March 9, 2015
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (12-3) begins a two-game series on Tuesday hosting Penn State (1-8) at Carolina Stadium. Both Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s games are set for 7 p.m. This is South Carolina’s first meeting vs. the Nittany Lions on the baseball diamond since 1912.
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: Tuesday: Gamecock Radio Network affiliates/Flagship WNKT FM 107.5 “The Game” in Columbia. Wednesday: WISW AM 1320 “The Fan” in Columbia. (Andy Demetra, Tommy Moody and Brock Bowling)
Broadcast: SEC Network + (Derek Scott & Trey Dyson). Check cable or satellite provider for streaming availability.
Internet: Live Gametracker stats at GamecocksOnline.com. Additional coverage on Twitter @GamecockBasebll
SEC NETWORK+
The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+. The game will be available through participating TV providers only through WatchESPN. For more information on SEC Network+, please click HERE
South Carolina vs. Penn State
Carolina Stadium
Tuesday March 10 (7 p.m.); Wednesday March 11 (7 p.m.)
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Live Stats
PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Tuesday
South Carolina – Josh Reagan (So. LHP) 0-1, 4.26 ERA, 12.2 IP, 1 BB, 6 SO
Penn State Geoff Boylston (Sr. LHP) 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.1 IP, 1 BB 0 SO
SERIES HISTORY
Tied 1-1. Last meeting 1912.
DID YOU KNOW??
Alex Destino played on USA Baseball’s 2013 18U National Team that won a gold medal at the IBAF U18 World Cup. His head coach on that team is current Penn State head coach Rob Cooper.
PARKING SHUTTLE
For the 2015 baseball season, the baseball shuttle is expanding and will be operational at the Capital City Baseball Stadium and in Lot D of the Colonial Life Area parking lot. We strongly recommend that fans use the baseball shuttle from Capital City to Carolina Baseball Stadium over the CLA shuttle for the convenience, spacious parking (800 spaces) and less congestion than at the arena. Please remember that at the arena shuttle, parking will be limited to 50 to 100 spaces because of the student demand for parking in this area. There is a high student demand Monday through Thursday that lasts until 7 p.m. because of classes. For GPS purposes, the address for Capital City Stadium is 300 Assembly St., Columbia, SC 29201.
RANKINGS
South Carolina is ranked in every publication. The Gamecocks are No. 7 by Baseball America, D1Baseball and Perfect Game, No. 8 in the USA TODAY coaches poll and No. 10 by Collegiate Baseball.
TO ARMS
South Carolina did not allow an earned run the entire weekend vs. Miami (Ohio) with a pair of shutouts, 2-0, 7-0 and a 5-3 victory on Sunday with the RedHawks scoring all three runs unearned. The Gamecock pitching staff allowed just 11 hits in 27.0 innings pitched with seven walks to 25 strikeouts. Miami hit just .124 for the weekend.
CLOSING IN ON 100
South Carolina head coach Chad Holbrook is one win shy of 100 career wins with a 99-41 (.707) career record in his third season at the helm of the Gamecock program.
JACK OF ALL TRADES
Junior left-hander Jack Wynkoop won his third straight game with eight scoreless innings of work allowing three hits and one walk while striking out five batters in a 7-0 victory over Miami. Wynkoop tied his career longest stint at eight innings, the fourth time he has reached that mark in his career and the second time this season. Wynkoop is 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA on the year with 23 strikeouts to five walks in 27.0 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting .196 against him. Wynkoop’s 27.0 innings is tied for second-highest among SEC pitchers.
Wynkoop earned the Tom Price Award as Gamecock MVP of the Clemson series. Wynkoop worked six-plus innings and allowed just one run in the 4-1 victory vs. the Tigers.
Wynkoop is in the weekend rotation for a third straight year. He has made 31 starts in his career, that is second-highest among all returning SEC pitchers.
GORE IN A GROOVE
Sophomore infielder Jordan Gore was South Carolina’s top hitter in the Miami series batting .444 (4-for-9) with a pair of runs scored. Gore has a five-game hitting streak, in which he has hit .385 (5-for-13). Gore is among the team’s leading hitters with a .313 average (15-for-48) on the year with seven runs scored and 10 RBI.
CONE LEADS IT OFF
Sophomore outfielder Gene Cone had hit safely in the first 11 games this year before his streak was snapped on Wednesday vs. High Point. Cone has reached base safely in all 15 games this year. He is hitting .340 (17-for-50) with 15 runs scored with 11 walks to nine strikeouts and a .484 on-base percentage. Cone’s 15 runs scored are tied for seventh-highest in the SEC.
IN THE CROWE’S NEST
Sophomore right-hander Wil Crowe hurled seven scoreless innings with just five hits allowed, three walks and eight strikeouts in the 2-0 victory over Miami on Friday night to earn the win. Crowe is 2-1 with a 3.47 ERA with 31 strikeouts to just seven walks in 23.1 innings of work. Crowe’s 31 strikeouts are third-best in the SEC.
Crowe won game one of the doubleheader vs. College of Charleston as he shut down the Cougars going 6.1 innings and allowing just one run on four hits with three walks and a career-high 10 strikeouts. Crowe’s 10 strikeouts tied for the most by a SEC pitcher over the weekend. Crowe bested his previous career mark of nine that he set twice, the last time vs. Vanderbilt on May 17, 2014.
Crowe is among the top sophomores in the country. Crowe earned Freshman All-America honors last year as he went 8-3 with a 2.75 ERA in 15 starts with 59 strikeouts to 19 walks in 91.2 innings pitched. Opponents hit just .228 against him. He did not allow a stolen base either.
Crowe is one of 50 players in the nation to be named to USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List.
KEY HITS FROM KOCH
Sophomore catcher Logan Koch hit a game-winning two-run homer in Friday’s 2-0 win over Miami and followed that up with a two-run single with the bases loaded in Saturday’s 7-0 win. Koch hit .375 (3-for-8) in the Miami series and raised his batting average to .212 for the year in the three wins.
A CLOSER LOOK AT WIDENER
Sophomore right-hander Taylor Widener picked up a pair of saves in the Miami series and retired all four batters he faced over the weekend. Widener got one out in the 2-0 win on Friday and pitched a perfect inning of relief in Saturday’s 5-3 win. Widener is 5-for-5 in save opportunities this year. He has a 1.17 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 7.2 innings. Opponents are hitting .080 against him. Widener’s five saves is tied for second-most in the SEC.
VINNY
Junior left-hander Vince Fiori allowed just one run, unearned, on one hit in 3.1 innings of relief to earn a win in Sunday’s 5-3 victory. Fiori struck out four and walked just one. He also had 1.2 perfect innings in Friday’s 2-0 win. Fiori leads the Gamecocks with eight relief appearances and is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA. He has 12 strikeouts in 13.0 innings with opponents hitting .103 against him. Fiori is tied for fifth in the SEC in appearances for the year.
K-MART
Senior first baseman Kyle Martin hit .400 (6-for-15) in the five victories last week. Martin drove in eight runs in those victories and tied a career-high with four RBI including a two-run homer in the 11-3 win over High Point. For the season, Martin is batting .340 (17-for-50) with two homers, two doubles, 12 runs scored and 15 RBI. Martin’s 15 RBI ties him for eighth-highest in the SEC.
SCHMIDT CONTRIBUTES
Freshman right-hander Clarke Schmidt made his first career start in Sunday’s 5-3 win over Miami. Schmidt allowed just two runs, both unearned, on two hits in 4.2 innings with two walks and a career-high four strikeouts. Schmidt did not allow a hit until two outs into the fifth inning. Schmidt is 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA on the year. He has 14 strikeouts to only two walks in 15.1 innings.
Schmidt has a pair of wins in relief. Schmidt worked 4.2 scoreless innings with just three hits allowed, no walks and four strikeouts in the 5-2 win over Furman. He followed that up with 2.1 innings of work in a 6-4 win over Northeastern allowing one run on five hits with no walks and three strikeouts.
MAX IT OUT
Junior infielder Max Schrock drove in six runs in the five wins this past week including his first homer of the year, a two-run shot in the 11-3 win over High Point. Schrock owns a .385 on-base percentage with a team-high 16 walks to only two strikeouts. Schrock’s 16 walks are tied for the league lead in the SEC.
DYNAMIC DESTINO
Freshman Alex Destino hit a grand slam in Tuesday’s 10-4 win over Charleston Southern and followed that up with a 3-for-5 day at the plate with two RBI in the 11-5 victory over High Point. Destino is batting .327 (16-for-49) with three homers and 13 RBI on the year. His .531 slugging percentage leads the team.
CALDWELL A HIT
Senior outfielder Elliott Caldwell continues to lead the Gamecocks in hitting with a .357 average (15-for-42) with eight runs scored and seven RBI. He owns a .471 on-base percentage.
START THEM UP
Gene Cone and Max Schrock have started all 15 games this year for the Gamecocks with all of Cone’s 15 starts in center field.
A BRIGHT SPOT
Senior outfielder Connor Bright hit his first career grand slam and the second grand slam of the season for the Gamecocks in the 7-0 win over Miami on Saturday afternoon. Bright is tied for the team-lead in homers with three and has driven in 12 runs as well. He also has nine runs scored. Bright tied a career-high with three runs scored in Saturday’s 7-0 win.
DC DELIVERS
Junior infielder DC Arendas reached base in all four plate appearances vs. Charleston Southern with three walks and a hit by pitch. He followed that up going 2-for-2 with two runs in the win over High Point. Arendas is hitting .273 with a .543 on-base percentage.
MOONEY IN THE MIDDLE
Junior infielder Marcus Mooney jumpstarted a six-run seventh inning in the 10-4 win over Charleston Southern and went 2-for-3 with two runs and a RBI in the 11-3 victory over High Point. Mooney is batting .267 for the season.
PRESTON WITH PRECISION
Junior right-hander Preston Johnson retired all 11 batters he faced for 3.2 perfect innings with five strikeouts and earned his first career win in his first career appearance in the 11-3 victory over High Point.
PARKE PROVIDES RELIEF
Sophomore left-hander John Parke earned his first career win with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief in the 10-4 win over Charleston Southern. Parker has six strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched with a 0.00 ERA in five relief appearances.
GREAT SCOTT
Sophomore right-hander Reed Scott allowed just one run, unearned, on three hits in 2.1 innings with two walks and two strikeouts in the 10-4 win over Charleston Southern. Scott has a 3.12 ERA in five relief appearances.
ON THE MOUND
South Carolina pitchers own a team ERA of 2.35 with 46 runs allowed, 35 earned, on 114 hits with 129 strikeouts to 44 walks in 134.0 innings. The Gamecocks have allowed opponents to hit just .228 on the year. The Gamecocks’ ERA ranks sixth-best in the league.
AT THE PLATE & ON THE FIELD
South Carolina is batting .268 (125-for-467) as a team with 88 runs scored and a .374 on-base percentage. The Gamecocks are fielding .968 as well.
SUPERLATIVES
South Carolina is 12-0 on the year when allowing five runs or less. South Carolina is 11-0 on the year with a lead entering the seventh innings. The Gamecocks are 9-0 when allowing less than 10 hits, 6-0 when recording double-digit hits and 8-0 when out-hitting its opponent. South Carolina is 5-1 in games decided by three runs or less.
HOME RUNS
Bright and Destino’s three homers ties both of them for fourth highest in the SEC. South Carolina has 11 homers as a team for the season.
