May 31, 2012
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina (40-17) opens the postseason on Friday, June 1 in the Columbia Regional vs. Manhattan (33-25). First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. with the game televised live on ESPNU and streamed on ESPN3. It can also be heard on the Gamecock Radio Network from IMG College including flagship station, 107.5 FM, “The Game.” South Carolina will send junior RHP Colby Holmes (6-1, 3.39 ERA) to the mound with Manhattan countering with senior right-hander Taylor Sewitt (11-1, 2.40 ERA). The Gamecocks are the top seed in the Columbia Regional and seeded No. 8 nationally. Manhattan enters as the No. 4 seed in the tournament.
PARKING NOTE FOR PATRONS
Please note, for those patrons choosing to park at Colonial Life Arena and taking the shuttle over to Carolina Stadium, there will be 500 parking spots reserved in Lot B for fans attending the NCAA Regional. Please note, due to high school graduation ceremonies at Carolina Coliseum, there is expected to be congestion in the area throughout the day due to traffic for both the regional and graduations.
LIVE COVERAGE OF NCAA REGIONALS
Radio: Gamecock IMG Network affiliates/Flagship WNKT FM 107.5 “The Game” in Columbia. Andy Demetra and Tommy Moody will call the action.
Television: All games televised live on ESPNU and streamed on ESPN3. Clay Matvick and Kyle Peterson have the call.
Internet: Live Gametracker Stats at NCAA.com. Additional coverage on Twitter @GamecockBasebll and Facebook/Gamecocksonline
2012 NCAA COLUMBIA REGIONAL BRACKET
DATES/TIMES/FORMAT
Friday, June 1
Game 1 – No. 2 Clemson (33-26) vs. No. 3 Coastal Carolina (41-17) – Noon p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)
Game 2 – No. 1 South Carolina (40-17) vs. No. 4 Manhattan (33-25) – 4 p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)
Saturday, June 2
Game 3 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – Noon p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)
Game 4 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 4 p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)
Sunday, June 3
Game 5 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 – Noon p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)
Game 6 – Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 4 – 4 p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)
Monday, June 4
Game 7 – If Necessary – 7 p.m. (ESPNU/ESPN3)
NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORD(includes College World Series games)
Year Won Lost Pct.2011 10 0 1.0002010 11 1 .9172009 2 2 .5002008 2 2 .5002007 4 2 .6672006 4 3 .5712005 3 2 .6002004 8 2 .8002003 6 2 .7502002 9 4 .6922001 5 3 .6252000 4 2 .6671998 2 2 .5001993 1 2 .3331992 2 2 .5001988 3 2 .6001986 1 2 .3331985 4 2 .6671984 2 2 .5001983 0 2 .0001982 4 2 .6671981 5 2 .7141980 2 2 .5001977 7 3 .7001976 1 2 .3331975 7 2 .7781974 4 2 .667Totals 113 56 .669
SOUTH CAROLINA & THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
This is South Carolina’s 28th overall appearance in the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. The Gamecocks are one of eight teams from the SEC to make the 2012 NCAA Tournament. South Carolina’s 13 consecutive trips to the NCAA Baseball Tournament is the longest current streak of the 12 SEC schools. Carolina is one of only six schools in the nation that has reached the NCAA Regional in the last 13 consecutive years.
SOUTH CAROLINA IN THE POSTSEASON
The Gamecocks are 8-0 all-time at Carolina Stadium in NCAA Tournament games, and the program has won 19 consecutive postseason games at home, dating back to the 2002 Super Regional vs. Miami.
Carolina has won an NCAA record 16 NCAA Tournament games in a row (last six at the 2010 College World Series, 10 victories in the 2011 Postseason). The Gamecocks are 21-1 in their last 22 postseason games.
NCAA DIVISION I SCHOOLS TO REACH NCAA REGIONALS IN LAST 13 CONSECUTIVE SEASONS
(2000-12)
1) SOUTH CAROLINA
2) Cal State Fullerton
3) Florida State
4) Miami (Fla.)
5) Oral Roberts
6) Rice
ROTH NAMED 2011-12 SEC H. BOYD MCWHORTER MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
University of South Carolina baseball player Michael Roth has been named the 2011-12 SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athletes of the Year, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive announced last Friday. The award will be formally presented to Roth at the annual Awards Banquet at the league’s spring meeting in Destin, Fla., on May 31.
Roth was chosen by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from SEC universities and will receive a $15,000 post-graduate scholarship, provided by AT&T, an SEC Corporate Champion sponsor, and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Roth, a native of Greer, S.C., will earn a B.S. degree in International Business and Marketing in May. He was a first-team Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American and a recipient of the NCAA Elite 88 Award, having the highest grade point average of all student-athletes participating in the College World Series last season. A member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, he is also a member of Carolina’s Dean’s List and President’s List.
Roth was a consensus first-team All-America in 2011 and finished the season with a 14-3 overall record and 1.06 earned run average as a starting pitcher for the Gamecocks. He was a first-team All-SEC choice and member of the College World Series All-Tournament Team. A four-year letter winner, he was a team captain of the 2011 NCAA Champions. He was the winning pitcher in the 2010 and 2011 national championship-clinching games. He was named the 2011 National Player of the Year by CollegeBaseballInsider.com and a semifinalist for USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award.
In the community, Roth has visited children at various elementary schools and hospitals and took part in the “Light the Night” Walk, helping to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He is also a member of Carolina’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He has also used his academic interests in the business community. He created and executed a marketing plan to maximize textbook buybacks for Better World Books and consulted with Avwatch, a system integration company, helping it create an international market entry strategy, leading it into new markets in Canada, Chile and the United States.The son of David and Deborah Roth intends to pursue a master’s degree in international business and learn new languages. He studied in Alicante, Spain in 2011.
ROTH A FINALIST FOR THE LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS AWARD
University of South Carolina senior left-handed pitcher Michael Roth is one of 10 finalists selected as a finalist for the 2012 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award for baseball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in February. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to determine the winner.
Fans are encouraged to vote on the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award website through June 11. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I men’s head coaches’ votes to determine the winner.
Lowe’s, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award® winner during the 2012 NCAA College World Series®, which will be held June 15-26 in Omaha.
For more information on all the finalists, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
ROTH LEADS THE WAY ON THE FIELD
Senior left-hander Michael Roth is 6-1 with a 2.58 ERA in 15 starts with 101.0 innings pitched. He has 75 strikeouts to 31 walks and opponents are batting just .213 against him. He ranks third in earned run average, fourth in innings pitched and fifth in opposing batting average in the conference.
In SEC games, Roth went 3-1 with a 3.43 ERA. He hurled 65.2 innings in 10 league starts.
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.
Roth has a career record of 23-6 at South Carolina. He has 89 career appearances as a Gamecock, second only to current teammate Matt Price.
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Junior right-hander Matt Price is 4-4 on the year with a 3.68 ERA in 22 games with 10 saves. Nine of his 10 saves have come against SEC teams this year. Opponents are batting just .198 against him, second best mark in the league. Price picked up a save in the 5-3 win over Auburn at the SEC Tournament.
Price is the all-time saves leader at South Carolina with 40 as well as appearances with 96 for the Garnet & Black. Price is just one save shy of the SEC record of 41 set by Joshua Fields of Georgia (2005-08).
CLOSE GAMES
South Carolina is 12-12 in one-run games this year. South Carolina is also 25-14 in games decided by three runs or less, 68 percent of games played this year.
AT THE PLATE, ON THE FIELD & ON THE MOUND
South Carolina is tied with LSU in the SEC in fielding with a .980 fielding percentage. The Gamecocks also lead the conference on the mound in opposing batting average at .228. The Gamecocks 3.20 ERA is fourth best in the league. South Carolina is hitting .271 as a team with a .358 on-base percentage.
WALKER PROVIDES A PUNCH
Junior first baseman Christian Walker continues to be productive for the Gamecocks. Walker had a key three-run homer in the 5-4 win over LSU. He continues to lead the Gamecocks in hitting with a .328 average (65-for-198) 41 runs scored, 10 doubles, two triples, 10 homers and 51 RBI. Walker has a .456 on-base percentage and a .551 slugging percentage.
Walker is among the best in the SEC as he ranks third in on-base percentage (.456) and walks (41), tied for third in runs batted in (51), sixth in slugging percentage (.551) and seventh in home runs (10)
In SEC games, Walker was also among the best as he ranks first in walks (28), second in runs scored (28), second in on-base percentage (.463), tied for second in home runs (7), tied for second in runs batted in (25), third in slugging percentage (.578) and sixth in total bases (59). Walker is up to 236 career hits for the Garnet & Black, nine hits shy of Hank Small (1972-75) for 10th on the All-Time hits list at South Carolina.
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 became the 25th player in South Carolina history to reach the 200 career hit total with his homer in the 8-3 win over Vanderbilt.
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)236 Christian Walker (2010-present) (currently 11th)
Tyler Webb MAKES HIS MARK
Junior left-hander Tyler Webb is tied for second in the SEC in appearances for the season with 31 on the year. Webb is 5-=1 with a 1.96 ERA and has 40 strikeouts to just 10 walks in 41.1 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .243 against him.
MARZILLI PUTS ON A SHOW
Junior outfielder Evan Marzilli continues to show why he is one of the best defensive outfielders in the country with several key catches and diving grabs all over the field throughout the season. He also has four assists on the year from the outfield. Marzilli doubled and tripled in the 3-2 loss vs. LSU and also scored two runs in the 5-4 win vs. the Tigers. Marzilli is hitting .284 (63-for-222) and is tied for sixth in the SEC in runs scored with 48. He has a .371 on-base percentage as well.
Marzilli is tied for the league lead with seven sacrifice flies, including a sac fly in the 2-1 win over Davidson. Marzilli is one short of the school’s single-season record of eight held by Jim Curl (1981) and Jim Pankovits (1974)
Marzilli had two sacrifice flies for the weekend series vs. the Crimson Tide as well as a sacrifice fly vs. Davidson and now leads the team with seven for the season, one short of the school single-season record of eight. Marzilli also leads the Gamecocks with eight stolen bases. He stole a base and scored two runs in the 9-1 win on Saturday vs. Alabama.
Marzilli reached base in the first 31 games of the 2012 season but saw his streak snap in the 6-1 victory vs. the Volunteers.
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 keyt in the 13-1 victory as he went 2-for-4 with a triple, run scored and two RBI.
HOLMES WITH THE ANSWER
Junior right-hander Colby Holmes is 6-1 on the year with a 3.39 ERA in 61.0 innings pitched with 49 strikeouts to just 13 walks.
Holmes has tallied victories over VMI, Presbyterian, Princeton, Tennessee, Mississippi State and Auburn.
PANKAKE SHOWCASE
Freshman shortstop Joey Pankake has moved his batting average to .284 (54-for-190) with 37 runs scored, a team-high 14 doubles, two triples, two homers and 24 RBI. He has a .376 on-base percentage. He was 2-for-4 with two RBI in game one of a doubleheader vs. LSU and followed that up with a game-winning RBI triple in the 5-4 win over the Tigers.
Pankake had a two-run single in the 12-5 win over Auburn. He also scored two runs in the 11-7 win on Sunday. Pankake gave the Gamecocks some insurance in the 6-4 win over Mississippi State with a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning. Pankake, who moved to the leadoff role that weekend, had five hits and hit .357 vs. the Bulldogs.
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.
LB LIGHTS IT UP – #FearTheFish
Junior third baseman LB Dantzler has been productive in run scoring opportunities for the Gamecocks. Dantzler is hitting .253 (56-for-221) with 12 doubles, nine homers and 43 RBI. His nine homers is eighth best in the SEC with his RBI total 10th best in the conference. In SEC games, Dantzler has six homers and 24 RBI.
Dantzler hit a solo home run in the 3-0 win over Georgia and had a two-run double in the ninth inning of the 6-5 loss to the Bulldogs on Saturday. Dantzler had a clutch bat in the Auburn series as he went 5-for-13 (.385) with five runs scored, two homers and four RBI. His slugging percentage was .923. Dantzler belted a two-run homer in the 5-3 win on Saturday. He added three hits, three runs scored a RBI double and a homer in the 11-7 win over the Tigers on Sunday. Dantzler tallied a walk-off RBI single in the 2-1 win on Saturday night vs. Tennessee. He 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.
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.
CHASE HIM ON BASE
Junior second baseman Chase Vergason went 4-for-9 (.444) in the SEC Tournament at the plate. He also hit .500 (5-for-10) in the Arkansas series with a .545 on-base percentage and a 1.000 slugging percentage with a homer, two doubles, three runs scored and three RBI. Vergason hit his first homer of the year in the 7-6 loss to Arkansas on Saturday. He followed that up with a 3-for-4 day at the plate in Sunday’s 10-7 win with two runs scored and two RBI. Vergason’s three hits and two RBI were both a season-high in Sunday’s victory.
Vergason hit .245 in SEC games (13-for-53) with a .406 on-base percentage in the league as well. For the season he is batting .242 (23-for-95) with a .388 overall on-base percentage.
MATTHEWS FINDS HIS WAY HOME
Senior outfielder Adam Matthews collected three hits in the 5-3 win vs. Auburn at the SEC Tournament that tied a season-high. Matthews also went 3-for-4 with a RBI double in the 5-4 win over LSU with two stolen bases two weeks ago.
He was stellar in the outfield in the Arkansas series with two key assists in Sunday’s 10-7 victory over the Razorbacks. Matthews threw out a runner attempting to score on a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning and threw out a runner trying to score off a base hit from second base in the seventh inning. He also drove in the first run of the game for the Gamecocks with a two-out RBI single on Sunday in the seventh inning in the Gamecock victory. Matthews has four assists from the outfield this year.
Matthews hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to help lift South Carolina to a 1-0 win over the Crimson Tide. Matthews followed that up with a solo home run in the 12-11 win. Three of Matthews’ four home runs have come in SEC play. Matthews hit .271 in league games (26-for-96).
ENGLISH HAS A KNACK
Freshman outfielder Tanner English leads the Gamecocks with 20 multi-hit games and is second on the team in batting average with a .309 mark (63-for-204). He also has nine stolen bases.
English led the Gamecocks in hitting in the MSU series with a .455 average (5-for-11). English scored four runs over the weekend with a triple and also a RBI.
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.
BEAL BRINGS IT
Freshman right-hander Evan Beal is 3-4 on the year with a 3.94 ERA in 25 appearances with 50 strikeouts in 45.2 innings and opponents batting .206 against him.
Beal pitched two scoreless innings in the 2-1 win over Davidson and followed that up with three scoreless innings of relief in the 8-6 win over Arkansas to earn the win.
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.
A WIN IN FAYETTEVILLE
South Carolina’s series victory at Arkansas was only the second time in school history that the Gamecocks have won a series in Fayetteville. The previous series victory at Arkansas came in 2010. The Gamecocks have now won three consecutive series vs. the Razorbacks dating back to the 2010 season.
MONTGOMERY CONTINUES TO SHINE
Freshman left-hander Jordan Montgomery is 4-1 with a 4.20 ERA in 60 innings with 45 strikeouts to just eight walks.
Montgomery won his first SEC road start with his third victory in league play in the 5-3 win vs. Auburn. He allowed two runs on six hits in 5.1 innings with one walk and one strikeout.
Montgomery earned SEC Freshman of the Week after his first career SEC start. He worked a career-high eight innings and limited Tennessee to just one run on three hits on the way to a 2-1 South Carolina victory over the Volunteers. Against a Tennessee team that was on an eight-game winning streak, Montgomery kept UT at bay with 12 batters retired at one point in the game. Montgomery did not walk a batter and tallied seven strikeouts.
BELCHER KEEPS CONTRIBUTING
Junior left-hander Nolan Belcher earned two wins in relief vs. the Crimson Tide. Belcher posted a win with one out retired in the 12-11 victory on Friday night and followed that up with 3.1 scoreless innings of relief with four strikeouts in the 9-1 victory on Saturday vs. the Crimson Tide. Belcher is 4-2 with a 2.17 ERA in 29.0 innings pitched with 13 walks and 34 strikeouts.
Belcher hurled 5.2 scoreless innings in his first start of the year as Carolina defeated The Citadel 8-0. Belcher combined with relievers Tyler Webb and Hunter Privette for a five-hit shutout vs. the Citadel.
Belcher had a productive week with a win and two saves in all three victories over Presbyterian and Clemson in late February/early March. 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.
A BRIGHT SPOT
Freshman infielder Connor Bright was the starting designated hitter in the Auburn series opener and he had a productive evening with a 3-for-4 day, two runs and three RBI. The three hits and three RBI were season-highs. Bright also had two hits vs. the College of Charleston. Bright is batting .235 (16-for-68) with eight runs scored and eight RBI in 19 starts.
IN A PINCH WITH SULLIVAN
Junior outfielder Sean Sullivan had a pinch-hit RBI sacrifice squeeze in the 3-0 win at Georgia. He had a pinch-hit RBI single in the 12-11 rally over Alabama that saw an additional run score as TJ Costen scampered home with the winning run score on a misplay by Alabama’s left fielder.
Sullivan also tied the Mississippi State Friday night game with a pinch-hit two-out triple and scoring the winning run on a wild pitch on the way to a 7-6 victory over Mississippi State in the series opener.
BRING THE PAYNE
Sophomore Erik Payne got the start at designated hitter at Auburn and he was key in the 11-7 win with a three-run homer as well as a sacrifice fly. The four RBI for Payne was a career-high. Payne is hitting .264 (23-for-87) with seven runs scored, three homers and 16 RBI.
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.
K-MART
Freshman Kyle Martin had a pinch-hit RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning of the 7-6 loss at Arkansas. The day before, he had a pinch-hit RBI sacrifice fly in the 8-6 win at Arkansas.
Martin had a big pinch-hit two-run single in the 9-3 win over Florida. Martin is hitting .323 (20-for-62) with 11 RBI and 10 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.
