By now, you’ve probably heard that Carolina Stadium will be the host site for both a Regional and Super-Regional series, because the Gamecocks were chosen as the fourth overall national seed.  Columbia is one of 16 sites chosen as a host by the NCAA.

Stetson, North Carolina State, and Georgia Southern will round out the Columbia Regional.

To paraphrase Coach Tanner, this is a reward to the team for how hard they’ve worked this year.  The Gamecocks only lost four games at home during the regular season.

To deal with the number of injuries, especially to key guys like Jackie Bradley, Jr. and Adam Matthews, the team has had and still be in this position is a testament to how strong a team they really are.

This is the 13th time that USC has been selected as a regional host, and their 27th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

The Regional series will take place Friday, June 3rd through Monday, June 6th (if a final game is necessary).

» Continue reading “Carolina to Host NCAA Regional, Super-Regional”

Stephen Garcia was officially declared eligible to participate in summer workouts by the university this spring, meaning he is on the team on a probationary basis.  His status will be re-evaluated before the season begins.

Garcia: Back in black (and garnet)?

This doesn’t mean Garcia’s back on the team for good, but if he doesn’t commit any crimes or do anything particularly stupid (not a guarantee), then my guess is he’ll be back on the field in the garnet and black when the Gamecocks start their season against ECU.

Coach Spurrier has reiterated that there will still be a battle for the starting job, and that Garcia will have to beat out Connor Shaw (and vice versa) to determine who starts.

But let’s be real: if Shaw were lighting it up, there wouldn’t have been nearly as much of an outcry as there was for Garcia to be reinstated.

» Continue reading “He’s Baaaaaaaack”

Quick recap of the Gamecocks’ time in Hoover:

• Carolina fared better this year than they did in 2010, winning one game instead of none.
• Adam Matthews returned from injury to make a couple pinch-hitting appearances, although he couldn’t run at 100%.
• Michael Roth pitched the first complete game for any USC pitcher this year.
• Evan Marzilli tied the school record for consecutive hits (9).
• Brady Thomas sprained his ankle, but did make a brief appearance in Saturday’s game.
• The team was presented with their SEC Championship award before their first game of the tournament.

» Continue reading “Tournament Tidbits, Part II”

The defending national champs may be done in Hoover, but the NCAA Tournament still awaits.

The field at Regions Park in Hoover.

It was a disappointing night for USC, though, as sloppy defense plus a lack of offense led to an exit from the SEC Tournament for the Gamecocks.

Scott Wingo started the game off with an error, and Georgia got three runs in the first inning.  For the second night in a row, USC wasn’t able to catch up and balance out their mistakes.

The Gamecocks settled down somewhat as play went on, but they failed to capitalize on their scoring chances, and scored only two times, both on RBI hits from Evan Marzilli.

Catcher Brady Thomas, who Coach Ray Tanner had said was doubtful, came in to pinch-hit near the end of the game, but he was clearly unable to run at full speed.

» Continue reading “No Need to Panic, Gamecock Fans”

The Gamecocks (No. 1 seed) kept it close Thursday night until the ninth inning, when Vanderbilt (No. 3 seed) scored four consecutive runs and won the game 7-2.

Unlike last night, where the Gamecocks rallied early and cruised to a win, tonight was much more painful for Carolina fans.  The game left me, and likely many others, groaning in frustration, and I can’t deny a few shouts of, “what was THAT?!”, “seriously?!”, and “are you kidding me?” (especially in that awful ninth inning).

USC starting pitcher Forrest Koumas started out shaky, and reliever Tyler Webb was up early in the Gamecock bullpen, although he didn’t come in until the eighth inning.  Koumas settled down somewhat, but he was never sharp.

» Continue reading “Outscored By The ‘Dores”

South Carolina will take on Vanderbilt tonight in Hoover at approximately 8:30 EDT (weather permitting).  As two of the three teams sharing this year’s SEC title, this game has been touted as “the big one” today, and should not disappoint.

Freshman All-SEC pitcher Forrest Koumas will start for the Gamecocks against the Commodores’ Sonny Gray.  USC won the regular season series against Vanderbilt 2-1.

Vanderbilt defeated Georgia 10-0 last night, and South Carolina beat Auburn 7-3. The winner of this game will advance to play Florida on Saturday.

Look for a game recap here following tonight’s game, and follow @CockyCountry on twitter for in-game updates and commentary!

Michael "Complete Game" Roth

Despite giving up three unearned runs in the first inning, Michael Roth and the Gamecocks rallied, Roth threw just over 100 pitches, and South Carolina cruised to a 7-3 victory against the Tigers in Hoover.

I have to admit, when I saw that an early error by Adrian Morales had spurred three unearned runs in only the first inning, I got nervous.  It wouldn’t be the first time a Gamecock team got behind early and had to work back from a deficit.

Would Roth have his stuff? Could the offense make up for defensive miscues? Could the defense avoid more problems?

» Continue reading “Roth Throws Complete Game, Gamecocks Beat Auburn”

A number of Gamecocks have been honored in the past few days for their achievements, both on and off the diamond.  Here’s a quick rundown:

• Christian Walker was named to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, which the currently injured Jackie Bradley, Jr. was part of last year.
• Speaking of Jackie, he was named to the SEC Baseball Community Service Team.
• Scott Wingo, Michael Roth, and Matt Price were named to the All-SEC First Team.
• Walker was selected for the All-SEC Second Team.
• Forrest Koumas made the All-SEC Freshman Team
• Walker, Wingo, and Bradley, Jr. were also named to the All Defensive Team.
• Finally, Coach Ray Tanner earned the well-deserved SEC Coach of the Year award.

Depending on how much further the Gamecocks get on their quest to repeat as National Champions, many more awards may be on their way to the guys in Columbia.

A quick recap of SEC Tournament info and updates:

• #1-seeded USC will play #8-seeded Auburn Wednesday at 5:30 EST.
• Michael Roth will start Wednesday against Jon Luke Jacobs
• John Taylor was sick at Alabama, and while he will be traveling to Hoover, he’ll be going separately from the team.
• Adam Matthews has been cleared to play.

The Gamecocks, who share the SEC title with Florida and Vandy, prefer not to call themselves  co-champions, because they own the tie-breaker over both other teams.

» Continue reading “Tournament Tidbits”

Break out the GAME-COCKS cheer!  After beginning the season ranked at #7 and weeks of floating around the top, South Carolina has finally achieved the #1 ranking in the final Baseball America poll of the regular season.

After five weeks at #1, the University of Virginia dropped to #5 following a sweep by North Carolina this weekend.  Like the Gamecocks, the Cavaliers are co-owners of their conference’s season title.

USC is the third SEC team to be ranked first in Baseball America’s poll this year, the other two being the other SEC title sharers, Florida and Vandy.

USC went into the SEC Tournament ranked 10th overall in the final regular season Baseball America poll last year, where they had a record almost identical to this year’s (2010: 43-13, 2011: 44-12).

» Continue reading “We’re #1!”