May 9, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina went 2-2 this past week with wins over USC Upstate and Kentucky. The Gamecocks are 36-11 and 16-7 in the SEC. The Gamecocks are tied for first place in the SEC with Florida with six games remaining in league play.

Record: 36-11
SEC: 16-7
Home: 27-2
Neutral: 0-2
Away: 9-7

Last Week: 2-2
5/4/16 ââ’¬” USC Upstate ââ’¬” W, 4-1
5/6/16 ââ’¬” at Kentucky ââ’¬” W, 10-5
5/7/16 ââ’¬” at Kentucky ââ’¬” L, 6-0
5/8/16 ââ’¬” at Kentucky ââ’¬” L, 5-4 (12)

NOTES:
South Carolina went 2-2 this past week with wins over USC Upstate and Kentucky. The Gamecocks are 36-11 and 16-7 in the SEC. The Gamecocks are tied for first place in the SEC with Florida with six games remaining in league play.

Junior outfielder Gene Cone’s school record hitting streak ended at 31 games in the 6-0 loss at Kentucky. Cone’s hitting streak is the longest in Division I baseball this year with his 34-game streak of reaching base safely the longest mark in SEC play. Cone leads the Gamecocks with a .364 average (56-for-154) with 21 RBI and 39 runs scored as well as 11 doubles, two triples and three homers. He owns a .463 on-base percentage and a .519 slugging mark. Cone is fourth in the SEC in hitting and in on-base percentage.

Cone has saved his best for league play as he has hit .422 (38-for-90) in 23 SEC games with 12 RBI and 28 runs scored. He has 20 walks to seven strikeouts and a .527 on-base percentage in SEC games. His 28 runs scored in league games are the most by a SEC player this season. He is second in batting, on-base and slugging as well in league contests, third in hits and fourth in doubles.

Sophomore right-hander Clarke Schmidt improved to 9-1 with a win in Friday’s 10-5 victory over Kentucky. Schmidt allowed five runs on eight hits in 6.2 innings with a walk and seven strikeouts. Schmidt is 9-1 with a 2.37 ERA and has allowed 27 runs, 22 earned on 75 hits in 83.2 innings. He has 98 strikeouts and just 15 walks. Opponents are batting .238 against him. Schmidt is one of four pitchers in the SEC along with teammate Braden Webb and Florida right-handers Alex Faedo and Logan Shore to lead the SEC in wins. Schmidt also leads the SEC in strikeouts, is fourth in innings pitched and seventh in earned run average. Schmidt sports a 5-1 SEC record with a 3.42 ERA in league games with 66 strikeouts to 10 walks in 55.1 innings pitched. Schmidt is tied for second in league games in wins and is second as well in strikeouts.

Sophomore outfielder Alex Destino homered twice this past week with a homer in the 4-1 win over USC Upstate and a home run as well as four RBI in the 10-5 win over Kentucky last Friday night. Destino is hitting .345 (58-for-168) with six homers and 44 RBI on the year. He owns a .387 on-base percentage and a .524 slugging percentage as well. Destino is tied for eighth in RBI in the SEC and is 12th in batting average. He has hit .356 in SEC contests (26-for-73) with 10 runs scored and 20 RBI. Destino’s SEC only average is seventh best in the league with his RBI 10th best as well.

Despite a loss on Saturday vs. Kentucky, freshman right-hander Braden Webb is one of four pitchers in the SEC along with teammate Clarke Schmidt and Florida right-handers Alex Faedo and Logan Shore to lead the SEC in wins. Webb is 9-3 with a 3.38 ERA. He has allowed 32 runs, 27 earned, on 51 hits in 72.0 innings. He has struck out 93 to 38 walks. Opponents are hitting .198 against him. Webb ranks second behind Schmidt in the SEC in strikeouts as well and is fifth in opposing batting average. Webb has the most wins of any SEC pitcher this year in SEC only games also as he is 6-2 with a 3.98 ERA. He has also struck out a league-best 72 batters in eight SEC Games in 52.0 innings pitched.

Both Webb and Schmidt’s SEC numbers are some of the best in school history. Webb’s six wins in league play are tied for sixth-highest in school history and are the most by a Gamecock pitcher since Michael Roth went 6-3 in the 2011 season. His 72 strikeouts in SEC play are also just four shy of the most ever by a Gamecock pitcher. Kip Bouknight struck out 76 batters in SEC play in 1999. Webb’s 72-strikeout total sits at third-highest with Schmidt’s 66-strikeout total tied for sixth-most as well.

Junior outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams holds the longest current Gamecock hitting streak at six games and he has also reached base safely in 14 straight contests. Thompson-Williams was 3-for-6 with a RBI in Sunday’s 5-4 loss to Kentucky, went 1-for-3 in the 6-0 loss on Saturday and was 1-for-4 with two runs scored in the 10-5 victory over Kentucky. Thompson-Williams is one of two Gamecocks alongside Jonah Bride to have started all 47 games this year. He is hitting .328 (57-for-174) with 33 RBI and 39 runs scored. He leads the Gamecocks with 13 doubles and 16 stolen bases. He owns a .427 on-base percentage and a .506 slugging mark. He is eighth in the SEC in stolen bases on the year.

Freshman right-hander Adam Hill earned a no-decision in Sunday’s 5-4 loss at Kentucky. He allowed three runs on two hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Hill is 6-0 with a 2.83 ERA. He has allowed 17 runs, all earned, on 38 hits in 54.0 innings. He has 64 strikeouts to 20 walks; opponents are batting .201 against him.

Senior infielder Marcus Mooney put together a pair of multi-hit games at Kentucky. Mooney was 2-for-5 with a RBI in the 5-4 loss and 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the 10-5 win. He also was 2-for-2 with a RBI in Wednesday’s 4-1 win vs. USC Upstate. Mooney ranks fourth on the team with a .313 batting average (45-for-144) with 24 RBI and 30 runs scored. He owns a .416 on-base percentage and has 18 walks to 12 strikeouts. He is fielding .955 with just eight errors at shortstop on the year.

Junior left-hander Josh Reagan continues to lead the SEC with 11 saves on the year. He owns a 1.40 ERA in a team-high 23 relief appearances. Reagan has allowed six runs on 21 hits in 38.2 innings with opponents batting .158 against him. He has 36 strikeouts to 11 walks. Reagan pitched 1.2 scoreless with a pair of strikeouts in the 10-5 win over Kentucky. He allowed one run on one hit with five strikeouts in three innings of the 5-4 loss to the Wildcats.

Sophomore infielder Madison Stokes tallied a career-high in hits going 3-for-6 with a run scored in the 5-4 loss to Kentucky. Stokes is batting .273 (12-for-44) in 14 games played with 12 starts.

Sophomore infielder Jonah Bride is one of two Gamecocks alongside teammate Dom Thompson-Williams, who has started all 47 games this year. Bride hit his second homer of the year in the 5-4 loss at Kentucky. He was also 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI in the 10-5 win over the Wildcats. Bride is hitting .266 (45-for-169) and has just one error with a .988 on-base percentage at third base.

The Gamecocks own a team ERA of 3.22 on the year, fourth-best in the SEC with a .222 opponents batting average, second-best in the league. South Carolina has allowed 172 runs, 151 earned, on 346 hits with 153 walks to 455 strikeouts in 422.0 innings pitched.

South Carolina is sixth in the SEC in hitting with a team average of .290 (469-for-1616) as well as a .380 on-base percentage and a .412 slugging percentage. The Gamecocks have hit 30 homers. Carolina is fielding .981 as a team with just 32 errors on the year, second-best in the conference.

South Carolina has outscored its opponents this year 294-172 including 69-33 in the first two innings of play. The Gamecocks are 26-3 on the year when scoring first and 16-3 when scoring in the first inning. South Carolina is 26-3 when out-hitting its opponent and 18-4 when hitting at least one home run. The Gamecocks are 32-1 when leading after the sixth inning. South Carolina is 13-6 in games decided by three runs or less. Carolina has reached double-digits in hits in 20 games this year with a 19-1 record with 10 hits or more.

THIS WEEK
5/10/16 ââ’¬” Presbyterian ââ’¬” 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
5/13/16 ââ’¬” Texas A&M ââ’¬” 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
5/14/16 ââ’¬” Texas A&M ââ’¬” 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
5/15/16 ââ’¬” Texas A&M ââ’¬” 4 p.m. (SEC Network)