April 28, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina went 4-1 last week with a pair of midweek wins vs. Davidson and USC Upstate as well as two victories in a weekend series vs. Alabama. The Gamecocks are now 34-11 and 12-9 in the SEC. Carolina sits at second place in the SEC Eastern Division and in fifth place overall with three conference weekends left to play.

Record: 34-11
SEC: 12-9
Home: 27-5
Neutral: 1-0
Away: 6-6

Last Week: 4-1
4/22/14 – Davidson (W, 8-0)
4/23/14 – USC Upstate (W, 6-1)
4/25/14 – Alabama (W, 9-3)
4/26/14 – Alabama (L, 2-1)
4/27/14 – Alabama (W, 9-3)

NOTES:
The Gamecocks hit .323 (32-for-99) in the Alabama series, the best average by the Gamecocks in SEC play this year. Sunday’s 17-hit outing vs. the Crimson Tide was the highest total of hits in a SEC game this year and the second-highest total by the Gamecocks all season, just one short of the season-high 18 set vs. Brown on Mar. 8, 2014.

Junior catcher Grayson Greiner hit .500 (6-for-12) for the second straight weekend. Greiner doubled, homered, scored three runs and added three RBI vs. the Crimson Tide. He is hitting .333 (51-for-153) with 29 runs scored and a team-high 42 RBI. Greiner ranks third in the SEC in RBI. Greiner homered in Friday’s 9-3 win, his fifth homer of the year tying him with Max Schrock for the team lead. Greiner’s .333 average (27-for-81) in SEC play is the best on the team as well. He owns a .399 on-base percentage for the year and a .490 slugging mark.

Junior left-hander Jordan Montgomery improved to 6-3 with a win in the 9-3 victory vs. Alabama on Friday. Montgomery allowed just two runs on eight hits in 6.1 innings with two walks and eight strikeouts. He owns a 3.55 ERA in 66.0 innings with 67 strikeouts to 23 walks. Montgomery ranks fifth in the SEC with 67 strikeouts.

Junior outfielder Tanner English hit .500 (5-for-10) in the Alabama series as well with two runs scored and two RBI. English is hitting .296 (45-for-152) for the year with a team-high 12 stolen bases. English’s .329 average in SEC games (24-for-73) is second-best on the team as well. He went 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI in the Friday 9-3 win vs. the Crimson Tide.

Junior right-hander Joel Seddon tallied two saves in both wins vs. Alabama. He is 2-1 with a 0.58 ERA this year as well as 12 saves for the season. His 12 saves lead the SEC. He has struck out 39 batters in 31.0 innings and allowed just three runs, two earned, on 13 hits. Opponents are batting just .126 against him. Seven of Seddon’s 12 saves have come in SEC play. He is 12-for-13 in save opportunities this year. He worked 2.1 scoreless with just one hit allowed, an infield single in the rubber game of the series as well with three strikeouts. With 12 saves, Seddon is tied for eighth on the USC single-season list for saves in a year with Brian Beatson, who tallied 12 in both 1988 and 1990.

Sophomore infielder DC Arendas hit .444 (4-for-9) in the Alabama series with a team-best five runs scored as well as a pair of RBI. He was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI in the 9-3 win on Sunday and scored two runs and drove in another in the 9-3 win on Friday. Arendas is hitting .267 (35-for-131) with a .368 on-base percentage. He is one of four players tied with the team lead for walks with 19 on the year.

Junior right-hander Cody Mincey worked 1.2 scoreless innings of relief to pick up the win in Sunday’s 9-3 win. He is now 4-0 on the year with a 0.67 ERA in 27.0 innings with 37 strikeouts. Opponents are .174 against Mincey.

Freshman outfielder Gene Cone had two of the biggest hits in the weekend series. Cone reached base in all four plate appearances in Friday’s 9-3 win with three walks and a key three-run triple. He followed that up with two-out two-run single that would give the Gamecocks a lead they would not relinquish in Sunday’s 9-3 win. Cone had a team-high five RBI and two runs scored vs. the Crimson Tide.

Sophomore left-hander Jack Wynkoop put together a quality start despite Saturday’s 2-1 loss. He allowed two runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings with no walks and four strikeouts. Wynkoop is 5-3 with a 2.14 ERA in a team-high 67.1 innings. He has 49 strikeouts to eight walks.

Sophomore infielder Marcus Mooney was effective in Sunday’s 9-3 win going 3-for-6 with a run scored and a RBI. Mooney is hitting .291 (44-for-151) with eight doubles and 18 RBI to go along with 20 runs scored.

Junior first baseman Kyle Martin tied a season-high with a pair of four-hit games this week. Martin had four hits in the 6-1 win over USC Upstate and went 4-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI in Sunday’s 9-3 win over Alabama. Martin leads the Gamecocks with a .350 average (62-for-177) with 31 runs scored, eight doubles, four homers and 25 RBI. Martin averages 1.38 hits per game, third-best in the SEC. He is ninth in the SEC overall in batting average. He owns a .404 on-base percentage and a .463 slugging percentage. Martin is hitting .318 (28-for-88) in league games.

Freshman infielder Jordan Gore tallied his first career multi-RBI game going 3-for-4 with a RBI and a sacrifice in the 9-3 win on Sunday vs. Alabama.

Freshman Taylor Widener started all three games at designated hitter in the Alabama series and had a relief appearance on the mound. Widener pitched 2.2 scoreless innings on Saturday and went 3-for-11 (.273) in the series with a pair of runs scored.

South Carolina is hitting .286 (441-for-1542) for the year with a .359 on-base percentage and a .383 slugging percentage. The Gamecocks rank fourth in the league in hitting. The Gamecocks own a SEC-best 2.05 ERA in 409.0 innings, opponents batting .220 against the Gamecocks. South Carolina is fielding .975 as a team with 43 errors.

South Carolina is now 32-6 (.842) for the season when allowing five runs or less in a contest as well as 17-1 (.944) when scoring six runs or more. The Gamecocks are 29-4 (.879) when out-hitting the opponent. South Carolina is 7-4 one-run games and 15-9 in games decided by three runs or less.

NEXT WEEK
5/2 – at Georgia – 7 p.m.
5/3 – at Georgia – 1 p.m. (CSS)
5/4 – at Georgia – 1 p.m.