Feb. 20, 2012
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina opened the 2012 season with a weekend sweep of VMI at Carolina Stadium. South Carolina earned a 2-1 win over the Keydets on Opening Day and followed that up with a doubleheader sweep of 3-2 and 13-1 on Saturday. South Carolina is now 3-0 on the year and will next be in action hosting Elon for a three-game series at Carolina Stadium beginning on Feb. 24, 2012.
South Carolina Baseball Notebook
Record: 3-0
SEC: 0-0
Home: 3-0
Away: 0-0
This Week: 3-0
2/17/12 – vs. VMI (W, 2-1)
2/18/12 – vs. VMI (W, 3-2) (DH)
2/18/12 – vs. VMI (W, 13-1) (DH)
NOTES:
South Carolina is now 82-38 on Opening Day including a 15-1 record under head coach Ray Tanner. The Gamecocks have won 14 consecutive Opening Day games.
The Gamecock pitching staff picked up where it left off last season with a strong effort the entire first weekend on the mound. South Carolina had 11 pitchers that saw action. They combined for 36 strikeouts and just four walks allowed in 27 innings pitched along with a 1.33 ERA. The VMI hitters batted just .121 for the weekend with only one extra base hit and 11 total hits.
All three Gamecock starting pitchers had effective starts their first time on the hill for the 2012 season. Senior left-hander Michael Roth pitched well in the opener as he allowed just one run on four hits with six strikeouts and no walks in six innings of work. Making his first start since 2009, junior right-hander Matt Price did not allow a hit in five-plus innings and struck out seven batters to three walks with two runs allowed. Junior right-hander Colby Holmes earned his first win of the year with five shutout innings allowing just one hit and striking out six batters in the 13-1 win over VMI.
Junior left-hander Tyler Webb won his seventh career game and his first of the season in the 2-1 win over VMI in the opener. Webb’s last win came on May 17, 2011 in a 9-5 win over UNC Asheville. In a relief outing, Webb worked 2.1 scoreless innings with just one hit allowed and struck out four batters. The four strikeouts are the most that Webb has totaled in a relief outing in his Carolina career.
Sophomore right-hander Forrest Koumas picked up his first career save in the 2-1 win on Opening Day. Koumas had 0.2 perfect innings with a strikeout to end the game.
Junior right-hander Ethan Carter returned to the mound for the Garnet & Black for the first time since 2010 and picked up a victory in relief of Matt Price in the 3-2 win over VMI. Carter’s four innings are the most ever in his career with the Garnet & Black and he delivered with just two hits allowed while striking out six of the 13 batters he faced.
Junior outfielder Evan Marzilli returned to the leadoff role and was effective in the first weekend as he hit .500 (6-for-12) with a .538 on-base percentage. Marzilli hit safely in all three games including a 3-for-4 day at the plate on Opening Day. He scored the game-winning run in the opener and also was effective in the 13-1 victory as he went 2-for-4 with a triple, run scored and two RBI.
The Gamecocks had 14 players see action for the first time in the Garnet & Black in the weekend series vs. VMI. Evan Beal, Connor Bright, TJ Costen, LB Dantzler, Tanner English, Grayson Greiner, Kyle Martin, Jordan Montgomery, Joey Pankake, Hunter Privette, Joel Seddon, Sean Sullivan, Drake Thomason and Chase Vergason were Carolina newcomers that played on opening weekend.
Junior third baseman LB Dantzler was solid in his debut as he tallied a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning as South Carolina defeated VMI 2-1 in the opener. Dantzler followed that up with a three-run homer, a double and four RBI in the 13-1 win over VMI that helped Carolina sweep the Keydets. Dantzler finished the weekend 4-for-11 (.364) at the plate with five RBI and a .727 slugging percentage.
Freshman catcher Grayson Greiner had an impressive debut hitting .400 (4-for-10) in his first career games with the Garnet & Black. He had two hits in the opener and also had a key defensive play in the top of the ninth inning as he nabbed the potential tying run at second base on a stolen base attempt. He was 2-for-4 with a double and run scored in the 13-1 win as well.
Junior catcher Dante Rosenberg played a pivotal role in the 3-2 win over VMI on Saturday. Rosenberg was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a run scored and a RBI including the game-winning RBI hit in the bottom of the sixth inning in the victory.
Junior first baseman Christian Walker had a combined four hits in the doubleheader on Saturday vs. VMI. In the 13-1 victory he drove in a pair with a RBI single in a seven-run fourth inning and he also scored a run.
Freshman first baseman Kyle Martin also saw action in two of the three games in the VMI series. His big day would come in the 13-1 win as he went 3-for-5 with a double, RBI and two runs scored.
Freshman outfielder Tanner English had a knack for being on base at key times in all three victories over the weekend. He tallied two hits in the opener vs. VMI, had a RBI base hit in the 3-2 victory and capped that off with two runs scored and a RBI in the 13-1 win in the series finale.
Freshman infielder/outfielder TJ Costen belted his first career homer, a two-run shot and scored two runs in the 13-1 win over VMI.
South Carolina hitters finished the weekend with a .347 batting average (35-for-101), a .393 on-base percentage and a .485 slugging percentage. The Gamecock defense was good as well with a .982 fielding percentage and just two errors made in 27 innings of play.
Carolina’s 16-hit total in the 13-1 win over VMI is the most hits by a Gamecock team since April 24, 2011 when Carolina tallied 18 hits in a 13-4 win over Mississippi State. It is also the highest hits total by a Gamecock team on Opening Weekend since Feb. 23, 2008 when the Gamecock offense rattled off 19 hits in a 22-5 win over East Carolina.
Next Week:
2/24/12 – vs. Elon (3 p.m.)
2/25/12 – vs. Elon (1:30 p.m.)
2/26/12 – vs. Elon (1:30 p.m.)
