April 30, 2015
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (26-19, 9-12 SEC) returns home to host Auburn (30-16, 10-11 SEC) for a three-game series. First pitch for the opener is on Friday at 7 p.m. It will be broadcast on SEC Network Plus. Saturday’s game will be televised on the SEC Network at 3:30 p.m. with Sunday’s series finale at 2 p.m. on ESPNU. All three games can be heard on the Gamecock IMG Network including flagship station, 107.5 FM, “The Game.”
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: Gamecock Radio Network/flagship 107.5 FM “The Game” (Andy Demetra & Tommy Moody)
Television: Friday – SEC Network + (Derek Scott & Trey Dyson); Saturday – SEC Network; Sunday ESPNU (Clay Matvick & Landon Powell)
Internet: Additional coverage on Twitter @GamecockBasebll and Facebook/Gamecocksonline
South Carolina (26-19, 9-12 SEC) vs. Auburn (30-16, 10-11 SEC)
Carolina Stadium
May 1 – 7 p.m.; May 2 – 3:30 p.m.; May 3 – 2 p.m.
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PROBABLE PITCHING ROTATION
Friday
South Carolina – Jack Wynkoop (Jr. LHP) 6-4, 2.71 ERA, 76.1 IP, 11 BB, 64 SO
Auburn – Cole Lipscomb (So. RHP) 6-1, 2.24 ERA, 60.1 IP, 17 BB, 61 SO
Saturday
South Carolina – TBA
Auburn – Rocky McCord (Sr. RHP) 4-3, 3.58 ERA, 60.1 IP, 30 BB, 49 SO
Sunday
South Carolina – TBA
Auburn – Dalton Rentz (Jr. RHP) 3-1, 2.51 ERA, 43.0 IP, 22 BB, 43 SO
SERIES HISTORY
South Carolina leads 43-20
Last 11 GamesDate Winner Score Site4/20/14 SC 4-3 Auburn4/19/14 SC 3-2 Auburn4/19/14 AU 4-2 Auburn5/24/12 SC 5-3 Hoover4/22/12 SC 11-7 Auburn4/21/12 SC 5-3 Auburn4/20/12 SC 12-5 Auburn5/25/11 SC 7-3 Hoover5/1/11 SC 7-3 Columbia4/30/11 SC 10-2 Columbia4/29/11 SC 2-1 Columbia
K-MART
Senior first baseman Kyle Martin is one of 60 players in the country to be named to USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List.
Martin hit his team-leading ninth homer in Saturday’s 4-3 loss at Tennessee. Martin is hitting .344 (55-for-160) with nine homers and 41 RBI. He has a .447 on-base percentage and a .606 slugging mark. Martin also leads the Gamecocks with 30 walks on the year and a team-high 11 doubles. Martin is tied for sixth in the SEC overall in both homers and runs batted in. He is also seventh in slugging percentage and ninth in on-base percentage. Martin’s league numbers are strong as well with a .392 average (29-for-74) with 18 runs scored and 20 RBI. Six of his nine homers have come in league play. He has a .505 on-base percentage in league games and a .757 slugging percentage as well.
Martin hit .583 (7-for-12) in the Florida series with a pair of homers and four RBI. In Saturday’s loss at Florida, Martin became the first Gamecock since Brendan Winn on February 14, 2004 to hit for the cycle. It marked only the seventh time in school history that a Gamecock had hit for the cycle and the second time it has happened vs. a SEC team. Martin’s four hits also tied a career-high.
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.
JACK OF ALL TRADES
Junior left-hander Jack Wynkoop pitched another solid game for the Gamecocks as he worked 8.1 scoreless innings as the Gamecocks defeated Tennessee 4-0 on Friday night. Wynkoop allowed just seven hits and one walk while striking out five batters to earn the victory. Wynkoop did not allow a leadoff batter to reach base in the first sixth innings. The leadoff batter reached base in the seventh and eighth innings and was retired in a double play. Wynkoop became the 23rd pitcher in school history to reach the 20-win total with the victory on Friday night. Wynkoop is 6-4 with a 2.71 ERA. He has 64 strikeouts to 11 walks in 76.1 innings with opponents batting .273 against him. Wynkoop leads the SEC in innings pitched, is tied for sixth in wins, tied for eighth in strikeouts and ninth in ERA.
The week before, Wynkoop put together a tremendous start in a 5-2 win over Vanderbilt. Wynkoop hurled his first career complete game allowing just two runs on 10 hits in nine innings with just one walk and a career-high 12 strikeouts to help lead the Gamecocks to the victory.
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 has made 37 starts in his career, that is second-highest among all returning SEC pitchers.
MAX IT OUT
Junior infielder Max Schrock went 2-for-3 at the plate in Friday’s 4-0 win at Tennessee. He has 14 multi-hit games on the year. Schrock missed Saturday and Sunday’s games at Tennessee due to a left Achilles tendon strain. Schrock is hitting .312 (49-for-157) with 30 RBI and 33 runs scored. He has a .414 on-base percentage. Schrock has hit .333 (26-for-78) with 16 RBI in 21 SEC contests.
VINNY
Junior left-hander Vince Fiori owns a team-high 21 appearances, tied for fifth-highest in the league. Fiori is 3-1 with a 2.76 ERA in 29.1 innings with 29 strikeouts to 18 walks. Opponents are batting .194 against him.
CALDWELL A HIT
Senior outfielder Elliott Caldwell was the team’s leading hitter in this weekend’s series at Tennessee. Caldwell went 4-fori (.44) with a triple and five RBI vs. the Volunteers. Caldwell’s triple in Sunday’s 10-4 loss vs. Tennessee was his SEC-leading seventh of the year and a school record, surpassing the previous mark of six set by Brian Buscher in 2002 and matched by Jake Williams in 2011. Caldwell leads the Gamecocks in hitting with a .353 average (53-for-150) with 24 runs scored, 29 RBI. He has a .451 on-base percentage and a .513 slugging mark. Caldwell ranks sixth in the SEC in on-base percentage. Caldwell also leads the team with 10 stolen bases on the year. Caldwell is tied for 11th in hitting in the SEC also..
Caldwell hit .500 (6-for-12) in the Mississippi State series with two runs scored and three RBI. Caldwell was 2-for-4 with two RBI in the 13-7 win vs. the Bulldogs. He also had two triples on the week and leads the Gamecocks with four for the season, tied for third highest in the conference.
Caldwell hit .357 (5-for-14) in the Missouri series with a pair of RBI. He was 2-for-5 with a RBI on Saturday and on Sunday vs. the Tigers. Caldwell also made ESPN’s SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays on Saturday with the No. 8 play of the day with a diving catch in left field.
Caldwell hit .636 (7-for-11) in the Kentucky series with four runs scored, a triple, two homers and four RBI. Caldwell went 2-for-4 in the 10-1 win, followed that up going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a two-run homer in the 4-3 victory over the Wildcats and went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI including a game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth inning in Sunday’s 6-4 10-inning win. Caldwell’s homer on Saturday was the first of his career in a Gamecock uniform.
A CLOSER LOOK AT WIDENER
Sophomore right-hander Taylor Widener was recently named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List. He pitched 2.2 scoreless innings of relief with no hits allowed, just one walk and four strikeouts to earn his ninth save of the year in a 3-2 win in the rubber game of the Vanderbilt series.
Widener is third in the SEC with nine saves on the year and 34 strikeouts in 23.2 innings pitched.
CONE LEADS IT OFF
Sophomore outfielder Gene Cone has started all 45 games this year with 45 starts in center field. Cone is batting .278 (47-for-169) with a team-high 39 runs scored. Cone’s 39 runs is tied for ninth best in the conference. He went 2-for-4 with a triple in the 2-1 loss at Furman. Cone was also 1-for-4 with a run scored in the 4-0 victory at Tennessee.
Cone tied a school record for putouts by an outfielder in a game with nine on March 24 at Coastal Carolina.
DC DELIVERS
Junior infielder DC Arendas reached base seven times in the Tennessee series with three hits and four walks. He scored three runs as well. Arendas is hitting .248 (27-for-109) for the year with a .416 on-base percentage. Arendas is also reaching base in SEC contests with a .417 on-base percentage in league games and 11 of his 15 RBI this year coming in SEC games as well.
REAGAN FROM THE LEFT
Sophomore left-hander Josh Reagan tied a career-high with six strikeouts in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss at Furman. Reagan pitched 3.2 scoreless innings of relief with just three hits allowed. He would add five-plus innings in Sunday’s loss at Tennessee. Reagan is 1-2 with a 4.54 ERA in 35.2 innings on the year.
MURRAY IN RELIEF
Freshman right-hander Brandon Murray picked up his fourth win of the year and is now 4-0 on the season with three wins in SEC play as he pitched 5.2 innings of relief allowing just two runs on four hits in the 13-7 victory at Mississippi State. Murray’s 5-2 innings marked the longest outing of his Gamecock career.
For the season, Murray is 4-0 with a 4.38 ERA in 15 relief appearances with a save. He has 13 strikeouts to nine walks and opponents batting .247 against him.
ON THE MOUND
For the season, South Carolina pitchers own a team ERA of 3.84. The Gamecocks have allowed 207 runs, 171 earned, on 389 hits in 401.0 innings with 173 walks to 372 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .257 against the Gamecocks.
AT THE PLATE & ON THE FIELD
South Carolina is hitting .254 (375-for-1476) as a team with 236 runs scored, a .349 on-base percentage and a .367 slugging mark. The Gamecocks are fielding .971 for the year. The Gamecocks did not make an error in the Tennessee series.
SUPERLATIVES
South Carolina is 25-5 on the year when allowing five runs or less. South Carolina is 24-3 on the year with a lead entering the seventh innings. The Gamecocks are 21-5 when allowing less than 10 hits, 11-4 when recording double-digit hits and 15-1 when out-hitting its opponent. South Carolina is 14-11 in games decided by three runs or less.
MINCEY MAKES HIS MARK
Senior right-hander Cody Mincey closed out Friday’s 4-0 win with 0.2 scoreless innings with a strikeout. Mincey has made 15 relief appearances for 23.2 innings with 25 strikeouts. Opponents are hitting .229 against him.
KEY HITS FROM KOCH
Sophomore catcher Logan Koch hit a two-run homer in Friday’s 4-0 win at Tennessee. The homer was Koch’s second of the season and the first of his career vs. a SEC opponent.
Koch drove in his first run in conference play with a game-winning two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth in a 3-2 win over Vanderbilt. Koch also hit a game-winning two-run homer in a 2-0 win over Miami and followed that up with a two-run single with the bases loaded in a 7-0 win.
GREAT SCOTT
Sophomore right-hander Reed Scott earned a win after five scoreless innings in the 11-1 victory vs. Appalachian State. Scott tied a career-high with seven innings pitched in a 4-3 loss vs. Georgia. He allowed four runs, two earned, on seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
Scott is 1-3 with a 2.79 ERA in 38.2 innings with 17 walks to 26 strikeouts.
TAYLOR WITH CAREER DAY
Freshman catcher Hunter Taylor hit his first career homer and added a sacrifice fly to tie a career-high with two RBI in Sunday’s 8-5 win over Georgia. Taylor was 3-for-6 (.500) in the Georgia series with a run scored as well.
GORE IN A GROOVE
Sophomore infielder Jordan Gore went 3-for-4 with a run scored in Friday’s 5-2 win over Vanderbilt. His three hits vs. the Commodores tied a career-high. Gore is batting .259 (38-for-147) with 24 runs scored and 17 RBI. Gore hit his first homer of the year in the 4-3 loss at Tennessee.
STOKES HAS SUCCESS
Freshman infielder Madison Stokes tied a career-high with two hits on Tuesday vs. Presbyterian. He was 1-for-2 with a RBI in the 2-0 win at The Citadel and 2-for-5 with a run scored in the 13-7 win at Mississippi State.
SCHMIDT CONTRIBUTES
Freshman right-hander Clarke Schmidt limited Tennessee to just one run on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Volunteers. Schmidt is 2-0 with a 3.74 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 43.1 innings.
DYNAMIC DESTINO
Freshman Alex Destino was 2-for-4 with a RBI in Saturday’s 3-2 win and had a hit in Friday’s 5-2 victory vs. the Commodores. His two-hit game vs. Vanderbilt marked his first multi-hit game vs. a SEC opponent. Destino is batting .246 (30-for-122) with 26 RBI on the year.
