March 13, 2014
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (16-0) begins SEC play on Friday, March 14 beginning a three-game series with Ole Miss (16-2). First pitch for the opener is 7 p.m. at Carolina Stadium. The game can be heard on the Gamecock IMG Network including flagship station 107.5 FM, “The Game.” It will also be streamed live on ESPN3 and the All Access Channel on GamecocksOnline. Saturday’s game is 4 p.m. and will also be streamed on ESPN3 and GamecocksOnline. Sunday’s series finale will be only streamed on GamecocksOnline and will have a first pitch of 1:30 p.m.
South Carolina is ranked No. 1 by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, the NCBWA and the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll as well as No. 3 by Perfect Game. Ole Miss is ranked No. 12 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, No. 14 by the NCBWA, No. 16 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 21 by Baseball America and No. 24 by Perfect Game.
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: Gamecock IMG Radio Network; Flagship 107.5 FM The Game.
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Friday Live Video
Friday ESPN3 Live Stream
Saturday Live Video
Saturday ESPN3 Live Stream
All Access Live Video
Live Stats
PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Friday
South Carolina – Jordan Montgomery (Jr. LHP) 3-0, 1.99 ERA, 22.2 IP, 8 BB, 25 SO
Ole Miss – Chris Ellis (Jr. RHP) 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 27.2 IP, 10 BB, 20 SO
Saturday
South Carolina – Jack Wynkoop (So. LHP) 4-0, 1.37 ERA, 26.1 IP, 3 BB, 24 SO
Ole Miss – Christian Trent (So. LHP) 2-0, 3.96 ERA, 25.0 IP, 1 BB, 25 SO
Sunday
South Carolina – Wil Crowe (Fr. RHP) 3-0, 0.99 ERA, 27.1 IP, 3 BB, 21 SO
Ole Miss – Sam Smith (Jr. RHP) 3-0, 1.61 ERA, 22.1 IP, 6 BB, 13 SO
DID YOU KNOW??
South Carolina’s nine shutouts this year surpassed its total number of shutouts from last season of eight.
A LOOK BACK
Top ranked South Carolina broke out to a three-run lead in the first two innings and six pitchers combined for a five-hit shutout as the Gamecocks defeated Furman 5-0 on Tuesday night at Carolina Stadium. South Carolina improves to 16-0 on the year with its ninth shutout of the season. Carolina has shut out four consecutive opponents. Furman drops to 6-10 on the season.
Freshman right-hander Taylor Widener earned his first career win in a predetermined split. He allowed just a hit and two walks in 3.1 innings. Trey McNickle, Josh Reagan, Reed Scott, Hunter Privette and Cody Mincey all had scoreless outings as well. The Gamecock bullpen has not allowed a run in 47.2 innings dating back to the first game of the season.
THE STREAK
South Carolina’s 16-game winning streak is the best start for South Carolina since the 2004 season when the Gamecocks opened with an 18-0 record.
THE WEEK BEFORE
South Carolina won a pair of games vs. Stetson in midweek competition and followed that up with a three-game sweep of Brown to improve to 15-0 on the year.
South Carolina did not allow a run in the entire Brown series with three shutouts. South Carolina outscored Brown 24-0 with victories of 13-0, 8-0 and 1-0.
TO ARMS
South Carolina’s pitching staff has put together a 1.12 ERA in the first 16 games with 144 strikeouts to 34 walks in 144.0 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting .196 against Carolina. The Gamecocks have allowed only 20 runs this season in 16 games. South Carolina’s bullpen has a streak of 47.2 consecutive innings not allowing a run dating back to the season-opening game vs. Bucknell. Carolina has allowed double-digit hits just once.
SCOUTING OLE MISS
Ole Miss brings a 16-2 record to Carolina Stadium and are ranked as high as No. 12 in the nation in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.
The Rebels have won all four weekend series this year with a weekend sweep at Stetson, a pair of wins vs. Georgia State and sweeps of UCF and Arkansas-Little Rock at home.
Ole Miss is one of the more experienced teams in the league this year with seven of nine projected position starters juniors or seniors. Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC in hitting with a .323 average at the plate. Junior outfielder Auston Bousfield leads the team with a .413 average and 16 runs scored. Senior catcher Will Allen owns a .338 average at the plate as well as 23 RBI, the second highest RBI total in the SEC. Senior second baseman Preston Overbey is hitting ..343 and senior third baseman Austin Anderson owns a .338 average.
Junior right-hander Chris Ellis leads the rotation with a 2-0 record and a 0.00 ERA in 27.2 innings. He has allowed just one unearned run in four starts. Sophomore left-hander Christian Trent is 2-0 with a .396 ERA with 25 strikeouts and junior right-hander Sam Smith sports a 3-0 record with a 1.61 ERA.
The Rebels did lose two starters from their weekend rotation last year as both Bobby Wahl and Mike Mayers were selected in the top five rounds of the 2013 MLB Draft. Wahl went 10-0 on the mound with a 2.03 ERA and Mayers finished 5-6 with a 2.83 ERA. Ole Miss also lost first-team All-America catcher Stuart Turner, who hit .374 with five homers and 51 RBI on his way to the Johnny Bench Award award.
LAST TIME VS. OLE MISS
South Carolina won one of three games in a series at Ole Miss in the 2011 season. The Rebels were the only SEC team to claim a series against the Gamecocks as the Gamecocks went on to win the SEC regular season championship and a second consecutive national title.
South Carolina opened the series with a 6-1 win on Friday night. Michael Roth allowed just one run in eight innings of work to earn his 10th win of the season and was backed by an offense that tallied 14 hits as the top ranked Gamecocks defeated Ole Miss 6-1.Roth battled the entire night and limited Ole Miss to just six hits while striking out six batters and walking one. Senior reliever John Taylor pitched a perfect ninth inning to seal the win. Ole Miss starter Matt Crouse suffered the loss. He allowed five runs on nine hits with four strikeouts and two walks. Carolina’s 14-hit evening featured a 3-for-4 day at the plate for Robert Beary with one run scored and one RBI. Scott Wingo went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI as well. Christian Walker, Adrian Morales and Evan Marzilli had two hits apiece also.
Ole Miss countered in game two of the series with a 10-2 victory behind a homer and four RBI from Alex Yarbrough. Ole Miss starting pitcher David Goforth worked six innings and allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and a walk.
In Sunday’s rubber game, Preston Overbey’s RBI sacrifice fly to center field scored Matt Tracy with the winning run as Ole Miss defeated South Carolina 7-6 in a back and forth affair.
The game saw both teams trade leads before Ole Miss won it in the ninth inning. After a leadoff walk by Matt Tracy, the Rebels put runners on the corners on a one-out single by Miles Hamblin. That set the stage for Overbey, who drove the first pitch he saw from Gamecock reliever Matt Price into center field for a game-winning sacrifice fly clinching the game for Ole Miss.
A HIT
South Carolina’s 13-0 victory over Brown featured a team-high 18 hits. The 18-hit total is third highest by the Gamecocks in a game in the Chad Holbrook era. South Carolina has reached double-digit hit totals in 10 of 16 games this year.
AT THE HIT & IN THE FIELD
South Carolina is batting .316 (170-for-538) as a team with a .406 on-base percentage and a .448 slugging mark. The team is fielding .981 with only 11 errors. The Gamecocks have eight errorless games this year.
MONTGOMERY GETS IT STARTED
Junior left-hander Jordan Montgomery is 3-0 on the year after a win vs. Brown in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday. Montgomery allowed no runs on four hits in 5.1 innings with no walks and eight strikeouts. Montgomery is 3-0 with a 1.99 ERA in 22.2 innings with a team-high 25 strikeouts to eight walks.
MOONEY LEADS IT OFF
Sophomore infielder Marcus Mooney was Carolina’s top hitter last week. Mooney hit .474 (9-for-19) vs. Stetson and Brown with a run scored and four RBI.
Mooney has raised his season batting average to .316 (18-for-57). He has a .418 on-base percentage. Nine of Mooney’s 10 RBI this year have come with two outs.
A BRIGHT SPOT
Junior outfielder Connor Bright went 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and a run scored in the 5-0 win over Furman. Bright leads the team with a .424 average (25-for-59) with 15 runs scored and 16 RBI. He has a team-high nine doubles as well as a team-best .478 on-base percentage. Bright hit safely in the first 13 games this year.
JACK OF ALL TRADES
Sophomore left-hander Jack Wynkoop is 4-0 on the year after earning a win vs. Brown on Saturday. Wynkoop pitched eight scoreless innings allowing just four hits and no walks with five strikeouts. His eight innings pitched tied a career-high he set as a freshman vs. Kentucky. Wynkoop has a 1.37 ERA in 26.1 innings with 24 strikeouts to three walks.
Wynkoop pitched 7.1 scoreless innings and struck out a career-high 10 batters in a 2-0 win over Eastern Kentucky on February 22. He allowed just three hits and one walk.
K-MART
Junior first baseman Kyle Martin is among the team’s leaders in hitting with a .368 average (21-for-57) on the year. Martin hit his third homer of the year in the 5-0 win over Furman. Martin has driven in 12 runs and scored 17as well. He went 2-for-4 in both the 9-6 and 10-2 wins vs. Clemson. Martin has seven multi-hit games.
SEDDON SEALS IT
Junior right-hander Joel Seddon worked a pair of perfect innings to record two saves last week. He worked a perfect ninth with two strikeouts in the 4-2 win over Stetson and a perfect ninth in the 1-0 win over Brown.
Seddon has not allowed a run or a hit in 9.2 innings and owns five saves in eight appearances. He has 13 strikeouts on the year.
GREINER SHINES
Junior catcher Grayson Greiner was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List for the top catcher in college baseball. Greiner hit .455 (5-for-11) in the Brown series with six runs scored and a RBI. With five hits and a walk, Greiner scored all six times he reached base in the Brown series.
Greiner is hitting .370 (20-for-54) with 19 runs scored and 19 RBI. His .611 slugging percentage is the best mark on the team.
Greiner won the Tom Price award as the MVP for South Carolina in the weekend series vs. Clemson. Greiner hit .400 (4-for-10) for the weekend with four runs scored. His grand slam homer helped lift South Carolina to a 9-6 win. He had a team-high four walks on the weekend as well.
DYNAMIC DC
Sophomore infielder DC Arendas had a career day in the doubleheader vs. Brown. He went 3-for-6 with a career-high five RBI in the 13-0 win and followed that up with a solo homer and two runs scored in the 8-0 win in the nightcap. Arendas is hitting .261 (12-for-46) with eight runs scored and 12 RBI.
CROWE MAKES AN IMPACT
Freshman right-hander Wil Crowe improved to 3-0 on the year with eight scoreless innings in the 1-0 victory on Sunday. Crowe limited Brown to just four hits and one walk while striking out nine batters. He has a 0.99 ERA in a team-high 27.1 innings with 21 strikeouts to only three walks, opponents are hitting just .176 against him..
Crowe was honored twice by the Southeastern Conference in the first two weeks of the regular season. On February 24, he earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors after working 6.1 scoreless innings in a 6-0 win over Eastern Kentucky with just four hits allowed and one walk to pick up his second win of the season.
The previous week, Crowe was SEC Pitcher of the Week. He had an impressive debut as he hurled 6.1 hitless innings in his first career start. Crowe walked just one and hit one batter while finishing with five strikeouts to earn his first career win in a Gamecock uniform. Bucknell had just one runner reach second base and none reach third base while Crowe was on the mound. Crowe retired 13 consecutive batters in a row before coming out of the game as he reached his pitch count total.
STARTERS
Three Gamecock players have started all 16 games this year, junior right fielder Connor Bright, junior first baseman Kyle Martin and junior center fielder Tanner English.
A LITTLE BIT OF ENGLISH
Junior outfielder Tanner English is hitting .308 (16-for-52) with eight runs scored and 13 RBI. He has recorded a team-high 10 RBI with two outs. English hit .333 (4-for-12) with four runs scored in the Stetson and Brown series.
He played well in the Clemson series as he went 2-for-3 with the game-winning double in Sunday’s 5-3 win against Clemson. English also had a solo homer in the Friday night 9-6 win over the Tigers.
MINCEY MAKES AN APPEARANCE
Junior right-hander Cody Mincey picked up a pair of wins in relief vs. Clemson. Mincey hurled 2.2 scoreless innings with just one hit allowed and four strikeouts in the 9-6 win on Friday. He had two scoreless innings with three strikeouts and two hits allowed in Sunday’s 5-3 win.
Mincey has not allowed a run in a team-high nine relief appearances with just four hits allowed. He has 18 strikeouts in 11 innings pitched.
IN A PINCH WITH BRISON
Senior Brison Celek came up with a big pinch-hit single in a 5-3 win vs. the Tigers. Celek is hitting .235 (8-for-34) in 12 games played with nine starts.
FRESHMEN MAKE A STATEMENT
Three freshman relievers all had a pair of scoreless relief appearances last week. Right-hander Matthew Vogel pitched three scoreless innings, left-hander John Parke pitched two scoreless innings, as did right-hander Taylor Widener. Also going 1.2 scoreless in the 13-0 win over Brown was freshman Reed Scott.
Several Gamecock position players earned their first career starts vs. Stetson and Brown. Freshman infielder Jordan Gore started at second in Sunday’s 1-0 win with freshman Weber Pike at the designated hitter spot. Freshman catcher Logan Koch started the 4-2 win over Stetson on Wednesday.
HOME SWEET HOME
South Carolina has two sellouts this year and 32 in school history at Carolina Stadium. South Carolina has totaled 102,567 in attendance in the first 14 home games for an average of 7,326 per contest.
South Carolina is 169-32 in all-time games at Carolina Stadium, a winning percentage of .841. That is the best winning percentage of all 14 SEC schools since opening the facility.
