Baseball Hosts Davidson On Tuesday

April 21, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (30-10) begins a five-game homestand on Tuesday hosting Davidson (23-10) at Carolina Stadium. First pitch is 7 p.m. with the game televised on FOX Sports South and can be heard on the Gamecock IMG network including flagship station, 107.5 FM, “The Game.”

South Carolina is ranked No. 8 by the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll and the NCBWA, No. 10 by Perfect Game, No. 11 by Baseball America and No. 19 by Collegiate Baseball.

LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: Gamecock IMG Radio Network; Flagship 107.5 FM The Game. Derek Scott and Tommy Moody call the action.

Television: FOX Sports South will televise the game. Andy Demetra and Trey Dyson will call the action.

Internet: Additional coverage on Twitter @GamecockBasebll and Facebook/Gamecocksonline

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Live Stats

PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Tuesday
South Carolina – Reed Scott (Fr. RHP) 1-0, 1.17 ERA, 23.0 IP, 5 BB, 17 SO
Davidson – Nick Neitzel (Jr. RHP) 6-0, 2.58 ERA, 45.1 IP, 17 BB, 41 SO

UP NEXT
The homestand continues on Wednesday with the Gamecocks hosting USC Upstate. That contest will also be televised on FOX Sports South. The homestand concludes with a three-game series vs. Alabama. The Crimson Tide will enter the weekend tied for first in the league with a 12-6 SEC record and ranked as high as eighth in the nation by Baseball America, Perfect Game and Collegiate Baseball. The Saturday and Sunday games vs. Alabama will be televised on ESPN.

THE DAVIDSON SERIES
South Carolina leads the all-time series history vs. Davidson 45-21-1. The Widlcats enter Tuesday in first place in the Southern Conference with 13-3 mark in conference games. Head coach Dick Cooke is in his 24th year as head coach of the Wildcats. In addition, he has served several stints with USA Baseball including as an auxiliary coach for the U.S. Olympic Team that won a gold medal alongside former Gamecock head coach Ray Tanner. Cooke was also Tanner’s pitching coach on the 2003 U.S. Collegiate National Team that won a silver medal at the Pan American games. Davidson last defeated the Gamecocks 4-3 on April 22, 1975 in Columbia.

A LOOK BACK
South Carolina won two of three games at Auburn last week. Carolina sits at second place in the SEC Eastern Division and in a tie for fourth place overall with four conference weekends left to play.

SOME SUPERLATIVES
South Carolina won a pair of one-run contests at Auburn to claim a 14th consecutive series vs. the Tigers, a stretch that began in 1998. South Carolina is 7-3 in one-run games this year as well as 15-8 in games decided by three runs or less. The Gamecocks are 28-5 on the year when allowing five runs or less in a game and 13-1 on the year when scoring six runs or more. South Carolina is 21-1 when leading after the sixth inning and 9-9 when trailing or tied including six victories when trailing or tied entering the ninth inning.

GREINER SHINES
Junior catcher Grayson Greiner was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List for the top catcher in college baseball and is on USA Baseball’s Midseason Watch List for the Golden Spikes Award.

Greiner hit .500 (6-for-12) for the Auburn series with three hits in Saturday’s 3-2 win as well as three hits in the 4-3 victory in the series finale. Greiner drove in a pair of runs in the 4-3 contest. He is hitting .326 (44-for-135) with seven doubles, four homers and a team-high 36 RBI. He is tied for third in the SEC in runs batted in. Greiner owns a team-best .467 slugging percentage.

Greiner was named SEC Player of the Week on March 31 after his play in the Tennessee series. Greiner hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning to lift South Carolina to a 9-6 win over Tennessee on Saturday. His play along with Jordan Gore’s walk-off homer was No. 1 on ESPN’s SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays of the Day.

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.

SEDDON SEALS IT
Junior right-hander Joel Seddon picked up a win and a save in the Auburn series. Seddon pitched a perfect ninth inning to claim his 10th save in the 3-2 win vs. the Tigers. He followed that up with 2.1 scoreless innings in the 4-3 rubber game to earn a victory. Seddon’s 10-save total leads the SEC. Seddon has won two games and is 10-for-11 in save opportunities this year. He sports a 0.33 ERA with just two runs, one earned, allowed on 10 hits and seven walks in 27.1 innings of relief. He has struck out 34 batters and opponents are hitting a miniscule .112 against him in 17 relief appearances.

K-MART
Junior first baseman Kyle Martin leads the Gamecocks at the plate with a .340 batting average (53-for-156) tied with junior outfielder Connor Bright. That is tied for 14th best in the SEC. Martin is on a nine-game hitting streak after going 4-for-12 in the Auburn series including a pair of hits in the 4-3 win in series finale on Sunday. Martin has a team-high 17 multi-hit games. Martin’s .320 average (24-for-75) in SEC games leads the team as well.

JACK OF ALL TRADES
Despite a no-decision, sophomore left-hander Jack Wynkoop was effective in the 3-2 win at Auburn. He worked seven-plus innings and allowed two runs, both unearned, on eight hits with no walks. Wynkoop is 5-2 for the season with a 2.07 ERA. His ERA ranks 10th best in the SEC. He has pitched a team-high 61.0 innings and has 45 strikeouts to just eight walks. Wynkoop picked of a his team-best fifth runner of the season as well on Saturday.

CLUTCH CONE
Freshman outfielder Gene Cone came through for the Gamecocks in both victories at Auburn. He belted a career-high three hits including a game-tying RBI double in the top of the ninth inning to help South Carolina rally for a 3-2 win at Auburn on Saturday. He then followed that up on Sunday going 1-for-3 with game-winning RBI sacrifice fly in the eighth inning of South Carolina’s 4-3 win at Auburn.

MONTGOMERY GETS IT STARTED
Junior left-hander Jordan Montgomery hurled his first complete game of the year in a 4-2 loss at Auburn. Despite the loss, Montgomery gave a great effort as he limited the Tigers to just four hits with all four runs coming in the first inning. Montgomery is 5-3 with a 3.62 ERA. He has 59 strikeouts in 59.2 innings to lead the team. Opponents are hitting .235 against him. His 59 strikeouts ranks fifth highest in the SEC.

DC DELIVERS
Sophomore infielder DC Arendas went 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored in the 4-3 win at Auburn and hit .333 (4-for-12) in the series. In the 10-8 loss at The Citadel, Arendas reached base all five times at the plate with a homer, three walks and a hit by pitch. Arendas is hitting .254 (29-for-114) with a .356 on-base percentage and 16 walks, tied for second-highest on the team.

MINCEY WITH AN APPEARANCE
Junior right-hander Cody Mincey had a pair of scoreless outings out of the pen in the 3-2 and 4-3 wins at Auburn. Mincey is 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA in a team-high 21 relief appearances. He has 35 strikeouts in 24 innings with opponents hitting .173 against him. He is tied for second overall in the SEC in appearances.

A JOLT FROM JORDAN
Freshman infielder Jordan Gore came up with his second game-winning hit of his career with a RBI single in the ninth inning of South Carolina’s 3-2 win over Auburn. Gore also had a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 14th in a 3-2 win over Tennessee.

CROWE MAKES A STATEMENT
Freshman right-hander Wil Crowe was effective in a no-decision in Sunday’s 4-3 win at Auburn. He allowed three runs on six hits in 5.2 innings with two walks and six strikeouts. Crowe is 6-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 60.2 innings pitched. He is one of eight pitchers in the SEC to have won six games or more.

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 first 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.

AT THE PLATE, ON THE MOUND AND IN THE FIELD
South Carolina is hitting .282 (388-for-1374) for the year with a .355 on-base percentage and a .384 slugging percentage. The Gamecocks own a league-best 2.10 ERA in 364.0 innings, opponents batting .219 against the Gamecocks. South Carolina is fielding .974 as a team with 39 errors.

CARDIAC GAMECOCKS
The Gamecocks have won six games this season when trailing entering the seventh inning including four wins when trailing entering the ninth inning.

South Carolina is outscoring opponents 72-18 from the seventh inning through extra innings on the year. From the sixth inning to the end, South Carolina is also outscoring opponents 106-30.

NINTH INNING RALLY
South Carolina rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the top of the ninth with four runs in a 5-3 win at Clemson on March 2, 2014. Four consecutive two-out hits in the top of the ninth inning led to four runs. Trailing 3-1 entering the top of the ninth inning, the Gamecocks got things started with a base hit up the middle of the bat of Kyle Martin. With two outs and Martin still on first base, Grayson Greiner kept the inning alive with a single up the middle as well. Pinch hitter Brison Celek fought to a 2-2 count against Clemson reliever Clate Schmidt before knocking a base hit into left field to load the bases. That set the stage for sophomore shortstop Marcus Mooney, who jumped on the first pitch from Schmidt for a single into center field. Martin scored as did Greiner to tie the game. It was a tight play at the plate as center fielder Tyler Slaton’s throw made it to home plate, but Clemson catcher Chris Okey was unable to hold on to the ball on a tag attempt as Greiner was sliding in for the tying run. With runners on second and third, Tanner English fought off a pair of two strike pitches and then belted a double to left field scoring both runners and giving the Gamecocks a two-run lead. Junior right-hander Cody Mincey retired all three Tiger batters he faced in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure the Carolina victory.

On March 15, 2014, the Gamecocks rallied from three runs down with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat Ole Miss 5-4 in 10 innings. A two-out RBI single by Connor Bright and a two-run homer by pinch hitter Max Schrock tied it in the ninth with pinch hitter Brison Celek winning it for the Gamecocks in the 10th frame with a RBI single.

On March 29, 2014, Grayson Greiner’s walk-off grand slam capped a six-run bottom of the ninth inning as South Carolina rallied from three runs down with two outs and no runners on base to defeat Tennessee 9-6 for a second consecutive walk-off win on the afternoon. Trailing 6-3 and down to its final at-bat the Gamecocks made their final rally push as pinch hitter Brison Celek kept the inning alive with a base hit to center field. The rally then continued with Max Schrock as the sophomore drove a 1-1 pitch to right field from reliever Josh Peterson just fair of the foul pole in right field for a home run cutting the deficit to one run. After the Volunteers made a change to left-hander Drake Owenby, the Gamecocks stayed alive as a fly ball off the bat of Joey Pankake was mishandled by right fielder Scott Price putting the tying run on second base. Kyle Martin drew a walk and Connor Bright was hit on a 2-2 pitch from Owenby to load the bases and set the stage for Greiner. Tennessee would make one more change as right-hander Peter Lenstrom entered from the bullpen. On a 1-0 pitch, Greiner belted the game-winning homer to left field setting off a frenzy in Carolina Stadium. It was Greiner’s fourth home run of the season.

On April 19, 2014, down a run entering the ninth inning, South Carolina stormed back with a pair of runs on RBI hits from freshmen Gene Cone and Jordan Gore to defeat Auburn 3-2 in game two of a doubleheader at Plainsman Park. The Gamecocks escaped a jam in the bottom of the eighth to set up the ninth inning heroics. With the bases loaded and no outs, right-hander Cody Mincey fought back from a 3-0 count against Ryan Tella to strike him out for the first out of the inning. A strikeout of Dan Glevenyak followed and Mincey ended the threat with pinch hitter Daniel Robert lining out to Gore at second base. With momentum, the Gamecocks battled as the ninth inning opened with a leadoff single by Grayson Greiner and a one-out walk to Elliot Caldwell. After pinch-runner Patrick Harrington replaced Greiner, the Gamecocks tied the game at 2-2 on a RBI double to right field off the bat of Cone. Auburn intentionally walked Tanner English that set the stage for Gore who lined a RBI single into left field to give the Gamecocks a one-run lead. Junior right-hander Joel Seddon came in and pitched a perfect ninth to seal the Gamecock victory.

PANKAKE RISES
Junior infielder Joey Pankake is hitting .302 (42-for-139) with a team-high 35 runs scored. Pankake’s on-base percentage is .387 with a .417 slugging mark. He is tied for fourth in the SEC in runs scored.

Pankake’s .306 average (22-for-72) in SEC games is second best on the team. He has 11 of his 20 RBI this year in SEC games.

CROWE MAKES AN IMPACT
Freshman right-hander Wil Crowe worked 7.1 innings in Sunday’s 6-5 loss and allowed five runs, two earned, on 10 hits with a walk and four strikeouts. He is 6-2 on the year with a 2.13 ERA in a team-high 55.0 innings pitched.

A BRIGHT SPOT
Junior outfielder Connor Bright is tied for South Carolina’s best average hitting at a .340 clip (48-for-141) with 10 doubles, 23 RBI and 25 runs scored. Bright has a .381 on-base percentage and a .411 slugging percentage. He owns 14 multi-hit games.

GREAT SCOTT
Freshman right-hander Reed Scott has been effective in a middle relief role for the Gamecocks. Scott pitched six scoreless innings of relief to earn his first career win in a Gamecock uniform and kept the Gamecocks alive in a 9-6 come-from-behind victory vs. Tennessee.

Scott is 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA on the year. He has allowed just three runs on 14 hits in 23.0 innings, opponents hitting .182 against him.

MOONEY IN THE MIDDLE
Sophomore shortstop Marcus Mooney is on a six-game hitting streak and is up to a .290 average (38-for-131) at the plate. He has scored 16 runs and driven in 15 runs as well. Mooney has seven doubles, tied for third highest on the team. Mooney has 11 of his 15 RBI with two outs this year.

A LITTLE BIT OF ENGLISH
Junior outfielder Tanner English went 2-for-3 with a stolen base in the 4-2 loss at Auburn. English is batting .287 (39-for-136) with 17 runs scored and 19 RBI. English’s nine stolen bases lead the team.

VINNY
Junior left-hander Vince Fiori pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in Sunday’s 6-5 loss vs. Florida. He allowed just one hit in 1.2 innings with a strikeout. Fiori has a 0.00 ERA in 16.0 innings pitched with 15 strikeouts to six walks. Opponents own a .186 average against him.

WIDENER SHOWS VERSATILITY
Freshman right-hander Taylor Widener improved to 2-0 with a win vs. Furman. Widener pitched 4.2 scoreless innings with a season-high four strikeouts. In addition, Widener was the starting designated hitter on Sunday vs. Florida and had a RBI single and scored a run in the 6-5 loss. Widener has a 1.17 ERA in 23.0 innings with 21 strikeouts and opponents hitting .181 against him.

STARTERS
Two Gamecock players have started all 40 games this year, junior first baseman Kyle Martin and junior center fielder Tanner English.