June 7, 2011

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina junior infielder Peter Mooney was selected in the 21st round of the 2011 MLB Draft as the No. 649 overall pick in the draft by the Toronto Blue Jays with senior right-hander John Taylor selected in the 22nd round by the Seattle Mariners as the No. 663 overall pick. Five current Gamecocks have been selected in this year’s draft. Jackie Bradley Jr. was selected in the supplemental round yesterday by the Boston Red Sox with Matt Price a sixth round selection by the Arizona Diamondbacks and Scott Wingo an 11th round selection by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In his first season with the Garnet & Black, Mooney is hitting .272 (62-for-228) on the year with 13 doubles, a triple, three homers and 32 RBI. He is one of two Gamecock players to have started all 62 games for the season along with first baseman Christian Walker.

Taylor is among the leaders in the nation with a 1.32 ERA and a 5-1 record in 43 appearances, a single-season school record. He has 61 strikeouts in 61.1 innings pitched and opponents are hitting only .178 against him.

MOONEY’S CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2011 – 1-for-4 with two RBI in 7-3 win over Auburn (5/25) … 3-for-4 with a RBI in 6-3 win at Alabama (5/20) … 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a RBI in 7-1 win over Arkansas (5/15) … 2-for-5 with career-high three RBI in 11-1 win over Charleston Southern (5/11) … 2-for-2 with two RBI in 7-3 win over Auburn (5/1) … 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored in 9-6 win vs. Liberty (4/26) … 2-for-3 with a double, run scored and two RBI in 8-2 win over Mississippi State (4/22) … Two-run double in 8-3 win at College of Charleston (4/19) … 2-for-3 with a run scored in 5-3 win over Vanderbilt (4/17) … Solo home run in 3-1 win over Vanderbilt (4/15) … 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI in 18-2 win over USC Upstate (4/5) … 3-for-3 with two runs scored in 4-1 win over Kentucky (4/3) … 1-for-2 with first career home run and two runs scored in 3-1 win over Kentucky (4/1) … Reached base three times and scored a run in 6-4 win vs. The Citadel (3/30) … 3-for-5 with a double, a pair of RBI and three runs scored in 9-2 win at Florida (3/25) … 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored in 17-8 win over Rhode Island (3/23) … 2-for-6 with season-high three runs scored in 24-4 win over College of Charleston (3/22) … 1-for-3 with a run scored in 8-3 win over Georgia (3/20) … 2-for-4 with a RBI single and a run scored in 5-4 win over Clemson (3/8) … 1-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored in 14-1 win over Furman (3/1) … Strong series vs. Southern Illinois hitting .545 (6-for-11) … 3-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI in 9-4 win over Southern Illinois (2/27) … 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in 10-6 win over Southern Illinois (2/25) … First career hit in 2-1 win over Santa Clara (2/19).

JUNIOR COLLEGE – 2010 MLB Draft Selection (46th round/St. Louis Cardinals) … Rated No. 93 best junior college prospect in nation by PG Crosschecker … Rated No. 58 best prospect in state of Florida for 2010 MLB Draft by Baseball America … Hit .356 as a sophomore in 2010 with 10 doubles, 3 HR and 28 RBI … 2009 & 2010 Rawlings NJCAA National Gold Glove recipient for top defensive player of the year at his position … 2009 MLB Draft Selection (37th round/Chicago Cubs) … 2009 FCCAA All-Southern Conference first-team honors … Hit .383 as a freshman in 2009 with nine doubles and 22 RBI … Teammate of Gamecock signee Dante Rosenberg at Palm Beach CC.

TAYLOR’S CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2011 – Holds school’s single-season record for appearances with 43 … One perfect inning of relief in 4-2 loss vs. Georgia (5/27) … Three scoreless innings of relief in 7-2 loss vs. Vanderbilt (5/26) … Scoreless inning of relief in 6-3 win at Alabama (5/20) … 2.1 hitless innings of relief in 2-1 loss at Alabama (5/19) … Retired lone batter he faced in 7-1 win over Arkansas (5/15) … Allowed one run on three hits in 1.1 innings with three strikeouts in 6-5 win over Arkansas (5/14) … Struck out both batters he faced in 6-1 win over Presbyterian (5/10) … One perfect inning of relief in 6-1 win at Ole Miss (5/6) … 1.2 scoreless innings of relief with just one hit allowed and three strikeouts in 7-3 win over Auburn (5/1) … One perfect inning of relief to earn win in 2-1 victory vs. Auburn (4/29) … 0.2 scoreless innings with a strikeout in 9-6 win vs. Liberty (4/26) … Career-high four innings pitched, just one run allowed and three strikeouts to pick up the win in 13-4 victory at Mississippi State (4/24) … 2.1 scoreless innings with just one hit allowed and two strikeouts in 8-2 win at Mississippi State (4/22) … Two scoreless innings with just one hit allowed and two strikeouts in 8-3 win at College of Charleston (4/19) … 2.2 scoreless innings with just one hit allowed in 6-4 loss to Vanderbilt (4/16) … 2.2 scoreless innings with just two hits allowed and three strikeouts in 2-0 loss to The Citadel (4/12) … 1.2 scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts in 2-0 win at Tennessee (4/8) … Quality relief outing in 4-1 win over Kentucky (4/3); worked 2.1 innings and allowed one run on three hhits with four strikeouts and two walks … 1.2 scoreless innings with just one hit and one walk allowed in 4-3 win over Kentucky (4/2) … Earned second win of the year with two hitless innings of relief, with three strikeouts in 6-4 win over The Citadel (3/30) … Key relief outing with 1.2 scoreless innings and just two hits allowed in 4-3 win at Florida (3/27) … 0.2 perfect innings of relief with a strikeout in 9-2 win at Florida (3/25) … Worked 2.1 hitless innings with one strikeout in 8-3 win over Georgia (3/20) … One perfect inning of relief with a strikeout in 2-1 win over Georgia (3/19) … Allowed one run on one hit with three strikeouts and a walk in two innings of 4-2 loss to Georgia (3/18) … Worked three innings and did not allow a run or hit while striking out three batters in 4-2 loss to Furman (3/15) … One scoreless inning of relief with a strikeout in 5-2 win over CSU Bakersfield (3/12) … One scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts in 5-1 win over CSU Bakersfield (3/11) … 0.2 scoreless innings in 10-5 loss at Clemson (3/4)Three scoreless relief appearances vs. Southern Illinois; allowed just one hit in four innings with eight strikeouts out of the pen … Picked up win in 9-4 victory over Southern Illinois (2/27); 2.2 innings of relief allowed just one hit while striking out career-high five batters … One perfect inning of relief in 4-0 win over Southern Illinois, striking out the side in the ninth inning (2/26) … Retired lone batter he faced in 10-6 win over Southern Illinois (2/25) … 1.1 hitless innings of relief with a strikeout in 12-5 win over Santa Clara (2/18).

2010 – One perfect inning of relief in 2-1 win over UCLA in national championship series victory (6/29) … One perfect inning of relief in 3-2 win over Oklahoma at College World Series (6/24) … Two scoreless innings of relief with one hit allowed and one strikeout to pick up a win in 5-3 win at Arkansas (5/16) … One scoreless inning of relief in 10-2 win over Charleston Southern (5/12) … Retired lone batter he faced in 9-3 loss at Kentucky (5/9) … One scoreless inning of relief in 14-6 win over Winthrop (5/5) … Retired both batters he faced in 6-4 loss vs. Alabama (5/1) … Earned win in 10-4 victory at The Citadel (4/14); hurled 2.1 innings allowing one run, unearned, on one hit with three strikeouts … Retired both batters he faced to close out 10-2 victory vs. Mississippi State (4/2) … Hurled two scoreless innings of relief with just one hit allowed and a pair of strikeouts in 10-1 win over The Citadel (3/30) … Pitched one perfect inning of relief with a pair of strikeouts in 10-6 loss at Auburn (3/28) … Pitched two perfect innings of relief with a pair of strikeouts to pick up first win in 8-5 win at Georgia Southern (3/23) … One scoreless inning of relief in 15-0 win at Furman (3/16) … First career save after 1.1 scoreless innings of relief in 6-2 win at East Carolina (2/26) … One inning of relief, allowed three runs on three hits in 5-3 win over Duquesne (2/21).