May 12, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina went 4-0 last week with non-conference win vs. Wofford and a weekend sweep of Missouri. The Gamecocks are now 39-13 and 16-11 in the SEC with four games left in the regular season. South Carolina is tied for second in the SEC East and tied for third overall with three league games remaining. South Carolina’s final weekend series is at Vanderbilt, who is also tied for second in the East with the Gamecocks. South Carolina has finished .500 or better in the SEC in 17 consecutive seasons in league games.

Record: 39-13
SEC: 16-11
Home: 31-5
Neutral: 1-0
Away: 7-8

Last Week: 4-0
5/7 – Wofford – W, 15-1
5/9 – Missouri – W, 8-2
5/10 – Missouri – W, 3-1
5/11 – Missouri – W, 2-1

NOTES:
Sophomore infielder Max Schrock returned to the lineup on Wednesday and immediately helped out going 2-for-5 with two RBI in the 15-1 win over Wofford. He added three hits and a RBI in the 8-2 win over Missouri, tallied a RBI in the 3-1 win vs. the Tigers and scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning in the 2-1 series finale after leading off with a triple. Schrock owns a .269 average (28-for-104) in 29 games with a .462 slugging percentage.

Junior left-hander Jordan Montgomery was in command on Friday night to earn his seventh win of the season. Montgomery allowed just two runs on five hits in 8.1 innings with eight strikeouts and a walk. Montgomery is 7-4 with a 3.21 ERA in 81.1 innings. He has struck out a team-high 77 batters and opponents are batting .237 against him. Montgomery ranks sixth in the SEC in strikeouts.

Junior infielder Joey Pankake and sophomore infielder DC Arendas were the top hitters for the Gamecocks in the Missouri series. Pankake went 6-for-12 and Arendas 5-for-10 as both hit .500 for the series. Arendas tied his season-high with three hits in Saturday’s 3-1 victory. Pankake had two hits in Sunday’s 2-1 win including a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth. Pankake is now batting .306 (56-for-183) for the year with a team-high 45 runs scored and a .393 on-base percentage with 23 walks to 17 strikeouts. Arendas has climbed to .292 (42-for-144) with a .393 on-base percentages as well.

Sophomore left-hander Jack Wynkoop allowed one run on five hits in 5.2 innings with a walk and two strikeouts to pick up a win in the 3-1 victory vs. Missouri. Wynkoop is 7-3 with a 2.16 ERA in 79.0 innings. He has 54 strikeouts to 10 walks. His ERA ranks 10th in the SEC.

Junior catcher Grayson Greiner continues to lead the Gamecocks in hitting with a .347 average (61-for-176) with 36 runs scored, a team-high 11 doubles and eight homers as well as 48 RBI, third highest in the SEC. His .347 average is fifth-best in the SEC. He also has a team-best .417 on-base percentage and a .545 slugging mark. Greiner owns an identical .347 average (35-for-101) in league games with four homers and 23 RBI vs. SEC teams. Greiner is also riding a 10-game hitting streak.

Junior right-hander Joel Seddon pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 14th save of the year in South Carolina’s 3-1 victory. Seddon leads the league with 14 saves with nine of the 14 vs. SEC opponents. He is 2-1 with a 0.54 ERA. He has limited opponents to just three runs, two earned, on 15 hits in 33.1 innings with 41 strikeouts to seven walks. Opponents are batting .134 against him. He is 14-for-15 in save opportunities. Seddon sits alone at seventh place on the USC Single-Season Top 10 save list.

Junior outfielder Patrick Harrington has a hit in five of the last six games. Harrington tallied a RBI single in the 2-1 win on Sunday and went 2-for-3 with a run scored in the 3-1 win the day before. Harrington set a career-high in the 15-1 win vs. Wofford with three RBI as well.

Junior right-hander Cody Mincey had a pair of scoreless appearances vs. the Tigers. Mincey went 1.2 scoreless in Saturday’s win and followed that up with two scoreless innings to pick up the victory in Sunday’s 2-1 win. Mincey is 5-0 on the year with a 0.54 ERA. He leads the Gamecocks with 26 appearances. Mincey has 43 strikeouts in 33.1 innings. He is tied for fourth in the SEC in appearances.

Freshman outfielder Gene Cone had a bases-clearing double in Friday night’s 8-2 win over Missouri. Cone has 17 RBI in 20 starts and a .333 on-base percentage.

Despite a no-decision, freshman right-hander Wil Crowe provided a quality start in Sunday’s 2-1 win. Crowe allowed just one run on four hits in seven innings with a walk and four strikeouts. He is 6-3 with a 2.97 ERA in 75.2 innings, opponents batting .245 against him.

Freshman right-hander Taylor Widener struck out two batters in 0.2 innings of relief in the 3-1 win over Missouri and had a pair of strikeouts in an inning of relief in the 15-1 win over Wofford. Widener is 3-0 with a 0.87 ERA in 18 appearances. He has 31 strikeouts in 31 innings, opponents batting .150 against him.

South Carolina’s bullpen is 18-1 with a 1.03 ERA in 193.0 innings pitched this year. The bullpen has 199 strikeouts to 62 walks, opponents batting .183 against the relievers. The relief staff has limited opponents to 27 runs, 22 earned, on 124 hits.

The Gamecocks 28-1 when leading entering the seventh inning as well as 32-1 when leading entering the ninth inning. The Gamecocks are 34-4 when outhitting the opponent as well. South Carolina is 8-4 in one-run games and 37-8 when allowing five runs or less. The Gamecocks are 19-1 when scoring six runs or more as well. South Carolina is 18-11 in games decided by three runs or less. The Gamecocks have allowed three runs or less in 38 of 52 games this year with a 35-3 record in those contests.

South Carolina is hitting .283 (500-for-1767) as a team with a .360 on-base percentage and a .380 slugging percentage. The .283 averages is fourth-best in the league The Gamecocks own a SEC-best 2.03 ERA in 470.0 innings with 402 strikeouts to 134 walks, opponents batting .219 against the squad. South Carolina is fielding .976 on the year, second-best in the SEC. South Carolina also owns a 2.56 ERA in SEC games, best in the league as well.

NEXT WEEK
5/13 – The Citadel – 7 p.m.
5/15 – at Vanderbilt – 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
5/16 – at Vanderbilt – 7:30 p.m.
5/17 – at Vanderbilt – 3 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
All times are eastern