teams.
Team USA will have an SEC flavor this year with four other SEC players already announced to the team. DJ Baxendale (RHP) and Dominic Ficociello (INF) of Arkansas and Nolan Fontana (INF) and Brian Johnson (LHP) of Florida have also been selected to the team.
SOUTH CAROLINA PLAYERS & USA BASEBALL COLLEGIATE NATIONAL TEAM2011 - Christian Walker, 1B2010 - Jackie Bradley Jr., OF2007 - Justin Smoak, 1B2003 - Matt Campbell, P2002 - Landon Powell, C1997 - Adam Everett, SS1994 - Jason Haynie, P1993 - Jason Haynie, P1991 - Jared Baker, P1989 - Brian Williams, P/OF1986 - Dave Hollins, 3B
HOLMES PROVIDES THE ANSWER
South Carolina sophomore right-hander Colby Holmes earned his sixth win of the year in a 3-2 win over Alabama. He allowed one run on four hits with five strikeouts and four walks.
For the season, Holmes is 6-3 with a 3.60 ERA in 70.0 innings with 66 strikeouts to just 19 walks. Opponents are hitting just .226 against him.
Against Arkansas, Holmes earned SEC Pitcher of the Week honors for the second time this season. Holmes came within one pitch of a complete game shutout as South Carolina clinched a series victory over Arkansas with a 7-1 win on Sunday afternoon. Holmes pitched 8.2 innings – the longest outing by a South Carolina pitcher this season – giving up just one run on six hits while tying a career-high with seven strikeouts and walking just one Razorback hitter. 8.2 innings is a career-high as well for Holmes.
Holmes earned SEC Pitcher of the Week the first time after he worked seven innings and struck out career-high seven batters to earn the win in a 2-0 victory over Tennessee. Holmes was stellar the entire night as he limited the Vols to just three hits and no walks.
ROTH RECEIVES ACCOLADES
South Carolina junior left-handed pitcher Michael Roth has been named to the Capital One Academic All-America First Team as selected by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America). An international business major, Roth has been successful both on and off the field at Carolina. Last week at the SEC Tournament, Roth earned his 11th win of the season hurling his the first complete game by a Gamecock this year in the 7-3 win over Auburn. It marked Roth’s second career complete game as well.
Roth, a quarterfinalist for the Pitcher of the Year award and a semifinalist for the Howser Award, is 11-3 with a 1.17 ERA on the year with six of his wins coming in league play. His 1.17 ERA is the best mark in the SEC as well.
Roth was SEC Pitcher of the Week after earning a win vs. Vanderbilt. Roth did not allow a hit until the fifth inning and limited the Commodores to just one run on three hits in a 3-1 win on Friday night in the series opener vs. Vanderbilt. The three-hit total was the lowest in a game this season for the Commodores, who came into the weekend as the top hitting team in the conference. Roth’s eight strikeout total was one short of his career high.
NEFF SAID
Steven Neff has provided a power bat as his solo home run helped Carolina in the 3-2 victory at Alabama. Neff was a key bat for Carolina in the series victory over Arkansas. In the 6-5 win, Neff hit his first career home run, a two-run shot, and was 3-for-4 with a double as well as Carolina defeated the Razorbacks. Neff followed that up with three more hits in Sunday’s 7-1 victory including two more home runs, only the second time this season that a Gamecock player has had two home runs in a game.
In addition, Neff also showed off his arm, as the left-hander earned a win in the 6-1 midweek victory over Presbyterian as he worked five innings and allowed one run on five hits with five strikeouts and a walk. He is now 3-1 on the year on the mound.
At the plate for the season, Neff is hitting .245 with nine of his 13 hits, extra base hits (5 doubles, four homers). He is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA on the mound also.
BRADY BEHIND THE PLATE
Senior catcher Brady Thomas has been stellar at the plate as well as behind hit. The Gamecock backstop has his average at .323 (62-for-192) for the season. Thomas collected three hits in the 6-5 win over Arkansas. He was also 3-for-5 with two RBI in the win over Charleston Southern.
THE VERSATILE MR. BEARY
Senior outfielder/catcher Robert Beary was 3-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored in the 7-1 win over Arkansas. Beary’s average has climbed up to .285 (49-for-172) and he has 28 RBI to go along with 26 runs scored. Beary was stellar in the Auburn series going 5-for-8 (.625) with three runs scored and three RBI vs. the Tigers. His batting average was the highest on the team for that weekend.
Beary has played left field, right field, third base, designated hitter and catcher this season for the Gamecocks and is the most versatile player on the team.
Beary had a career night for the Gamecocks in the 17-8 win over Rhode Island. Beary tied his career-high with four hits and drove in a career-high four runs. He also homered in the game. Beary hit .353 (6-for-17) in the five games (vs. College of Charleston, Rhode Island, Florida series) with five runs scored.
TRIPLE THREAT
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 .275 (49-for-178) with eight doubles, two HR and 32 RBI as well.
TAYLOR MAKES AN APPEARANCE
Senior reliever John Taylor leads the SEC with 40 relief appearances. He is 4-1 with a 1.08 ERA in 58.1 innings with 58 strikeouts to just 20 walks. Opponents are hitting only .173 against Taylor. Taylor appeared in two of three of the SEC Tournament games. His 40 appearances, is a school record by a Gamecock pitcher, besting the previous high of 37 set by Michael Roth (2010), Chad Blackwell (2004) and Blake Taylor (2002).
MOONEY KEEPS RISING
Junior shortstop Peter Mooney has been stellar at the plate in the leadoff role. Mooney had a pair of RBI in the 7-3 win over Auburn at the SEC Tournament. He is hitting .271 (60-for-221) with 40 runs scored and a .382 on-base percentage.
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Sophomore right-hander Matt Price picked up two saves in the Alabama series with three innings of work in the 6-3 win and 1.1 hitless innings with a pair of strikeouts in the 3-2 victory that helped clinch the conference championship.
He has finished a league-high 17 SEC games with five victories and nine saves in those conference tilts. His 1.71 ERA is second best among all SEC pitchers in SEC games also.
For the season, Price owns a 5-3 record and 15 saves for the 2011 season. This is the second straight year Price has earned all-conference accolades as he was a second-team choice as a freshman in 2010. Price has struck out 58 batters in 43.2 innings and opponents are hitting only .209 against him. Nine of his 15 saves came in the SEC as well.
Price was key in both wins over top ranked Vanderbilt. The sophomore Gamecock reliever factored into two wins this weekend with a save in the 3-1 victory on Friday night and a victory in Sunday’s 5-3 win in the rubber game vs. No. 1 Vanderbilt. Price was dominant in his stints with 4.1 scoreless innings of relief. 11 of the 13 outs he tallied were by strikeout. All four batters he faced in the 43-1 win struck out as he picked up the save. In the 5-3 win over VU, he worked a season-high three innings and limited VU to just two hits and struck out a season-high seven batters to pick up his fourth win of the year.
Price is third at Carolina in all-time saves with 25. His 15 saves this year is tied for fourth highest in a single season at Carolina.
Top 3 Saves All-Time30 Rob Mosser (1990-93)28 Brian Beatson (1987-90)25 Matt Price (2009-11)
Top 5 Saves Single-Season21 Blake Taylor (2002)20 Chad Blackwell (2004)19 Lee Gronkiewicz (2001)15 Scott Barber (2000)15 Matt Price (2011)
WELL ARMED
South Carolina’s pitching staff continues to be one of the best in the nation. South Carolina’s pitching staff owns a 2.66 ERA, second best in the league. Opponents are hitting just .230 against the team and the team has 468 strikeouts; both marks are second best in the SEC as well. The Gamecocks led the SEC in SEC games with a 2.46 ERA in 30 conference contests. Opponents hit just .227 in conference games as well.
At Tennessee, South Carolina’s pitching staff had its best weekend of the season with just one run allowed in 27 innings pitched. The Volunteers has just 15 hits for three games with a .179 batting average and Carolina finished with 24 strikeouts and just six walks allowed as well.
In a home series vs. Kentucky, the Gamecock pitching staff allowed just five runs the entire weekend and Kentucky hit only .181 as a team with just three extra base hits. The staff ERA for the weekend was 1.61.
The South Carolina pitching staff also has a tremendous weekend against the Gators in Gainesville. The Gamecock pitching staff allowed just six earned runs in 26 innings of play and the Gators hit just .217 in the series at McKethan Stadium. The staff ERA for the weekend was 2.08.
BY THE NUMBERS
For the season, South Carolina is hitting .295 on the year as a team (582-for-1973) sixth best in the conference. Carolina’s .388 on-base percentage is second best in the conference and the team’s .430 slugging percentage is fourth best in the SEC. Carolina has 41 home runs, fourth best also in the SEC.
FLASH THE LEATHER
South Carolina is among SEC leaders with a .974 fielding percentage. Carolina’s .976 fielding mark in SEC games was second best in the conference.
SUPERLATIVES
South Carolina is 38-0 on the year when leading after six innings and 41-0 on the year when leading after eight innings. Carolina is 42-7 when limiting teams to just five runs or less. Also in superlatives, Carolina owns a 35-3 record when out-hitting the opponent. South Carolina is 14-9 in games decided by two runs or less.
PACK THE HOUSE
The crowds at Carolina Stadium continue to be some of the best in the country including a sellout of 8,242 on Saturday in the 10-2 win over Auburn. Carolina has a total attendance of 258,651 fans in 35 games for an average of 7,390.All three games vs. Vanderbilt were played in front of 8,242 fans, three consecutive sellouts at Carolina Stadium adding to seven for the season. The three-game series attendance was 24,726, the best three-game mark in Carolina Stadium history. There have been great crowds at Carolina Stadium this year with eight total sellouts. The Gamecocks had sellouts of 8,242 in the first two games vs. Santa Clara as well as the Friday victory over Clemson and the 4-3 10-inning win over Kentucky on April 2.
KOUMAS KEEPS IT GOING
Freshman right-hander Forrest Koumas has quietly put together a 6-1 season in his first year with the Garnet and Black to go along with a 3.13 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 63.1 innings pitched. Five of Koumas’ six wins also came in the SEC.
Koumas earned SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors after he pitched 6.1 scoreless innings in the 4-1 win over Kentucky. Koumas, who spent three days in the hospital earlier in the week due to an allergic reaction, was effective in his second career start as he limited the Wildcats to just two hits and one walk while striking out three batters.
After earning SEC Co-Freshman of the Week honors, Koumas served up an encore top performance as the Gamecock righty worked a career-high 7.1 innings and struck out a career-high seven batters and the Gamecocks rallied with two runs in the sixth inning to come from behind and defeat Tennessee 2-1 to sweep a three-game SEC baseball series at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. After yielding a run in the first inning, Koumas settled in and limited the Vols to just three hits on the afternoon and two walks while tallying seven strikeouts.
MORALES LEADS THE WAY
Senior infielder Adrian Morales heads into the NCAA Regional with a five-game hitting streak. Morales had the game-winning RBI single in the 3-2 win at Alabama that clinched the conference championship. Morales is hitting .286 (60-for-210) for the season with three HR and 37 RBI. He has a .380 on-base percentage and a .395 slugging percentage.
Morales tied a school record for doubles in a game with three in the 4-3 win over Kentucky on Saturday. Morales reached base five times and was 3-for-3 in the win. He scored the game-winning run in the victory as well. He is the 24th player in school history to have three doubles in a game; the last was Christian Walker on May 2010 at Kentucky.
WEBB MEASURES UP
Sophomore left-hander Tyler Webb is the tallest pitcher on the Gamecock staff at 6-6. He earned the win in the 9-5 win over UNC Asheville. He has had a good season with a 3-1 record and a 3.31 ERA in 32.2 innings pitched. He has 26 strikeouts to 14 walks allowed.
Webb hurled a career-high 7.1 innings and tied a career-high with seven strikeouts and teamed with relievers Bryan Harper and John Taylor to hurl a five-hit shutout as South Carolina defeated Southern Illinois 4-0 in game two of a weekend series. Webb was effective throughout the game allowing just four hits in his longest start of his career. His seven strikeouts tied the career-high he set March 14, 2010 vs. Brown.
