June 17, 2012

Recap | Box Score | AP Photo Gallery | Photo Gallery

• South Carolina is in the midst of a 22-game winning streak in the NCAA Tournament and has won 12 straight at the MCWS. Both winning streaks are NCAA records.
• South Carolina is making its 11th MCWS appearance. The Gamecocks are the two-time defending national champion.
• The Gamecocks are attempting to become the first team since Southern California to win three consecutive MCWS. The Trojans won five consecutive titles from 1970-74.
• South Carolina improves to 4-7 all-time in its opening game of the MCWS. The school had won just one of its eight previous MCWS openers.
• South Carolina has a record of 27-1 over the last three years in the NCAA Tournament, the best three-year tournament winning percentage in NCAA history (must appear in tournament in at least two of the three years to qualify).
• South Carolina’s six MCWS appearances since 2002 are tied for the most of any school over that span (Texas also has had six).
• The Gamecocks are 12-12 when their opponent scores first this year.
• After giving up three earned runs in 6.1 innings, Michael Roth’s ERA fell to fifth all-time in MCWS history (minimum 30.0 innings). He has allowed eight earned runs in 44.2 innings for a 1.61 ERA.
• Roth made his sixth career MCWS start, second most in NCAA history. Only J.D. Arteaga of Miami (FL) has started more games in Omaha (seven from 1994-97).
• Roth had recorded 10.1 consecutive scoreless innings prior to allowing the two runs in the third.
• With the victory, Roth became just the fourth pitcher in history with a MCWS win in three different years (’10, ’11 & ’12). Roth was the victor in the 2011 championship game and in South Carolina’s 5-1 win over Clemson in 2010. The others to accomplish the feat are Carl Thomas of Arizona (1954, `55, `56), Greg Widman of Southern California (1970, ’71, ’72), and Allan Westfall of Miami (1994, ’95, ’96).
• The three earned runs allowed by Roth are the most he has yielded in a MCWS game, in this his eighth appearance.
• Evan Marzilli’s two doubles give him six at the MCWS, tying him for fourth on the all-time list. He now has 11 career doubles in the NCAA Tournament.
• Christian Walker’s two-hit day gives him 22 career hits at the MCWS, fourth-most on the all-time list (record is 28 by Dustin Ackley of North Carolina). Walker now has four two-hit games in his last five MCWS games.
• South Carolina’s five-run fifth and UCLA’s five-run first on Friday are the most runs scored in one inning at the MCWS since TCU put up 8 runs on June 23, 2010, in the eighth inning of an 11-7 win over Florida State. Five runs is the most scored in one inning of the MCWS at TD Ameritrade Park.
• South Carolina was 0-for-9 with RISP through the first four innings but 4-for-4 in the five-run fifth.
• Erik Payne delivered the fourth three-run triple in the last seven years at the MCWS with his drive to the right-center field gap in the fifth. The only other three-run triples in Omaha since 2006 were by Texas A&M’s Brandon Wood on June 19 of last season (first inning against South Carolina), TCU’s Taylor Featherston on June 21, 2010 (seventh inning against UCLA), and Miami’s Jon Jay on June 17, 2006 (eighth against Oregon State).
• After Saturday’s appearance, reliever Greg Larson has now given up zero runs in 13 of his last 14 outings (one earned run in last 16.1 innings overall).
• After a 2-for-5 day on Saturday, LB Dantzler is batting .391 (9-for-23) in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
• With two hits in five at bats on Saturday, Chase Vergason is hitting .412 (7-for-17) in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
• Reliever Matt Price’s four career MCWS wins tie him for the most by any pitcher in MCWS history, while his 10 appearances place him third overall in the MCWS (13, J. Brent Cox – Texas 2003-05; 11, Rob Wooten – North Carolina 2007-08).
• Price notched his third career MCWS save (in each of his last three outings in Omaha), tying him for sixth on the all-time list. He now has nine career games finished at the MCWS, tied for the most all-time with Rick Raether of Miami (1985, ’86) and Huston Street of Texas (2002, ’04).
• Price extended his scoreless streak at the MCWS to 14.2 innings dating back to June 26, 2010. He has an ERA of 0.44 ERA in 20.2 career innings at the MCWS, placing him in a fifth-place tie on the career list (minimum 20.0 innings).
• Price’s save was his seventh this season requiring 2.0 innings or more (out of 12 total). Price has 15 career saves of 2.0+ innings.
• The save was the 42nd of Price’s career, putting him alone in eighth place on the Division I career list. He also broke a tie with Josh Fields of Georgia (2005-08) for the all-time SEC record.
• South Carolina’s bullpen has a combined 1.59 ERA in the 2012 NCAA Tournament (three runs allowed in 17.0 innings).