Gamecocks Split Season Series with Tigers

So it's official. After taking the first two games from the Upstate Tigers, USC dropped the last two - resulting in a series tie for the season. And we all know what that's like:

For those of you unfamiliar with the philosophical musings of Eddie Erdelatz, you can find them detailed here.

Game four was a pitcher's duel - until the sixth inning, that is. That's when the Tigers broke the game open with 5 runs off USC starter Adam Westmoreland. It was all downhill from there. Story from The State here.

For a little over 2 years USC fans could boast that we had not lost a game to the team from the upstate in baseball. Well, .500 isn't bad. There's always next year to re-assert our dominance.

Gamecocks Blank Purple Paladins

Gamecock pitchers Jay Brown, Adam Westmoreland, and Michael Roth combined for a 10-0 shutout win against Furman on Wednesday.

The State's story here.

The University's story here.

In other news, Dawn Staley picked up the commitment of the #2 women's player in the country. Welcome to Columbia, Kelsey Bone!

Gamecocks Take 2 from Kentucky, Citadel Takes Away Any Chance of Gamecock Ranking Next Week

Carolina performed admirably on the road in the SEC this weekend, taking two of three from Kentucky. It could have been three of three, but senior reliever Alex Farroto gave up gave up a two run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning, giving Kentucky the "W" in the second game of the Saturday double-header. Given Farotto's performance thus far this season, I think we can all forgive this one setback. What was more troubling was the way Carolina's 13 run lead rapidly dissipated in the later innings of the first game. The Gamecocks held on for the win, but only after letting the Wildcats 1 run of tieing. The final score of the game? 20-19. The number of hits? USC - 25 UK 18. I think it's safe to say that Carolina's pitching is a bit of a concern this season. Still, I'd be remiss if i didn't mention Blake Cooper's complete game win on Sunday. The junior hurler allowed just 2 runs on 8 hits with 5 strikouts while Carolina held on for the 4-2 victory. Cooper's move Sunday from week day starter? I Like. Overall, taking 2 on the road in the SEC makes for a good weekend.

Complete Wrap-Ups:

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

In other news:

The Gamecocks managed to lose their Tuesday match against the Citadel. What gives? *Ahem* Pitching. Should we be upset that USC dropped only its first mid-week contest of the year? Yes. USC currently sits at 4-5 in the SEC and it hasn't even faced UGA or Florida yet. While it might be too much to expect USC to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament this year, we'll need to a strong showing in our out of conference schedule to make our case to get in. Sound familiar to anyone?

Also, I had the chance to attend the UGA vs. Clemson game Tuesday night. Georgia looked impressive. UGA happened to win, although, not before Kyle Parker and his nice pants made it interesting by driving in a run in the 9th to bring the Tigers to within one.

Gamecocks Outlast Pesky Georgia Southern

The Gamecocks outlasted Georgia Southern Wednesday night in a 10 inning affair. Lefty freshman pitcher, Mike Roth, got the start for Carolina, giving up 1ER, 1BB, and 2HBP in two innings of work. Roth was replaced by fellow freshman pitcher Matt Price in the top of the third. Price pitched beautifully as well, going 7 innings while giving up 0ER, 1BB, and 1HPB. This is good news for the Gamecocks, as pitching has struggled a few times this season. On a related note, I’d love to tell you why Roth left in the 2nd, but the truth is I have no idea. Senior Alex Farotto came on in the 10th to finish out the game. Farotto’s stats were indicative of his entire season thus far. The only blemish in his inning of work was one hit batter after getting the first out on a ground ball.

On the opposite side of the ball (does that cliché work for baseball, too?), the Yardcocks just couldn’t get much going all night. Consider this odd series of events in the bottom of the 7th: after leadoff batter Scott Wingo walks on four straight balls, Bobby Haney proceed to strike out trying to bunt him over… with a 2-2 count. Then, after a Bradley, Jr. line out to center, the Gamecocks ended the inning when Wingo was caught stealing second. But it didn’t end there. In the bottom of the 9th Scott Wingo doubled to left field with two outs already on the board. Not to be outdone by his 7th inning antics, Wingo then ends the 9th inning by being thrown out attempting to steal third base. Amazing. The Gamecocks finally prevailed in the 10th when hometown hero and all-around baller DeAngelo Mack singled to right field with two outs, scoring hero-in-the-making Jackie Bradley, Jr.

As my dad always says, “A win is a win is a win.” Mid-week games can sneak up on even the best teams, as UGA’s loss to Wright State yesterday illustrates. Still, I have to think that Southern probably didn’t send their best pitcher to the mound with a weekend series a couple days away. Carolina needs to find a way to score some more runs without all the gaffes on the bases. Perhaps some of our sambermatricians out there could provide a comment or two on the soundness of the above-described base running strategy?

Gamecocks Take Down Cougars

I know one cougar I'd like to take down...
(Other titles considered for this post include: Gamecocks Get On Cougars Early, Cougars Lay Down for Gamecocks, Gamecocks Come from Behind - Finish Over Cougars, All is Not Lost, Cougars Still Hot. ...I could go all day, but I won't.)

Well, The Gamcocks took a convincing 14-2 victory at College of Charleston Tuesday night. As I was unable to follow the game live, on tv, radio, or even via the internet, I have no commentary to offer up. You can check out The State's coverage here or the athletic department's coverage here. One note of interest: former USC assistant coach, Monte Lee, left the Gamecocks last year and is in his first year as head coach of C of C, his alma mater.