April 3, 2012
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina (20-8) returns to action on Wednesday, April 4 at College of Charleston (21-8). First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game will be streamed live online at ESPN3.com. It can also be heard on the Gamecock Radio Network from IMG College. South Carolina is ranked No. 10 in this week’s ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll, No. 11 in the Baseball America Top 25 and No. 18 in Collegiate Baseball’s Top 30.
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/Video: ESPN3.com – Jeff McCarragher and Nate Ross will call the action
Internet: Additional coverage on Twitter @GamecockBasebll and Facebook/Gamecocksonline
PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
South Carolina – Adam Westmoreland (Jr. LHP) 1-0, 2.70 ERA, 13.1 IP, 3 BB, 10 SO College of Charleston – Ryan West (Sr. RHP) 2-2, 3.38 ERA, 32.0 IP, 7 BB, 26 SO
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: SC leads 44-5
Last 5 Years: SC leads 7-1Date Winner Score Site3/6/07 COC 5-4 (10)Charleston3/18/08 SC 13-1 Charleston3/26/08 SC 5-3 Columbia3/24/09 SC 14-2 Charleston4/14/09 SC 20-6 Columbia4/7/10 SC 6-3 Columbia3/22/11 SC 24-4 Columbia4/19/11 SC 8-3 Charleston
DID YOU KNOW??
College of Charleston head coach Monte Lee served as an assistant coach on South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner’s staff for six seasons, from 2003-2008.
QUICK RECAP
South Carolina continued the 2012 season last week with a non-conference win at The Citadel and won two of three games in a weekend conference series at Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks are halfway through the regular season with a 20-8 overall record and a 3-6 record in the Southeastern Conference.
ROTH NOMINATED MCWHORTER SCHOLAR-ATHLETE POST-GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP
South Carolina senior left-handed pitcher Michael Roth is the University of South Carolina’s male nominee for the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship that has been presented by the Southeastern Conference since 1986 to the league’s top male and female scholar-athletes.
The Southeastern Conference will name the 2012 recipients of the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship on April 6 in conjunction with National Student-Athlete Day.
Each year, the SEC, in conjunction with AT&T, an SEC Corporate Champion sponsor, provides the league’s male and female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship recipients with a $15,000 post-graduate scholarship. The 22 remaining male and female finalists for the award will also receive a $7,500 post-graduate scholarship.
Roth is on pace to earn a B.S. degree this spring in International Business and Marketing in May of 2012.
Former baseball student-athlete Trey Dyson was the recipient of the 2002 McWhorter award.
ROTH LEADS THE WAY ON THE FIELD
Senior left-hander Michael Roth improved to 3-0 on the year with a win in the 8-3 victory vs. Vanderbilt. He allowed three runs on five hits in six-plus innings of work. Roth has a 1.68 ERA in 48.1 innings pitched. He has 44 strikeouts to just 11 walks. Opponents are batting just .162 against him. Roth’s victory vs. Vanderbilt was his 20th career win, making him the 20th player in school history to tally 20 or more career victories.
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Junior right-hander Matt Price was stellar out of the bullpen. Price picked up his first save of the season and his 31st of his career to set a school record in the 8-3 win over the Commodores. Price hurled three scoreless innings in the win and did not allow a hit, walked just one and struck out five batters. He followed that up with another stellar relief outing with six innings of relief allowing one run one hit on the way to a 6-4 Carolina victory over Vanderbilt in 13 innings. He had seven strikeouts in the effort. Price is 3-2 for the season with a 3.12 ERA. He has 49 strikeouts in 40.1 innings with opponents batting only .141 against him.
ONE MORE APPEARANCE FROM ROTH & PRICE
Both Matt Price and Michael Roth are among career leaders in appearances at South Carolina. Price sits at fifth with 83 appearances and Roth is sixth with 81 appearances. Rob Mosser (1990-93) holds the school record.
Appearance List88 Rob Mosser (1990-93)87 Aaron Rawl (2002-05)87 Jason Pomar (1996-99)86 Jamie Poston (1997-00)83 Matt Price (2009-present)81 Michael Roth (2009-present)
CLOSE CALLS
South Carolina is 12-6 in games decided by three runs or less through 28 games. The Gamecocks also own a 6-5 record in one-run contests.
MONTGOMERY SHOWS SOME POISE AND COMPOSURE
Freshman left-hander Jordan Montgomery earned two wins this past week, one as a starter in the 7-3 win at The Citadel and one in relief in the 6-4 win over Vanderbilt. In the 6-4 win over the Commodores, he hurled two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. For the season Montgomery has a 3.27 ERA with 20 strikeouts and just two walks in 22.0 innings pitched.
WALKER PROVIDES A PUNCH
Junior first baseman Christian Walker was the top hitter for the Gamecocks in the Vanderbilt series as he hit .500 (6-for-12) with a .625 on-base percentage and a phenomenal 1.250 slugging percentage. Walker belted three homers in the series and drove in five runs with five runs scored as well. Walker tallied his first two-homer game of his career at South Carolina with three RBI and three runs scored in the 8-3 win on Friday vs. the Commodores. In Sunday’s 6-4 win, he reached base five times including a game-winning two-run homer in the top of the 13th in the victory. Walker is Carolina’s leading hitter with a .333 average (34-for-102) with six homers and 28 RBI for the season. His on-base percentage is .452 with 19 walks, four hit by pitches and just 11 strikeouts. His slugging percentage is .569.
Walker also became the 25th player in South Carolina history to reach the 200 career hit total. He is now at 205 for his three-year career with the Garnet & Black, 23rd best in school history. He is 30 hits shy of Hank Small (1972-75) and the Top 10 career hits total at Carolina.
Top 10 Career Hits List303 Mac White (1991-94)299 Michael Campbell (2003-06)285 Drew Meyer (2000-02)265 Landon Powell (2001-04)265 Derick Urquhart (1995-98)263 Whit Merrifield (2008-10)262 Andrew Crisp (2005-09)250 Mike Curry (1996-98)246 Justin Smoak (2006-08)245 Hank Small (1972-75)--------------------------------------------------------205 Christian Walker (2010-present) (23rd currently)
In SEC games, Walker is among the best in the entire league. Through nine SEC games, Walker is first in slugging percentage (.758), home runs (4) and walks (10). He is tied for second in runs scored (11), total bases (25), tied for fourth in runs batted in (8) and is sixth in on-base percentage (.488).
MARZILLI LEADS IT OFF
Junior outfielder Evan Marzilli has reached base in all 28 games this year. He is hitting .319 (36-for-113) with 22 runs scored and 13 RBI. He owns a .408 on-base percentage. His key one-out single helped lead to Walker’s homer in the 6-4 victory on Sunday vs. Vanderbilt.
Marzilli had four hits including a three-run homer in the 8-5 win over Furman and was 3-for-4 win the 9-3 win over Florida. Marzilli had a game-winning three-run double as well as a career-high four RBI in the 6-4 win over Appalachian State. He also 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’s defense was essential for the Gamecocks in the 3-2 win over Clemson in 11 innings. Marzilli had his first assist of the year with a throw to home plate to nab a Tiger runner trying to score and his diving catch with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning sealed the Gamecock victory. Marzilli was effective in the first weekend vs. VMI as he hit .500 (6-for-12) with a .538 on-base percentage. Marzilli had a 3-for-4 day at the plate on Opening Day. He scored the game-winning run in the opener and also was key in the 13-1 victory as he went 2-for-4 with a triple, run scored and two RBI.
SHOWING OFF THE GLOVE
The Gamecocks have also been playing pretty good defense with 13 errorless games on the year. South Carolina is fielding .976 with only 25 errors for the season. That is third best in the Southeastern Conference.
A CALL TO ARMS
South Carolina’s pitching staff has a team ERA of 3.06. The staff has 263 strikeouts to 90 walks in 255.2 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .198 against the staff.
PANKAKE SHOWCASE
Freshman infielder Joey Pankake follows Marzilli in the batting order and he has swung the hot bat as of late. Pankake tallied two doubles and scored a run in the 6-4 win over Vanderbilt. Pankake is hitting .325 (26-for-80) with 19 runs scored, five doubles, a triple, a homer and eight RBI.
He had a 5-for-6 game with a pair of RBI in the 8-5 win over Furman. The last Gamecock player with five hits in a game was Christian Walker on April 5, 2011 vs. USC Upstate.
He tallied his first career homer and RBI in the 2-1 win vs. Presbyterian. The game-winning hit came in the bottom of the fourth inning. In the Elon series, he was 2-for-4 with a triple and three runs scored in the 8-1 win in the opener. He had two walks in game two and a hit and a run scored in the Sunday series finale.
Tyler Webb MAKES HIS MARK
Junior left-hander Tyler Webb has continued to shine in his role out of the bullpen. Webb leads the SEC with 15 relief appearances. Webb pitched 3.2 scoreless innings with just two hits allowed and two strikeouts in the 5-4 loss to Florida. For the season, Webb is 2-0 with a 0.92 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 19.2 innings. Opponents are batting .151 against him.
ENGLISH HAS A KNACK
Another key offensive contributor has been freshman outfielder Tanner English. English leads the Gamecocks with 12 multi-hit games. English is batting .303 (33-for-109) and has scored 18 runs for the season. English had two hits in the 8-3 win over Vanderbilt as well as two hits in the 12-4 loss to the Commodores.
He tallied two hits in the 9-3 win over Florida. He was 2-for-5 with a run scored in the 8-5 win over Furman. He had a season-high three hits and a run scored in the 5-2 win over Charleston Southern. English went 2-for-4 with two runs in the 8-1 win over UNC Asheville. He scored a run in all three games of the Elon series and hit safely in all three games as well. English drove in three runs for the weekend with a key two-run triple to left-center in 6-0 win over Elon in the second inning.
CELEK DRIVES THEM IN
Sophomore Brison Celek was the starting designated hitter for all four games this past week. He drove in two runs in the 7-3 win at The Citadel. He also had a two-run double in the 8-3 win at Vanderbilt. He is batting .333 in 15 games (10-for-30) with two runs scored, three doubles and six RBI.
K-MART
Freshman Kyle Martin had a big pinch-hit two-run single in the 9-3 win over Florida. Martin is hitting .395 (17-for-43) with five RBI and eight runs scored.
Martin was the starting designated hitter the entire weekend of the Princeton series. 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.
MILESTONES
The 8-5 win over Furman marked head coach Ray Tanner’s 1,100th career win in his 25th year as a head coach in Division I baseball. He won his 700th game as head coach at South Carolina in the 2-1 victory over Princeton.
BRING THE PAYNE
Sophomore infielder Erik Payne has the third best average on the team in SEC games with a .313 average 10-for-32) in nine conference games. Payne had a key two-run double in the 9-3 win over Florida.
He was 6-for-11 (.545) in the Kentucky series as well as 3-for-7 in midweek contests vs. CSU and ASU. Payne had two hits apiece in all three games at Kentucky as well as a solo home run in Friday’s 4-3 loss.
Payne is hitting .290 (18-for-62) for the season with two doubles, two triples, two homers, six runs scored and 11 RBI. He owns a .484 slugging percentage
HOLMES WITH THE ANSWER
Junior right-hander Colby Holmes owns a 3-0 record. He retired 10 in a row and did not allow a hit until the fifth inning in the 6-4 win over Vanderbilt. Holmes hurled five scoreless innings with just four hits allowed in the 3-1 victory over Princeton. He struck out six and walked one.
Holmes owns a 2.84 ERA in six starts with 31.2 innings pitched. He has 28 strikeouts to 10 walks.
WESTMORELAND WINS FIRST START OF THE YEAR
Junior left-hander Adam Westmoreland won his first start of the 2012 season in the 5-2 win over Appalachian State. Westmoreland allowed one run on four hits in 5.2 innings with four strikeouts and a walk.
BEAL BRINGS IT
Freshman right-hander Evan Beal struck out the side for his fourth save of the year in the 8-5 win over Furman. He is 1-3 with a 5.00 ERA. He has 27 strikeouts and just eight walks in 18.0 innings.
Beal earned his first career win in the 9-6 victory vs. Clemson. Beal entered the game in the bottom of the fifth and retired nine in a row and lasted four innings allowing just two runs on three hits while striking out five and walking one.
DYNAMIC DUO BEHIND THE DISH
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. The last Gamecock player to hit two homers in a game was Steven Neff on May 11 in a 7-1 win over Arkansas. The last freshman to accomplish the feat was Adam Matthews in 2009 against East Carolina in the NCAA Regional, a 12-2 win over the Pirates. Greiner is hitting .219 (16-for-73) with four doubles, two homers and 12 RBI
Not to be outdone is junior catcher Dante Rosenberg, who has played in 16 games with 10 starts. 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 of a 3-2 win over VMI.
LB LIGHTS IT UP
Junior third baseman LB Dantzler hit his fifth homer of the year and finished with three RBI in the 6-4 win over Vanderbilt. He was 2-for-4 with a season-high three runs scored in the 6-4 win vs. Appalachian State. He also went 2-for-4 with a RBI in the 6-3 loss at Kentucky. Dantzler is hitting .224 (24-for-107) and has 21 RBI.
Dantzler was solid in his debut vs. VMI 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.
