Nice to see you again, USC offensive production. Stick around for good now, okay?

The Yardcocks topped the Commodores 8-3 tonight in Nashville, a welcome (and much-needed) conference victory. Christian Walker went yard twice, the first time he’s done that in his career.

His three RBIs helped fuel South Carolina and got them on the board early, when he launched his first longball, a two-out shot to left field, in the first inning. In the seventh inning, his second homer went over the left field fence as well.

Tanner English was 2-for-5 and scored a run,  DH Brison Celek, who’s been pretty successful in that role, brought in a pair of runs, and LB Dantzler, Grayson Greiner, and Evan Marzilli tallied an RBI each as well.

Both teams had chances to add more runs in late in the game, but neither one could capitalize when the bases were loaded.

The biggest inning for the Gamecocks was the third, when they scored five runs and blew the game open. Vanderbilt was never able to recover, scoring only two runs in the fourth and one in the seventh. That was due in part to dominant pitching by starter Michael Roth and closer (surprise!) Matt Price.

Roth threw six innings and surrendered all three of the Dores’ runs on five hits. He walked one batter and struck out three. Price hurled three shutout innings and allowed only one walk while striking out five batters. Roth tweeted after the game that he wasn’t pleased with his performance, but praised Price. Roth is hardly a slouch, but it’s clear that he’ll never settle for less than his best. He earned the win, his improving his record to 3-0 on the season. Price got his first save of the year and now has the most saves in school history. Kevin Ziomek took the loss for VU.

» Continue reading “Walker Homers Twice, Gamecocks Beat Vandy”

Photo via Gamecocks Online.

Frank Martin was officially introduced as the head coach of the South Carolina’s men’s basketball team today following the Board of Trustees’ approval of his contract.

His contract is worth $12.8 million, and the first year is worth $1.9 million. The second and third years will be worth $2 million and the final three years are worth $2.3 million. If he leaves, his buyout starts at $4 million.

Almost everyone views this as a slam dunk (ha!) hire for the Gamecocks. After the last few years, which featured a program with a lot more losses than wins and a lack of interest from the fanbase, Martin will want – and need – to make an impact quickly.

Martin comes to Columbia from Kansas State, where he was from 2007 until today. He became the head coach of KSU in 2008 and his teams won 21 games or more every year. They have made three straight NCAA tournament appearances, and Martin’s record as the head coach was 117-54 overall.

He’s a hardcore guy, and he said today that his team will be the hardest working guys in America. He’s been known as an imposing and intense figure, but that’s something we could probably use. We likely won’t be a Big Dance participant next year, but we there’s plenty of reason to believe the Cocks will be making it far in the next few seasons.

Martin will be the 32nd head coach of men’s basketball at South Carolina, which enters its 105th season as a varsity sport in 2012-13.

What a ride.

The USC women’s hoops team fell to the Cardinal tonight by a score of  76-60, but the Gamecocks fought hard and showed that the future is bright for the team.

No. 5 seed South Carolina (25-10) hung with top-seeded Stanford (34-1) for the first half and part of the second, but as time ticked away, so did the ladies’ chances of upsetting the Cardinal. It was clear that Stanford, ranked No. 2 in the country, was the better team, but No. 25-ranked Carolina proved that they deserved to be in the postseason.

Despite being undersized, they challenged the Cardinal and made them work, especially in the first half. A three  6-0 USC run was quickly negated by a 9-0 run for Stanford, and while the Gamecocks were able to cut the lead to only three points in the second half, they could never get closer or gain a lead.

South Carolina had a 38-36 rebounding advantage over Stanford and took 15 more shots, but the Cardinal’s 52.8 percent shooting was clearly better than the Gamecocks’ 36.8 percent. Stanford also blocked nine shots and outscored Carolina 44-30 in the paint.

» Continue reading “Stanford Ends Gamecocks’ Postseason Run”

Well…one out of three’s not bad, right?

There’s a reason Florida is the No. 1 team in the country. In front of a sellout crowd for the third straight day, they proved they deserved that ranking as they bested the Yardcocks 5-4 in the rubber game of the series.

The Gators jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and held that until the bottom of the fourth, when Grayson Greiner singled to score Joey Pankake and Erik Payne hit a sac fly to bring in Christian Walker. That made the score 3-2, and the Cocks tied it up an inning later with an RBI single from Pankake that brought Tanner English across home plate.

USC had a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth, but pinch-hitter Michael Roth and Greiner couldn’t quite get it done. The 3-3 tie stood until the top of the ninth, when Matt Price, with two outs, walked Vickash Ramjit and hit Cody “Bucky’s son” Dent. The awesomely named Nolan Fontana then smacked a triple, which made the score 5-3 in favor of UF.

LB Dantzler went yard in the bottom of the inning, but that was the last run Carolina would score.

South Carolina tallied only five hits to Florida’s eight. In 2 1/3 innings of work, Price struck out two, but gave up the two runs, one hit, and the walk. Starter Colby Holmes went three innings and allowed three runs on five hits with no walks and a K. Reliever Tyler Webb hurled three scoreless innings and gave up two hits and a walk while striking out two. Price took the loss for the Cocks and is now 3-2 on the season. Austin Maddox earned the win for the Gators and is now 2-0.

» Continue reading “Gamecocks Chomped: Gators Win Game Three, Take Series”

A soggy night gave way to a limp performance from the Cocks. (photo via the Gamecocks' Facebook page)

Well. That wasn’t much fun.

In a game that was delayed about an hour and a half by rain, the Gamecocks couldn’t muster the kind of pitching or offense they needed to beat the Gators.

Starter Forrest Koumas had an unfortunate off-night and gave up five runs in the first inning. Mike Zunino tallied three of those on a homer, then Brian Johnson followed that up with a solo shot of his own. A balk by Koumas brought in the fifth run. He was charged with the run the Gators got in the top of the second, too.

That would be it for Forrest, who in one inning of work gave up four hits, six runs, and three walks. He did strike out three batters, including the awesomely named Nolan Fontana twice.

Reliever Nolan Belcher came in and did a fairly good job, surrendering only one run on four hits. He walked two and K’d one. Patrick Sullivan pitched two scoreless innings before Logan Munson came in to finish the job. He gave up the final run in the top of the ninth.

Outfielder Vickash Ramjit contributed the two Gators homers that didn’t come in the first inning. Ramjit came in when third baseman Josh Tobias left with a wrist injury and the Gators switched around their defensive players.

» Continue reading “Pitching, Offense Struggle As Gamecocks Fall To Gators”

Photo via the Gamecocks' Facebook page.

HELL. YES.

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s carry on. In front of a sell-out crowd, the Yardcocks (17-5, 1-3) topped Florida 9-3 tonight in the first game of the long-awaited series between the two teams.

The Gators (20-2, 3-1) are ranked No. 1 in the country and were on an 18-game winning streak. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 6 and had lost their last four out of five, including last night against Wofford.

No matter. Both teams had to be super pumped up for this series, since it’s not only a huge division rivalry, but also a rematch of last year’s College World Series, where USC was obviously victorious (sidenote: hearing “BACK TO BACK FOR THE GARNET AND BLACK!!!” never gets old). ESPNU, who televised the game, showed plenty of highlights from the CWS, which made Cocks fans happy and Gators fans less than happy, I’m sure.

Michael Roth started on the mound for the Gamecocks and also served as DH. Matt Price, who has been a starter this season, came from the bullpen today, much to the delight of the USC fans at Carolina Stadium. Roth threw over 100 pitches in 6 2/3 innings, giving up only two runs and four hits. He walked three batters and struck out five. Price allowed only one run and no hits. He K’d three batters and walked three.

» Continue reading “Offense, Price Propel Gamecocks Over Florida”

Good news: South Carolina got back in the win column tonight with an 8-5 victory over Furman. This was an extra special victory, too, as it was the 1,100th career win for Ray Tanner.

The Gamecocks bounced back from this weekend’s sweep at Kentucky by generating solid offense and defense. Joey Pankake went 5-for-6 at the plate with two RBI and Evan Marzilli was 4-for-5, including a three-run homer, the first time he’d gone yard this year. Marzilli has reached base in all 20 games this season. Pitcher Michael Roth served as the DH tonight and went 0-for-3, but was walked once. Seven Gamecocks tallied at least one hit.

Not a bad night indeed, Mr. Pankake.

Freshman Jordan Montgomery started on the mound for Carolina and gave up five hits in 4 2/3 innings. He allowed only two runs, walked one batter, and struck out eight. Reliever Hunter Privette took the win, his first of the year, and closer Evan Beal earned his fourth save. The five relievers used tonight (Privette, TYler Webb, Joel Seddon, Forrest Koumas, and Beal) combined for seven K’s.

USC still struggled with leaving men on base; there were 12 tonight. Luckily that didn’t hurt the Cocks, who took an early lead and never trailed.

The next game for the Yardcocks will be at home Wednesday against Wofford. The game is scheduled to start at 7 ET and will be televised on Fox SportSouth/FoxSports Carolinas. Women’s hoops coach Dawn Staley will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

The Lady Gamecocks are headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2002.

Congrats to the USC women’s hoops team!

The Lady Gamecocks were victorious by a score of 72-61 in West Lafayette tonight, ending Purdue’s run through the postseason and extending their own. It was an upset win in a hostile environment, as South Carolina (29-5) was the No. 5 seed and the Boilermakers (29-5), the home team, were a four-seed.

Purdue was clearly displeased with how the game was going, and things got a little chippy between the teams. The Boilermakers tried all night to get inside the heads of the Carolina players, but the Gamecocks refused to be rattled.

During the second half South Carolina led by as many as 16 points, and every time the Boilermakers looked like they might be trying to make a comeback, USC had an answer. Purdue pulled to within seven points, but that was as close as they got.

Markeshia Grant led the Gamecocks with 21 points, three rebounds, one assist, and two steals. Four Gamecocks scored in double figures: Grant, Ieasia Walker (17), La’Keisha Sutton (10), and Ashley Bruner (10). Welch added eight rebounds. KK Houser was the best player for Purdue with 15 points, two rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

The next game for USC will be against top-seeded Stanford on Saturday in Fresno. This will be their third-ever trip to the Sweet 16, and the first since 2002. It’s also Dawn Staley’s first trip as a coach.

Congrats again, ladies!

Uh…what is this? Where are we? South Carolina losing an SEC series? Getting swept in an SEC series?

Yes. USC lost all three games against Kentucky this weekend, marking the first time the Cocks have been swept since 2009 against Florida.

Ew.

Now, that being said,  don’t worry. I’m not suggesting that this team is a disaster, or that any hopes of a threepeat are gone, or that we might as well just start counting down the days until football. On the contrary, I think this sweep might actually be a good thing.

Yes, I said it. Getting swept might be a good thing.

First of all, Kentucky is undefeated, so it’s not like we got swept by Clemson or anything. The Widlcats also had to come from behidn to win each game. Second, USC usually does the come-from-behind-win thing, and if they’re not going to take that role, then they need to leanr how to maintain a lead. But I’d rather get swept now, use it as a learning tool, and improve, than get swept down the stretch when there’s a heated battle for the conference (and national) championship.

» Continue reading “Unfamiliar Territory: Yardcocks Swept By Kentucky”

There was some good news and some bad for South Carolina today. First the good:

The women’s hoops team powered past Eastern Michigan, defeating the Eagles 80-48 in West Lafayette today. The team played a fantastic game today. From Gamecocks Online:

“The No. 5 Gamecocks (24-9) posted their season-high 80 points thanks to season highs in assists (22) and blocks (11) and 53.3 percent field goal shooting. The defense held up its end as well, holding the No. 12 Eagles (23-9) to 26.7 percent shooting.”

They started out a bit slow, but USC figured out how to win – by creating turnovers – something they’vve relied on all season. The Gamecocks had trouble getting shots to fall, while EMU had little difficulty. Carolina never let themselves get too far out of the game, though, and managed to turn the momentum in their favor.

The ladies stayed strong in the second half, leading by as many as 36 points. The Eagles simply got too far behind and South Carolina was too dominant on both sides of the ball for EMU to catch up.

Markeshia Grant led the Gamecocks with 12 points, one rebound, one assist, and two steals. Charenee Stephens and Ashley Bruner, the other two USC players to score in double digits, added 11 and 10, respectively. Bruner also had seven rebounds. Paige Redditt was the top player for Eastern Michigan with 14 points, five rebounds, one assist, and two blocks.

The next game will be Monday night, when the Lady Gamecocks will take on Purdue in the next round of the tournament.

» Continue reading “Sports Saturday: Lady Gamecocks Advance, Yardcocks Fall To UK”