March 5, 2012
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina continued the 2012 season with a win over Presbyterian and two out of three wins in a weekend series with Clemson. Sunday’s loss snapped a 19-game winning streak for the Gamecocks that dated back to the 2011 season. South Carolina is 9-1 on the year. South Carolina has defeated Clemson in 16 of the last 23 contests between the two schools dating back to the 2007 season.
Record: 9-1
SEC: 0-0
Home: 8-0
Away: 0-1
Neutral: 1-0
This Week: 3-1
2/28/12 – Presbyterian – W, 2-1
3/2/12 – vs. Clemson – W, 3-2 (11 inn.) – at Charleston, S.C.
3/3/12 – vs. Clemson – W, 9-6
3/4/12 – at Clemson – L, 6-5
South Carolina continued the 2012 season with a win over Presbyterian and two out of three wins in a weekend series with Clemson. Sunday’s loss snapped a 19-game winning streak for the Gamecocks that dated back to the 2011 season. South Carolina is 9-1 on the year. South Carolina has defeated Clemson in 16 of the last 23 contests between the two schools dating back to the 2007 season.
South Carolina senior outfielder Adam Matthews earned the Tom Price Award as MVP of the series for South Carolina vs. Clemson. Matthews hit .417 (5-for-12) in the three games vs. the Tigers with four runs and four RBI. Matthews had two hits including a three-run homer in the 9-6 victory over Clemson on Saturday.
South Carolina’s pitching staff continues to post some of the best numbers in the nation. Through 10 games, the Gamecocks have a 1.77 ERA with opposing hitters batting just .153 against him. The Gamecocks have 100 strikeouts to just 26 walks in 91.1 innings pitched and have allowed just 22 runs on 49 hits also. Eight different pitchers have accounted for the nine Gamecock wins. Colby Holmes leads the way with a 2-0 record and a 1.26 ERA.
Junior left-hander Nolan Belcher had a productive week with a win and two saves in all three victories this weekend. Belcher earned his first win since May 11, 2010 with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief in the 2-1 win over Presbyterian. He allowed just one hit and struck out three batters. He followed that up with saves in both the 3-2 and 9-6 wins over Clemson. Belcher is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in four appearances.
Two other Gamecock juniors are also contributing out of the bullpen. Junior right-hander Ethan Carter and junior left-hander Tyler Webb have both posted 0.00 ERAs in a combined 19.0 innings pitched. Both also own 1-0 records. Webb has hurled nine innings in six appearances and has 11 strikeouts to two walks. Carter has pitched 10 innings in five appearances and has 10 strikeouts to two walks. Opponents are hitting just .088 against Carter while opponents are hitting only .091 against Webb.
Friday’s 3-2 win over Clemson was played in front of an electric crowd of 5,851 fans in Charleston, S.C. with half in Garnet and Black for the Gamecocks and half in Orange and Purple for the Tigers. Saturday’s game was played to a sold out crowd of 8,242 fans at Carolina Stadium, the 13th sellout in four years at the Gamecock facility. South Carolina’s 9-6 win marked the 100th win in Carolina Stadium history. South Carolina has a 100-18 record (.847) all-time at Carolina Stadium.
Despite a no-decision on Friday, senior left-hander Michael Roth had a quality start in Friday’s 3-2 win over Clemson. Roth went 7.1 innings and allowed one run on four hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. He is 1-0 on the year with a 0.89 ERA in 20.1 innings. He has 20 strikeouts to just five walks. Opponents are hitting just .116 against him.
Freshman catcher Grayson Greiner became the first Gamecock to hit two home runs in a game this season when he belted a pair in the 6-5 loss at Clemson. Greiner had a three-run homer and a solo shot. He is now hitting .290 (9-for-31) with six RBI. The last Gamecock player to hit two homers in a game was Steven Neff on May 11 in a 7-1 win over Arkansas.
Freshman infielder Joey Pankake hit his first home run of his Gamecock career and also drove in his first run in the 2-1 win over Presbyterian on Tuesday. Pankake is hitting .265 (9-for-34) with a team-high nine runs scored and a pair of RBI.
South Carolina’s leading hitter is junior first baseman Christian Walker. He is hitting .294 (10-for-34) with a homer and 10 RBI.
Junior third baseman LB Dantzler hit a solo home run in the 9-6 win over Clemson on Friday night. Dantzler leads the Gamecocks with three home runs and has 10 RBI.
Through the first 10 games, South Carolina is hitting .267 (88-for-329) as a team with 54 runs scored, a .340 on-base percentage and a .404 slugging percentage. The team is fielding .968.
Next Week:
3/7/12 – vs. UNC Asheville – 7 p.m.
3/9/12 – vs. Princeton – 7 p.m.
3/10/12 – vs. Princeton – 4 p.m.
3/11/12 – vs. Princeton – 1:30 p.m.
