May 18, 2015
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (32-24) is the No. 10 seed at the 2015 SEC Tournament and will face No. 7 seed Missouri (29-26) in a single elimination game in Hoover on Tuesday May 19. The game will begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one, which starts at 10:30 a.m. ET. The game will be televised on the SEC Network and is available on the Gamecock IMG Network including flagship 107.5 “The Game.” Carolina won one of three games at Missouri earlier this year with a 3-2 loss and a 4-3 loss in 10 innings before salvaging game three of the series with a 7-5 victory.
The winner of the game between the Gamecocks and Tigers moves into the double elimination portion of the tournament and will face second seeded Vanderbilt on Wednesday, May 20 in the second game of the afternoon.
SEC TOURNAMENT
South Carolina is 25-41 (.379) in all-time SEC Tournament history dating back to its first appearance in the 1992 season, also South Carolina’s first official year in the Southeastern Conference. The Gamecocks have twice played for the SEC Tournament Championship, winning in 2004 and finishing second in 2002. The Gamecocks went 4-0 in 2004 on the way to the tournament championship including a 3-2 victory over Vanderbilt in the title game.
Carolina went 0-2 in last year’s SEC Tournament with a 12-0 loss in seven innings vs. Mississippi State and a 7-2 defeat vs. Florida. Carolina’s last victory in Hoover came in 2012 when the Gamecocks earned a 5-3 victory over Auburn.
K-MART
Senior first baseman Kyle Martin became the 28th player in school history to reach the 200-hit total with a single in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Martin leads the Gamecocks in all three Triple Crown categories batting .352 (70-for-199) with 14 homers and 56 RBI. Martin leads the SEC on the year in RBI (56) is second in the league with 39 walks and also ranks third in on-base percentage (.458) and slugging percentage (.643). He is also tied for fourth in the SEC in homers (14), and tied for fourth in total bases (128).
Martin was even more impressive in league contests. In 30 SEC games, Martin hit a league-high 11 homers, slugged a SEC-best .794 and totaled a league-best 85 total bases. In addition, he ranked second in the SEC in league games with a .393 batting average, a .504 on-base percentage and 24 walks in conference play.
Senior first baseman Kyle Martin homered in all three games of the Texas A&M series and drove in seven runs for the weekend. Martin’s two-run homer in the ninth inning of Friday’s game lifted the Gamecocks to a 9-7 victory. He would add a solo shot in Saturday’s 15-14 loss and closed out the series with a three-run homer and went 3-for-5 with two runs and four RBI in the 8-7 victory over the Aggies to clinch the series.
Martin homered twice for the first time in a game in his career including a grand slam and drove in seven runs in the 10-1 victory over Auburn. His seven RBI were the most in a single game since Adam Matthews had eight against College of Charleston on March 22, 2011. In addition, they were the most by a Gamecock player in a SEC game since Tim Angiolini drove in seven in a 15-14 win at Florida April 23, 1999. On April 11 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 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 enters the SEC Tournament with an eight-game hitting streak.
JACK OF ALL TRADES
Junior left-hander Jack Wynkoop has been South Carolina’s top pitcher in the 2015 season with an 8-4 record and a 3.13 ERA in 15 games with 13 starts. Wynkoop has pitched a SEC-high 97.2 innings and has struck out 82 batters with just 13 walks on the year. Opponents are batting .288 against him. In SEC play, Wynkoop and the Gamecocks did not lose in his final five SEC starts and he picked up four wins in five of those games. Wynkoop was 5-3 in league play with a save and a 3.57 ERA vs. SEC teams as well as 59 strikeouts to eight walks in 70.2 innings.
Wynkoop currently ranks 17th all-time in career wins in a Carolina uniform with 22 in his three-year career.
Wynkoop’s last victory was in a 9-7 win over No. 2 Texas A&M. Wynkoop allowed six runs on 12 hits in eight innings of work with six strikeouts and two walks.
Wynkoop did not allow an earned run in eight innings of work with just eight hits allowed, no walks and 10 strikeouts in the 10-1 victory over Auburn on Friday night.
Wynkoop was solid the week before 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.
Wynkoop also 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 40 starts in his career, that is second-highest among all returning SEC pitchers.
MAX IT OUT
Junior infielder Max Schrock is hitting .328 (63-for-192) on the year with 34 RBI, 44 runs scored, 11 doubles, two triples and six homers. Schrock has a .419 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging mark. He has 32 strikeouts to just 18 walks as well. Schrock homered in the first inning of both last Thursday’s and last Friday’s games vs. top ranked LSU. He hit .556 (5-for-9) with four runs in the LSU series.
Schrock recently also hit .467 (7-for-15) in the A&M series with five runs scored and a pair of RBI. Schrock was 1-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI In Friday’s 9-7 win, he followed that up with a four-hit game in Saturday’s loss and closed out the weekend going 2-for-5 with two runs scored and a double in the 8-7 victory.
GREAT SCOTT
Sophomore right-hander Reed Scott earned a wn in relief vs. top ranked LSU in the 10-7 victory last Thursday as he allowed just one run on three hits in three innings of work. He also pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn a save in a 9-7 win over the No. 2 Texas A&M the week before.
Scott is 2-3 with a 3.20 ERA and two saves in 22 relief appearances. He has pitched 50.2 innings and struck out 35 batters. Opponents are batting .258 against him.
CALDWELL A HIT
Senior outfielder Elliott Caldwell is second on the Gamecocks with a .330 batting average (63-for-191) with 34 runs scored and 41 RBI. He has five doubles, three homers and a SEC-leading eight triples on the year. Caldwell’s eight triples is a school record. He surpassed the previous mark of six earlier in the year. Caldwell has a .429 on-base percentage and a .487 slugging mark as well as 13 stolen bases. Caldwell’s on-base percentage is 13th best in the SEC. Caldwell owns a team-high 22 multi-hit games. His 11 multi-RBI games is second-best on the team.
Caldwell tallied three multi-hit games vs. Texas A&M and hit .429 (6-for-14) for the series. Caldwell went 2-for-5 with a RBI, a run scored and two stolen bases in Friday’s 9-7 win, he then went 2-for-5 with two RBI, a homer and three runs scored in the 15-14 loss and closed the weekend out going 2-for-4 with a RBI and two runs scored in the 8-7 win over Texas A&M.
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.
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’s best weekend was when he 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.
MURRAY IN RELIEF
Freshman right-hander Brandon Murray picked up his second save of the year allowing just one run on three hits in 2.2 innings with a walk and two strikeouts in the series-clinching 8-7 win at Texas A&M. Murray is 5-0 with a 4.22 ERA in 32.0 innings. Opponents are hitting .250 against him.
CONE LEADS IT OFF
Sophomore outfielder Gene Cone has started all 56 games in center field for the Gamecocks. He is the only Gamecock to have started all 56 games. Cone is batting .248 (52-for-210) with 48 runs scored and 13 stolen bases.
VINNY
Junior left-hander Vince Fiori has a team-high 25 appearances on the year, that ties for fifth-highest in the SEC. Fiori is 3-1 with a 4.02 ERA in 31.1 innings with 32 strikeouts and opponents batting .227 against him.
MOONEY IN THE MIDDLE
South Carolina junior infielder Marcus Mooney has played in 33 games with 31 starts.
Mooney earned SEC Player of the Week honors after the Gamecocks won the Texas A&M series. Mooney returned from a hamstring injury and had a phenomenal weekend in College Station. Mooney hit .700 (7-for-10) in the Texas A&M series with three runs scored, two doubles, a homer and five RBI. He also walked three times. At one point in the weekend, Mooney had reached base in nine consecutive plate appearances. Mooney hit a three-run homer, his first career home run in Friday’s 9-7 win over the Aggies. He followed that up with a 4-for-4 day at the plate with two walks in the 15-14 loss at Texas A&M. He closed the series out going 2-for-3 with a RBI in the 8-7 series-clinching victory.
REAGAN FROM THE LEFT
Sophomore left-hander Josh Reagan is 2-2 with a 4.72 ERA in 47.2 innings with 10 walks to 304strikeouts. Reagan has made 15 appearances with seven starts.
DYNAMIC DESTINO
Freshman designated hitter Alex Destino has been hot at the plate recently with an eight-game hitting streak just snapped last Saturday vs. LSU. Destino is hitting .258 (42-for-163) with six homers and 35 RBI. He owns a .405 slugging percentage.
DC DELIVERS
Sophomore infielder DC Arendas is among league leaders with 38 walks on the year and owns a .396 on-base percentage. Arendas showed off the bat last Thursday vs. LSU with a key two-run homer as the Gamecocks rallied for a 10-7 win over the top ranked Tigers.
A CLOSER LOOK AT WIDENER
Sophomore right-hander Taylor Widener was effective in game two of the Auburn series. In only his second start of the year, Widener pitched five scoreless innings with one hit allowed and two walks while striking out a season-high seven batters.
Widener is 1-5 on the year with a 4.78 ERA in 32.0 innings with 44 strikeouts Opponents are batting .264 against him. He also has nine saves, which ranks tied for fourth-best in the SEC.
Widener was 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.
HUNTER WITH CAREER-HIGH
Freshman catcher Hunter Taylor has been driving in a lot of runs as of late. Three of the last six games, Taylor tied a career-high with three RBI. He was 2-for-3 with three RBI in the 10-7 win over LSU and had three RBI in the 17-0 win over USC Upstate. He also had a three-run homer in a 15-14 loss at Texas A&M.
SOLID PLAY FROM SCOLAMIERO
Freshman outfielder Clark Scolamiero had a career day in a 15-14 loss at Texas A&M going 4-for-5 at the plate with a run scored and two RBI. Both hits and RBI were career-highs. He was 3-for-5 vs. USC Upstate.
ON THE MOUND
For the season, South Carolina pitchers own a team ERA of 4.18. The Gamecocks have allowed 273 runs, 232 earned, on 506 hits in 499.1 innings with 205 walks to 452 strikeouts. Opponents are batting .266 against the Gamecocks.
AT THE PLATE & ON THE FIELD
South Carolina is hitting .259 (478-for-1849) as a team with 314 runs scored, a .353 on-base percentage and a .378 slugging mark. The Gamecocks are fielding .971 for the year.
SUPERLATIVES
South Carolina is 28-6 on the year when allowing five runs or less. South Carolina is 29-4 on the year with a lead entering the seventh innings. The Gamecocks are 25-7 when allowing less than 10 hits, 14-5 when recording double-digit hits and 19-2 when out-hitting its opponent. South Carolina is 18-13 in games decided by three runs or less. South Carolina is 20-2 on the year when scoring six or more runs.
