March 12, 2015

SC-UK Game Notes

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (14-3) opens SEC play hosting Kentucky (13-3) in a three-game series at Carolina Stadium. Friday’s first pitch is 7 p.m. with Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday’s series finale at 1:30 p.m.

LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network affiliates/Flagship WNKT FM 107.5 “The Game” in Columbia & 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+
All three games 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. Kentucky
Carolina Stadium
Friday March 13 (7 p.m.); Saturday March 14 (4 p.m.); Sunday March 15 (1:30 p.m.)

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Live Stats

PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Friday
South Carolina – Wil Crowe (So. RHP) 2-1, 3.47 ERA, 23.1 IP, 7 BB, 31 SO
Kentucky – Zack Brown (So. RHP) 1-1, 1.74 ERA, 20.2 IP, 5 BB, 23 SO

Saturday
South Carolina – Jack Wynkoop (Jr. LHP) 3-1, 2.00 ERA, 27.0 IP, 5 BB, 23 SO
Kentucky – Dustin Beggs (Jr. RHP) 2-1, 2.59 ERA, 24.1 IP, 3 BB, 20 SO

Sunday
South Carolina – Clarke Schmidt (Fr. RHP) 2-0, 2.35 ERA, 15.1 IP, 2 BB, 14 SO
Kentucky – Kyle Cody (Jr. RHP) 2-1, 3.43 ERA, 21.0 IP, 3 BB, 26 SO

SERIES HISTORY
South Carolina leads 45-34

DID YOU KNOW??
South Carolina tallied a season-high in hits (15) and runs (13) in Wednesday’s 13-3 win over Penn State.

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
Prior to Penn State scoring in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s 13-3 win, the Gamecocks had not allowed an earned run in 44 consecutive innings. 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.

100
South Carolina head coach Chad Holbrook won his 100th career game in Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Penn State. Coach Holbrook is 101-41 (.711) in three years 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.

MAX IT OUT
Junior infielder Max Schrock went 3-for-3 with a three-run homer and three runs scored in the 13-3 win over Penn State. Schrock owns a .411 on-base percentage with a team-high 17 walks to only two strikeouts. Schrock’s 17 walks are second-best in the SEC.

THE KENTUCKY SERIES
South Carolina leads the Kentucky series 45-34 including a 26-10 mark in Columbia. The Gamecocks won one of three games last year vs. Kentucky in Lexington. The last time the two teams met in Columbia was 2013 with the Gamecocks sweeping the Wildcats at Carolina Stadium.

Kentucky enters with a 13-3 record and an 11-game winning streak. The Wildcats are hitting .312 (177-for-568) for the season with a team ERA of 3.21. Kentucky’s top hitter currently is Ka’ai Tom, who is batting .450 (27-for-60) with 17 runs scored and 19 RBI.

K-MART
Senior first baseman Kyle Martin hit .400 (6-for-15) in five victories last week. He added a hit in Tuesday’s win over Penn State as well as three more including a homer in the 13-3 win on Wednesday. On March 4, Martin 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 .368 (21-for-57) with three homers, three doubles, 14 runs scored and 18 RBI. Martin’s 18 RBI ties him for sixth-highest in the SEC.

Martin elected to return for his final season after being selected in the 20th round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Martin was Carolina’s leading hitter last year batting .336 (82-for-244) with 35 runs scored, 11 doubles, five homers and 38 RBI, a .389 on-base percentage and a .443 slugging percentage. He started all 62 games at first base.

Martin averaged 1.32 hits per game last year, tied for highest among SEC returning leaders. His .336 average is second-highest among returning SEC players as well.

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.

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.

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 went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI in the 13-3 win over Penn State. Gore is among the team’s leading hitters with a .309 average (17-for-55) on the year with nine runs scored and 11 RBI.

MINCEY MAKES HIS MARK
Senior right-hander Cody Mincey made his first appearance of the season with one scoreless inning of relief for a save in the 3-0 win over Penn State on Tuesday night.

CONE LEADS IT OFF
Sophomore outfielder Gene Cone has reached base safely in all 16 games this year. Cone was 2-for-3 with two runs in the 13-3 win over Penn State.

He is hitting .351 (20-for-57) with 17 runs scored, 11 walks to 11 strikeouts and a .486 on-base percentage. Cone’s 17 runs scored are among the league leaders.

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.

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.

DYNAMIC DESTINO
Freshman Alex Destino went 3-for-4 with four RBI including a three-run double in the 13-3 win over Penn State. He hit a grand slam in last week’s 10-4 win over Charleston Southern. Destino is batting .358 (19-for-53) with three homers and 17 RBI on the year and a .566 slugging mark.

ON THE MOUND
South Carolina pitchers own a team ERA of 2.19 with 49 runs allowed, 37 earned, on 125 hits with 146 strikeouts to 51 walks in 152.0 innings. The Gamecocks have allowed opponents to hit just .223 on the year. The Gamecocks’ ERA ranks fourth-best in the league.

AT THE PLATE & ON THE FIELD
South Carolina is batting .274 (145-for-530) as a team with 104 runs scored and a .377 on-base percentage. The Gamecocks are fielding .970 as a team.

SUPERLATIVES
South Carolina is 14-0 on the year when allowing five runs or less. South Carolina is 13-0 on the year with a lead entering the seventh innings. The Gamecocks are 11-0 when allowing less than 10 hits, 7-0 when recording double-digit hits and 10-0 when out-hitting its opponent. South Carolina is 6-1 in games decided by three runs or less.

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.

CALDWELL A HIT
Senior outfielder Elliott Caldwell is hitting .356 (16-for-45) with nine runs scored and eight RBI. He owns a .500 on-base percentage.

START THEM UP
Gene Cone and Max Schrock have started all 17 games this year for the Gamecocks with all of Cone’s 17 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 last 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 .231 with a .512 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 .250 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. He followed that up with 2.1 innings of work to earn his second win of the year in a 13-3 victory over Penn State

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 5.1 innings pitched with a 0.00 ERA in six relief appearances.

GREAT SCOTT
Sophomore right-hander Reed Scott pitched four scoreless innings in his first start of the year and struck out four batters in the 13-3 win over Penn State. Scott has a 2.13 ERA in 12.2 innings of work in six total appearances this year.