March 12, 2012
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina (13-1) returns to action on Tuesday hosting Charleston Southern (5-11) at Carolina Stadium. First pitch is 7 p.m. The game can be heard on the Gamecock Radio Network from IMG College with live video broadcast available at GamecocksOnline.com. South Carolina remains ranked No. 2 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 3 in the Baseball America Top 25 and USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll.
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio:
Gamecock IMG Network affiliates/Flagship WNKT FM 107.5 “The Game” in Columbia. Andy Demetra and Tommy Moody will call the action.
Television: None
Internet:
Live Gametracker and LIve Video Streaming at GamecocksOnline.com. Additional coverage on Twitter @GamecockBasebll and Facebook/Gamecocksonline
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UP
South Carolina – Adam Westmoreland (Jr. LHP) 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.0 IP, 0 BB, 3 SO
Charleston Southern – Kevin Buran (Jr. RHP) 0-1, 5.54 ERA, 13.0 IP, 4 BB, 8 SO
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: SC leads 68-11
DID YOU KNOW??
Charleston Southern head coach Stuart Lake served as an assistant coach for the Gamecocks from 1999-2002.
NOTES:
South Carolina continued the 2012 season with a win over UNC Asheville and a sweep of Princeton last weekend at Carolina Stadium. South Carolina is now 13-1 on the year after four weeks of action.
The South Carolina pitching staff limited Princeton to just three runs on 18 hits for the weekend with 35 strikeouts and just three walks. It was a 1.00 ERA for the staff as well. Princeton batted just .182 for the weekend. The Carolina pitching staff has a 1.55 ERA on the year in 127.1 innings pitched. That earned run average leads the SEC. In 14 games, the Gamecock shave allowed just 26 runs on 71 hits with 143 strikeouts and 34 walks. Opponents are hitting only .157 against the Gamecocks, also the best mark among the 12 SEC schools.
Senior left-hander Michael Roth Carried a shutout into the ninth inning and limited Princeton to just one run on six hits in a 2-1 victory over the Tigers. Struck out a career-high 10 batters, the most strikeouts by a Gamecock pitcher since June 28, 2010 when Blake Cooper had 10 vs. UCLA in the CWS Championship Series. At one point in the game, he had retired 12 batters in a row. Roth is now 2-0 on the year with a 0.93 ERA in 29.0 innings pitched. He has allowed just three runs on 14 hits while striking out 30 and walking only five batters.
Junior right-hander Matt Price also improved to 2-0 on the year with a win on Saturday in the 6-1 victory. Price limited Princeton to one run on four hits in six innings with six strikeouts and one walk. He is 2-0 on the year with a 3.10 ERA with 27 strikeouts to just seven walks. Opponents are hitting only .139 against him, best mark among all SEC pitching leaders.
Junior right-hander Colby Holmes is the team’s leader in victories with a 3-0 record. Holmes hurled five scoreless innings with just four hits allowed to pick up the win in the 3-1 victory on Sunday. He struck out six and walked one. He also has a 0.93 ERA. He has 22 strikeouts in 19.1 innings pitched.
Both Holmes and Roth lead the conference in earned run average.
Freshman right-hander Evan Beal posted two saves this weekend vs. the Tigers. Beal struck out the lone batter he faced with the tying run on second base in Friday’s 2-1 win and he hurled a perfect inning of relief in Sunday’s 3-1 win with two strikeouts. Beal has 11 strikeouts and just one walk in 7.1 relief innings on the year as well as one victory and two saves.
Sophomore right-hander Forrest Koumas picked up a save in Saturday’s 6-1 win. With the tying run in the on deck circle in the eighth inning, Koumas came up with a key strikeout to end a Princeton threat. He went 1.2 scoreless innings and struck out two batters for his third save in the victory.
Junior left-hander Tyler Webb had a pair of quality relief outings on Saturday and Sunday. For the weekend, Webb hurled three scoreless innings and allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out four. Webb has posted a 0.00 ERA in eight relief appearances with a 1-0 record and one save. He has 15 strikeouts in 12 innings pitched and opponents are batting .093 against him.
Freshman right-hander Joel Seddon made his first start and earned his first win in the 8-1 victory over UNC Asheville. Seddon hurled five scoreless innings and limited the Bulldogs to just two hits.
South Carolina is currently 6-1 in one-run games for the season.
Freshman Kyle Martin was the starting designated hitter this weekend vs. Princeton. He hit .556 (5-for-9) with a pair of runs scored and a RBI in the weekend sweep. Martin tied a season-high with three hits including a solo home run in the 2-1 win over Princeton on Friday night. He also tallied two hits with a double and a run scored in the 3-1 win on Sunday. Martin is hitting .462 (12-for-26) for the season.
Junior outfielder Evan Marzilli tied a school record with three doubles in the 2-1 win over Princeton. It is the 25th time in school history that a player has tallied three doubles in one game. Marzilli has reached base in all 14 games this year. He owns a .321 batting average (18-for-56) with 10 runs scored and four RBI. His on-base percentage is .406.
Junior first baseman Christian Walker went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI in the 6-1 win vs. Princeton. Walker is hitting .320 (16-for-50) with a team-leading 15 RBI for the season.
Sophomore infielder Erik Payne tallied his first career home run and added a RBI double in the 3-1 victory over Princeton. Payne had four hits in the weekend series and started all three games at second base.
Through 14 games, the Gamecocks are hitting .278 (126-for-453) with a .361 on-base percentage and .408 slugging percentage. The Gamecocks have made just 13 errors and are fielding .974 as well.
